WELCOME TO THE CHEF PROJECT WEBSITEObjectivesThe CHEF research projects focus on the health of children and adults in the Faroect of Islands with emphasis on the impact of seafood diet and marine contaminants. The overall aim is a) to improve and apply methods for assessment of chemical exposures and b) to assess their possible adverse effects on growth and development, especially on neurobehavioral, cardiovascular, endocrine, and immunological functions including delayed effects. For more information click on "Objectives" . Scientific approachSince the first documentation in 1985 of increased exposures to methylmercury, three major birth cohorts have been established for prospective studies. They now include almost 2,000 mother-child pairs. Modern analytical chemical methods will be further developed to characterize in detail the exposure to a wide variety of contaminants and essential nutrients from marine food. In most cases, cord blood was obtained at the birth of the child for analysis, and serum was even obtained from the mother during pregnancy. In addition, samples of hair and blood are being obtained in connection with subsequent medical examinations of the children. The main emphasis in environmental epidemiology is on population-based studies, but this research has also lead to developments in diverse fields, such as analytical chemistry and biostatistics. In addition, collaborative studies are being undertaken in experimental models to document the effects of various pollutants alone or in combination and to document the validity of biomarkers used to characterize exposure levels or biochemical effects. For more information click on "scientific approach" . Publications This web site lists scientific publications and other releases of project results. Papers published since 2003 are listed under Recent publications (link), and those published before that time under Previous publications (link). Links are provided to the journals in which the articles appeared. Sometimes copyright restrictions prevent downloading from journal web sites, and we then offer a PDF version of the manuscript. If you have difficulty obtaining a particular publication from these lists, you can request a copy here. This site also provides access to working papers and other materials, such as tables requested by the (U.S.) National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. |
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The Faroes constitute a prosperous fishing community where excess exposure to marine contaminants is widely prevalent because of the traditional habit of eating meat and blubber from the pilot whale. Due to accumulation of pollutants in marine food chains, the Faroese are now exposed to industrial contaminants from far-away sources and at levels that may exceed concentrations normally encountered elsewhere in Europe.