The state of Michigan is asking for blood and urine samples to test people’s exposure to certain chemicals.
It’s part of MiChEM — or the Michigan Chemical Exposure Monitoring project — first statewide effort to get data on levels of things like lead, mercury and PFAS in people’s bodies.
The project is measuring nearly 200 chemicals sometimes absorbed through eating and drinking, through using certain products and through exposure at work or in the environment.
Rachel Long is the lead epidemiologist on MiChEM with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
She says the program is modeled after a national survey that’s been going on for decades and has provided valuable data.
"We know from [the national survey], for example, that lead levels in U.S. residents have gone down over time," she said "Certain measures of tobacco smoke exposure have gone down over time, showing the effectiveness of policies to reduce secondhand smoke exposure, like banning smoking in certain public areas."
Long says the data in Michigan will help researchers understand Michiganders' exposure to nearly 200 different chemicals across factors like age, race, ethnicity and area of the state.
"We hope to be able to continue doing this kind of data collection for Michigan ... so that we can see trends over time and see whether exposure to certain chemicals is declining in Michigan or — hopefully not — increasing," Long said.
Households in 66 areas were randomly selected to take part. Residents of these households can volunteer to provide blood and urine samples and complete a written survey in exchange for a gift card and their test results.
The MiChEM team has completed sampling in southern Michigan and is recruiting invited participants across mid- and northern Michigan.
Long says the data will give researchers a better idea about how exposure compares in different areas of Michigan, and beyond.
"When we have results from this project, we should be able to compare those results to results from the national survey that measures many of the same chemicals, and results from certain other states that are conducting similar work," she said.
She says the results could help the Department of Health and Human Services and other state agencies better understand how to reduce chemical exposure in Michigan.
Long says sampling will continue through this summer, followed by analysis at state labs. They expect to have results after 2025.
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