Current CHEEC research and data management projects:

Exposure Assessment Method for Disinfection Byproducts in Drinking Water in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study
Collaborating Institutions: CHEEC, NBDPS centers, U.S. EPA, University of North Carolina
Funding Agency: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, CDC
Project Period:  2008 – 2012

The water exposure assessment subcommittee of the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) developed a detailed protocol and approach to assign disinfection byproducts (DBP) exposures in drinking water systems to residences in ten states. This project will enable the NBDPS, in conjunction with data on individual drinking water usage, to evaluate relationships between DBPs (trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids) in drinking water and select birth defects. The exposure assessment protocol includes linking the geocoded maternal address to the appropriate drinking water utility, obtaining all relevant DBP water quality data from that utility for that subject, and modeling water quality data to account for spatial and temporal variability. Centralized geocoding of the residences of NBDPS participant was conducted by ATSDR’s Geospatial Research, Analysis, and Services Program Office. CHEEC is linking geocoded residential addresses to water utilities, collecting DBP data for those utilities, and linking the DBP data to the residences where the mother resided 1 month prior to conception through the first trimester of pregnancy. The University of North Carolina, in cooperation with US EPA, is developing algorithms for models to account for spatial and temporal variability of DBPs.

National Children’s Study
Collaborating Institutions:  University of Iowa (Pediatrics, Epidemiology, CHEEC, other units), Polk County hospitals and public health agencies
Funding Agency: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Project Period:  2008 – 2013
The National Children’s Study will examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of more than 1,000 children in Polk County (IA), following them from conception until age 21.

Water Quality Data for Private Wells for the Agricultural Health Study Cohort
Collaborating Institutions:  CHEEC, State Hygienic Laboratory
Funding Agency:  National Cancer Institute
Project Period:  2010 – 2012
This project will provide nitrate, pesticide and other water quality data for private wells and public water utilities across Iowa to use in modeling drinking water exposures for members of the Agricultural Health Study cohort.

Link to Archived Research