Assessing and Addressing Community Exposures to Environmental Contaminants

Building Food Sovereignty, Sustainability and Better Health in Environmentally-impacted Native Americans

The purpose of this study is to build on our equitable, eight-year Tribal-academic partnership with the Ramapough Nation of northern NJ to advance tradition-centered farming practices and management strategies supporting sustainable food systems to relieve local food insecurity and nutritional deficiency, prevent disease and promote health. Furthermore, assessing the extent of environmental contamination, individual toxicant burdens and micronutrient levels and health disorders in Ramapough Tribal members of both sexes as outlined in the following:

• Collect in-person/online survey information on demographics, health and food intake, nutrition, food security, and psychosocial stressors, and perform core anthropometric measurements (i.e., height, weight, body mass index, body circumference and blood pressure) at enrollment on Tribal members to inform health promotion strategies and community actions.
• Determine individual-level contaminant burdens and micronutrient concentrations (e.g., iron, calcium, folate, vitamins) in urine and blood from surveyed (sub-aim 1a) Ramapough Turtle Clan volunteers.
• Test soil, plants and surface water where Turtle Clan residents live, recreate and attend church in Ringwood, NJ using a community-based, citizen scientist approach.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female between the age of 18 - 80 years old at the time of enrollment
• Living on the streets of Halifax Road, Orange Turnpike, Ramapo Ave, 1st-7th Streets, Mountain Avenue and Fox Hollow Road in Hillburn, NY; Peter's Mine Road, Canon Mine Road, Pipeline Road, Milligan Drive, Cable House Road and Van Dunk Lane in Ringwood, NJ; Stag Hill Road, and Ramapo Brae Lane in Mahwah, NJ
• Willing and able to provide consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnant women and individuals under 18 or over 80 years old
• Do not live in the identified streets above and/or have lived there for less than 2 years will be excluded from the study