AN INTERAGENCY PARTNERSHIP APPLIED TO THE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL-HEALTH IN THE LOWER RIO-GRANDE VALLEY OF TEXAS

An environmental monitoring investigation was initiated in the Lower R io Grande Valley in response to concerns about the potential link betw een local residents' health and environmental pollution. Concerns expr essed by residents of the community related to industrial emissions, a gricultural pesticide use, and inadequate infrastructure. A field inve stigation was conducted jointly by the U.S. Environmental Protection A gency (EPA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the State of Texas during two sampling periods in 1993. The results p rovided preliminary data about the levels, sources, and pathways of ac tual human exposure in the Valley. Samples of indoor and outdoor air, house dust, soil, food, drinking water, urine, blood, and breath were collected and analyzed for several compound classes. This paper presen ts an overview of the study including the study design, the survey met hods, participant selection, and communication of the results. This pr oject has the potential to set a new model for environmental health re search which integrates public health concerns, exposure reduction, il lness prevention, and regulatory activities of many agencies. Publishe d by Elsevier Science Ltd.