DEMOCOPHES is an international project involving a number of countries in Europe. The purpose of the DEMOCOPHES study is to determine levels of key environmental pollutants in the Irish population and across Europe. 

The Environmental Health section in conjunction with Public Health and the Public Analyst’s laboratories of the Health Service Executive will in partnership perform the DEMOCOPHES HBM study in Ireland. The study is focusing on the following environmental chemicals, cadmium, mercury, phthalates, cotinine and how these pollutants affect the general public.

The purpose of the study is to establish the baseline levels of these chemicals in the general population.

Dublin and Leitrim have been chosen to represent urban rural areas respectively. All participants will be children aged from 6 to 11 years old and their mothers, foster mothers or step mothers aged 45 years or under. Both must be living in the same house or flat and they must be living in the locality (city/village) for five or more years. Only one child per mother will take part.

What is human Bio-monitoring?

People are exposed to many natural and man-made chemicals every day. Bio-monitoring is the ‘assessment of human exposure to environmental chemicals’. This information provides a picture of the amount of a chemical actually absorbed into the body. Exposure to such chemicals does not necessarily result in ill health but it is important to understand how people are exposed and to what extent.  This pilot study is focusing on the following environmental chemicals cadmium, mercury, phthalates and cotinine and how these pollutants affect the general public.

Bio-monitoring studies are also useful to evaluate health policies and development of legislative measures applied to reduce pollution. One example is that of the introduction of unleaded petrol after scientific evidence showed that lead caused adverse effects on the developing nervous system. The consequence of this measure has been the rapid decline of lead levels in the general population and consequently the associated risk.

Your involvement in the project

Taking part in the project means filling in a questionnaires with an Environmental Health Officer (EHO). The questions are about personal data, living conditions, food intake and your possible contact with chemical substances. This will help establish what factors influence the concentrations of environmental chemicals (cadmium, mercury, phthalates and cotinine) that will be measured.

The EHO will collect samples of urine. No special preparation is necessary, you will be sent sample containers and we request that on the morning of the day of the visit you provide two urine samples – one from you and one from your child when going to the toilet for the first time that day.

The EHO will arrange to collect a small sample of hair from the participating mother and child in their own home.

You will receive the results of your samples once they have been analysed unless you have requested otherwise. Correspondence and advice will be given to participants in the event of elevated results being obtained. Results will be coded to ensure anonymity.

During the home visit, there will be a further opportunity to ask any questions that you might have

What are the benefits of taking part?

Your participation will help build a picture of the levels of environmental chemicals within the participating Irish communities, and furthermore this study will form the baseline for future bio-monitoring studies within Ireland and Europe.

Why do you need my written consent? 

Your participation in DEMOCOPHES is entirely voluntary. If you decide to participate in the study you will be asked to sign a consent form, confirming your willingness to take part. In particular, you would be agreeing to:

Answer some questions           

Give hair and urine samples for analysis

Be contacted again in the future by DEMOCOPHES with your results if you so wish.

Confidentiality
The information you provide and the results of the tests completed will be held in strict confidence. Any results reported from this study will not contain information that could identify you or your child. All data will be coded and will not include any personal details in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1988 and 2003. Personal details will not be passed onto third parties.

Ethical Approval
Ethical Approval for the Irish Democophes study was granted by the Faculties of Occupational Medicine & Public Health Medicine, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.

How do I withdraw if I want to do so?
Participants can withdraw from the project at any time, however, DEMOCOPHES will be most valuable if people do not withdraw from it, therefore potential participants are asked to discuss any concerns that they might have with a member of the project team.

If you decide to withdraw at any time during the study please contact your local survey office to discuss your options and concerns. If following this discussion you still decide to withdraw you will be sent a Withdrawal Form to confirm your wishes in writing. This form can be completed by you or, if you are not able to do so for some reason (such as illness), by someone on your behalf.

Further Information and Contact Details
If anything is not clear, or if you would like more information on any aspects of the project please contact your local survey office.

Leitrim
Ann Kellegher, Environmental Health Office, Community Care Office, Leitrim Road, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim
Tel: 071 9650362 E-mail: ann.kellegher@hse.ie

Tallaght
Carol Nolan, Environmental Health Dept, County Hall,Tallaght,Dublin 24. Tel 01 414 9367 e-mail: carol.nolan@hse.ie

Blanchardstown
Anita Larini, Environmental Health Office, Unit 5, Block 4B, Blanchardstown Corporate Park, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15.
Office: 01 8098300 E-mail: cdu@hse.ie

More information on this EU project www.eu-hbm.info/democophes