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| Innovative Strategies to Assess Health Risks from Environmental Exposures to Toxic Chemicals |
Army Science and Technology Objective: IV.ME.2000.05
Problem
Military deployments over the last 30 years have raised concerns about potential health hazards to soldiers exposed to toxic industrial/agricultural chemicals (TICs) and military relevant chemicals (MRCs). The development of new munitions, the increasing number of women in military deployments, and the increased awareness of chemical contaminants from past industrial operations on military installations have raised concerns about the effects of environmental exposures to chemicals on human health, reproduction, birth defects, resistance to disease, and other health issues over the lifetime of the soldier. The Army needs effective screening tools to assess health risks from these environmental exposures.
Medical Research Solution
Extend what is known from rodent and other validated test systems to provide new methods to detect classes of toxicological health risks that are based on the fundamental biological responses common across species (e.g., a gene product or protein response that is highly predictive of carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, male infertility, etc.). Use advanced signal processing and analysis techniques and genomic and proteomic technologies to develop assays and protocols using non-mammalian species for environmental monitoring.
Products
Rapid, sensitive, and low-cost screening tools using alternative species and instrumented animal models (i.e., sentinel species) to assess health risks to soldiers from environmental exposures to TICs, MRCs, and chemical mixtures. These health risk assessment tools will enable commanders to execute the full spectrum of military operations while minimizing the total risk to soldiers, and provide a means for collecting and archiving individual exposure data for effective health risk assessment and follow-up health care.
Last Update: April 2, 2003