A longitudinal study of mercury exposure associated with consumption of freshwater fish from a reservoir in rural south central USA.

Methylmercury (MeHg) exposure through fish consumption is a worldwide health concern. Saltwater fish account for most dietary MeHg exposure in the general U.S. population, but less is known about seasonal variations in MeHg exposure and fish consumption among millions of freshwater anglers. This longitudinal study examined associations between MeHg exposure and fish consumption in a rural, low-income population relying on a freshwater reservoir (Oklahoma, USA) for recreational and subsistence fishing. We interviewed 151 participants, primarily anglers and their families, seasonally for one year using 90-day recall food frequency questionnaires to assess general and species-specific fish consumption, and tested hair biomarker samples for total mercury (THg hair). Mean THg hair was 0.27 µg/g (n=595, range: 0.0044-3.1 µg/g), with 4% of participants above U.S. EPA's guideline for women of childbearing age and children. Mean fish consumption was 58 g/d (95% CI: 49-67 g/d), within the range previously reported for recreational freshwater anglers and above the national average. Unlike the general U.S. population, freshwater species contributed the majority of fish consumption (69%) and dietary Hg exposure (60%) among participants, despite relatively low THg in local fish. THg hair increased with fish consumption, age, and education, and was higher among male participants and the lowest in winter. Our results suggest that future studies of anglers should consider seasonality in fish consumption and MeHg exposure and include household members who share their catch. Efforts to evaluate benefits of reducing Hg emissions should consider dietary patterns among consumers of fish from local freshwater bodies.

Behavioral Health and Stress in Agriculture.

Behavioral health and stress are often antecedents to chronic health problems and injury; however, until recently addressing health and safety issues from a behavioral perspective has received little treatment. In this article, we review the current state of behavioral health and stress in agriculture, examine current trends to address this stress, identify gaps still to be filled and make recommendations for future efforts.

Using a site visit to a contaminated location as a focus for environmental health education for academic and public health nurses.

We describe a conference initiative that is distinguished by the use of a "community case study" to increase the knowledge and skills of nursing faculty and public health nurses in environmental health and to provide networking support to facilitate infusion of environmental health into nursing curricula and public health nursing practice. The Institute of Medicine's (1995) general environmental health competencies for nurses provided the conference framework. Woburn, Massachusetts, a Superfund site, served as the community case study to illustrate a complex environmental health problem. Over an extended period of time, Woburn was contaminated with multiple chemicals that eventually contaminated the drinking water supply; a cluster of childhood leukemia cases was linked subsequently to the Superfund site contaminants. A 6-hr interpreted walking and bus tour of the Superfund site enabled us to visit the premises of responsible parties, the vapor extraction fields, the capped Well H in the wooded wetlands, and to tour the affected neighborhood. This intensive, hands-on approach to learning environmental health content and skills that incorporated multiple learning strategies serves as a model for developing future conferences for public health nurses and nursing faculty.