GARFIELD New York University's School of Medicine will provide educational programs and chromium testing to residents, thanks to a new partnership between the school's department of environmental medicine and the city. <\/p>\n
The partnership is aimed at addressing concerns over the potential health impacts of hexavalent chromium, a toxic metal that has spread into the groundwater beneath an area of about 600 homes and businesses over a nearly three-decade period, ever since a massive spill of the substance occurred at the former E.C. Electroplating plant on Clark Street. High levels of the substance which can cause cancer and affect the nervous system have been detected in the basements of the Golden Towers Senior Center and about 20 homes and businesses. <\/p>\n
\"This has been of great concern to many of our residents, especially parents,\" said Deputy Mayor Tana Raymond. <\/p>\n
Through this new partnership, NYU plans to hold focus groups with community members, including religious leaders and school officials, to identify the specific concerns residents have regarding hexavalent chromium, said the environmental medicine department's community outreach director, Judith Zelikoff. <\/p>\n
From there, they can develop public forums and educational programs to address those concerns, she said. <\/p>\n
NYU will also provide testing to people who live and work near the former plant to determine whether they have been exposed to chromium. They plan to start with a sample of between 40 and 60 adults, specifically targeting those ages 18 to 45. They hope to make testing available to more people in the future, Zelikoff said. <\/p>\n
The testing, which measures total chromium exposure rather than specifically hexavalent chromium, is done through toenail clippings and can determine an individual's level of exposure in the previous 18 months, said Zelikoff. <\/p>\n
An individual can be exposed to chromium in a variety of ways. Cigarette smoke, for example, contains hexavalent chromium. Zelikoff said NYU would try to use non-smokers for their studies so that the measurements primarily reflect environmental exposure to chromium. <\/p>\n
NYU is offering the services free of charge to the city, according to Garfield's public health nurse, Darleen Reveille, who was instrumental in bringing the university on board. <\/p>\n
A state Health Department study released last year found no significantly elevated rates of cancer among residents of the contaminated area, which was named a federal Superfund site in 2011. However, health officials cautioned at the time that the study may have been premature, since some of the cancers associated with hexavalent chromium can take decades to emerge. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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NYU medical school will test Garfield residents near chromium site<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" GARFIELD New York University's School of Medicine will provide educational programs and chromium testing to residents, thanks to a new partnership between the school's department of environmental medicine and the city. The partnership is aimed at addressing concerns over the potential health impacts of hexavalent chromium, a toxic metal that has spread into the groundwater beneath an area of about 600 homes and businesses over a nearly three-decade period, ever since a massive spill of the substance occurred at the former E.C. Continue reading