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Publications

Journal Article Ppublish

PubMed: 40522222 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c00522

Chrome Plating Facility Siting Is Associated with Neighborhood Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors and Elevated Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Blood in California.

Environ Sci Technol 59(25):12520-12532

Authors: Shiwen Li, Elizabeth Costello, Tomas K D Manea, Tamar Galindo, Douglas I Walker, Jesse A Goodrich, Tanya L Alderete, Michael I Goran, Damaskini Valvi, Brittney O Baumert, Sarah Rock, Adam L Smith, Amy E Childress, Sandrah P Eckel, David V Conti, Zhanghua Chen, Frank D Gilliland, Rob McConnell, Lida Chatzi, Max Aung

Affiliations

  • Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90032, United States.
  • Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States.
  • Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States.
  • Department of Pediatrics, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90033, United States.
  • Saban Research Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90027, United States.
  • Department of Environmental Medicine and Climate Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, United States.
  • Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States.

Abstract

Chrome plating facilities release toxic chemicals, including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), disproportionately affecting nearby neighborhoods. We analyzed census-tract-level demographic and socioeconomic data using the American Community Survey (2018-2022) alongside 2019 data on chrome plating facilities from the California State Water Board. Two cohorts were included: adolescents from the Study of Latino Adolescents at Risk of Type 2 Diabetes (SOLAR; n = 238; recruited between 2001 and 2012) and young adults from the Metabolic and Asthma Incidence Research study (Meta-AIR; n = 118; 2014-2018). Plasma PFAS were measured via liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry. Multiple linear regression assessed associations between neighborhood characteristics, numbers of chrome plating facilities, and PFAS concentrations in participants' plasma. Compared to areas without chrome plating facilities, neighborhoods with one (or more than one) facility had 11% (22%) more Hispanic residents, 6% (9%) more residents without a high school education, and 3% (3%) more individuals below the poverty line. In Meta-AIR, residents within 3 km of these facilities were correlated with elevated plasma PFOS, PFHxS, and PFOA concentrations, and in SOLAR, with PFDA and PFHpS. Chrome plating facilities are concentrated in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods in California. Proximity to these facilities is linked to elevated blood PFAS levels.

MeSH

Blood, Environmental Health, Demography, Sanitation, Socioeconomic Factors, Plasma