OBJECTIVES OF THE CHEF PROJECT

General objective:

to improve and apply methods for assessment of hazardous exposures to marine toxicants and to determine possible early adverse effects on growth and development, especially on neurobehavioral, cardiovascular, endocrine, and immunological functions.

to develop and apply sophisticated analytical chemical methods for identification and quantification of a wide range of contaminants present in blood and other biological samples from exposed subjects to ascertain the individual level of exposure;
to identify from the exposure patterns and current evidence on toxicity the substances that deserve to be further characterized with regard to risks of adverse health effects;
to further develop and to apply clinical tests and biochemical markers of early changes in relevant functions;
to assess interactions between methylmercury, organohalogen compounds, and other contaminants, and their combined effects;
to determine the validity of the clinical tests based on their correlations with known predictors and toxicant exposures;
to determine in prospective studies the long-term implications on health caused by developmental exposures to marine contaminants;
to evaluate the overall adverse health impact associated with complex dietary exposures to contaminants.