Eligibility to be included in the study will be determined on the basis of age, residential address, tobacco use and environmental or occupational exposures to hazardous substances.
Link to Survey to determine eligibility
Age: Participants must be 7 years or older. Participants aged 17 and younger must obtain parental consent to be included in the study. Adults will need to provide consent to be in the study if they are selected by researchers and agree to participate.
Residence Address: Participants will be selected from both the 1) study area (areas adjacent to the Claiborne Expressway) and 2) control areas throughout other parts of the city of New Orleans. Priority will be given to residents who currently reside in the Claiborne Corridor (see highlighted area in the map below). Residents in a neighborhood adjacent to Interstate-10 or other stretch of a major highway will also be considered. We will also consider residents who formerly resided in the Corridor throughout their lifetimes but recently moved; and residents who moved to the Claiborne Corridor within the last year.
Tobacco Use: Participants will be prioritized according to tobacco use as follows:
- Eligible primary consideration will be given to those residents who are:
- Never smoked tobacco
- Never lived or worked with indoor tobacco smokers or are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke
- Secondary Priority:
- Have not smoked for a period longer than 6 months throughout their lives and within the last year
- Have not recently lived or worked with indoor tobacco smokers
Exposures to Environmental or Occupational Hazards: Information about each participant will be reviewed to assess the degree to which they may have been exposed to hazards outside of traffic pollution based on questions about their occupations and behaviors. Decisions on eligibility based on prior exposures will be made on a case by case basis.
Residents will likely be ineligible if they: 1) are infants or toddlers, 2) live outside of New Orleans, or 3) are current smokers or live or work with indoor smoker(s).
Compensation info:
$10 for environmental samples (soil, air, water, dust and/or paint)
$15 for finger stick blood sample
$10 for urine sample
$5 for saliva sample
$5 for toenail sample
$5 for hair sample
