Maryam Ghalamkari / Earth & Environmental Sciences / Faculty Mentor: Un-Jung Kim
Hurricane Harvey caused severe flooding in Houston’s metropolitan region in 2017. This study aims to investigate Hurricane Harvey’s effect on exposure levels of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Samples are whole blood (n=60), collected from pregnant women in Houston, comprising 30 samples within a 3 – 7 mile radius from flooded hazardous waste/chemical sources (i.e., exposed group) and other 30 samples from > 7 miles away from those regions (i.e., non-exposed group). Based on the questionnaires, 92% of participants aged 20 to 40 at delivery, 50% were white, and 40% were African American. Out of 60 participants, 40 had a college or university degree, 23 had an income of less than $35000, and 20 earned more than $75000 yearly. Having blood samples of participants, we analyzed 16 PAHs, and 14 PCBs using the offline solid phase extraction (SPE) method and online solid phase microextraction (SPME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). We will present the blood concentrations of PAHs and PCBs, which are expected to be higher in the exposed group. The covariate analysis results will be presented to assess the socioeconomic and racial disparities regarding exposure to EDCs.
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