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The Ramapough Lunaape Nation: Facing Health Impacts Associated with Proximity to a Superfund Site

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Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate self-reported exposure to the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund Site in relation to chronic health outcomes among members of the Ramapough Lunaape Turtle Clan nation and other local residents of Ringwood, New Jersey. Community surveys on personal exposure to the nearby Superfund site, self-reported health conditions, and demographics were conducted with 187 members of the Ramapough Lunaape Turtle Clan Nation and non-Native Americans residing in Ringwood, New Jersey from December 2015 to October 2016. Multiple logistic regression was performed to assess the association between ethnicity and a Superfund site exposure score developed for this study, as well as between exposure score and several chronic health conditions. Native Americans were 13.84 times (OR 13.84; 95% CI 4.32, 44.37) more likely to face exposure opportunities to Superfund sites as compared to non-Native Americans in the same New Jersey borough. For the entire surveyed cohort, increased Superfund site exposure routes was significantly associated with bronchitis (OR 4.10; 95% CI 1.18, 14.23). When the analyses were restricted to Native Americans, the association between self-reported Superfund site exposure and bronchitis remained significant (OR 17.42; 95% CI 1.99, 152.45). Moreover, the association between greater exposure score and asthma in this same population also reached statistical significance (OR 6.16; 95% CI 1.38, 27.49). This pilot study demonstrated a significant association between being a Ringwood resident of Native American ethnicity and self-declared opportunities for Superfund site exposure. It also showed a strong association between self-reported Superfund site exposure and the prevalence of bronchitis and asthma.

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Funding

This research was supported by the NIEHS-NYU Core Center Pilot Project Program (5 P30 ES000260-55).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, New York University School of Global Public Health, 715/719 Broadway, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Gabriella Meltzer

  2. Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, 341 East 25th Street, New York, NY, 10010, USA

    Oyemwenosa Avenbuan, Krina Shah, Yu Chen & Judith T. Zelikoff

  3. Department of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, 650 First Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Fen Wu & Yu Chen

  4. Ramapough Lunaape Turtle Clan Nation, Ringwood, NJ, USA

    Vincent Mann

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  1. Gabriella Meltzer
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Correspondence to Judith T. Zelikoff.

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Special thanks to Shirley Van Dunk, Vivian Milligan, Dennis DeFreese, and the entire Ramapough Lunaape Turtle Clan and the other members of the Ringwood/neighboring community members who participated in the survey.

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Meltzer, G., Avenbuan, O., Wu, F. et al. The Ramapough Lunaape Nation: Facing Health Impacts Associated with Proximity to a Superfund Site. J Community Health 45, 1196–1204 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-020-00848-2

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