Jack Caravanos
Jack Caravanos
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Clinical Professor of Environmental Public Health Sciences in the Department of Global and Environmental Health
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Professional overview
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For Dr. Jack Caravanos, life in the field ranges from jumping onto a motorcycle and navigating the jungles of Madre de Dios in the Peruvian Amazon studying toxic substances to traveling to remotes areas in Zambia, Indonesia, and Bolivia studying lead and other toxic wastes. By cooperating with local governments, his work provides safe, healthy, and evidence-based solutions for pollution problems in low- and middle-income countries.
In partnership with Pure Earth, an international non-profit organization, Dr. Caravanos is studying the impact of gold extraction with mercury in Peru and Indonesia. Since miners are in danger of mercury poisoning, his research team is planning interventions that teach safer techniques for gold extraction. In Kabwe, Zambia - a mining town with exposure to lead - his research will provide methods to institute safer mining practices and policy recommendations to improve environmental remediation laws.
Dr. Caravanos teaches Environmental Health for graduate students and Environmental Health in a Global World for undergraduate students. He also provides opportunities for student researchers in his ongoing projects, including in Indonesia (mercury) and Ghana (e-waste).
To learn more about Dr. Caravanos and his work, visit his website.
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Education
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BS, Health Science, Hunter College, New York, NYMS, Environmental Health Engineering, New York University, New York, NYDrPH, Environmental Health, Columbia University, New York, NY
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Honors and awards
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Presidential Award for Excellence in Community Service, Hunter College (2013)Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching, Hunter College (2006)
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Areas of research and study
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Artisanal Gold MiningDissemination and Implementation of Evidence-based ProgramsEnvironmental Public Health ServicesGlobal HealthLead poisoning
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Publications
Publications
Measurement of Soil Lead Levels Adjacent to Lead-Sheathed Communications Cables
Caravanos, J., Landrigan, P. J., Nelson, B. K., Neisler, J. P., & Chang, H. Y. (n.d.).Publication year
2024Journal title
Environmental health perspectivesVolume
132Issue
3Page(s)
37701Efficacy of Grignard Pure to Inactivate Airborne Phage MS2, a Common SARS-CoV-2 Surrogate
Lead Levels in a Potters Population and Its Association With the Use of Different Glazes: Cross-Sectional Evaluation of the Approved Pottery Program
Pollution and health: a progress update
AbstractFuller, R., Landrigan, P. J., Balakrishnan, K., Bathan, G., Bose-O’Reilly, S., Brauer, M., Caravanos, J., Chiles, T., Cohen, A., Corra, L., Cropper, M., Ferraro, G., Hanna, J., Hanrahan, D., Hu, H., Hunter, D., Janata, G., Kupka, R., Lanphear, B., … Yan, C. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Journal title
The Lancet Planetary HealthVolume
6Issue
6Page(s)
e535-e547AbstractThe Lancet Commission on pollution and health reported that pollution was responsible for 9 million premature deaths in 2015, making it the world's largest environmental risk factor for disease and premature death. We have now updated this estimate using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuriaes, and Risk Factors Study 2019. We find that pollution remains responsible for approximately 9 million deaths per year, corresponding to one in six deaths worldwide. Reductions have occurred in the number of deaths attributable to the types of pollution associated with extreme poverty. However, these reductions in deaths from household air pollution and water pollution are offset by increased deaths attributable to ambient air pollution and toxic chemical pollution (ie, lead). Deaths from these modern pollution risk factors, which are the unintended consequence of industrialisation and urbanisation, have risen by 7% since 2015 and by over 66% since 2000. Despite ongoing efforts by UN agencies, committed groups, committed individuals, and some national governments (mostly in high-income countries), little real progress against pollution can be identified overall, particularly in the low-income and middle-income countries, where pollution is most severe. Urgent attention is needed to control pollution and prevent pollution-related disease, with an emphasis on air pollution and lead poisoning, and a stronger focus on hazardous chemical pollution. Pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss are closely linked. Successful control of these conjoined threats requires a globally supported, formal science–policy interface to inform intervention, influence research, and guide funding. Pollution has typically been viewed as a local issue to be addressed through subnational and national regulation or, occasionally, using regional policy in higher-income countries. Now, however, it is increasingly clear that pollution is a planetary threat, and that its drivers, its dispersion, and its effects on health transcend local boundaries and demand a global response. Global action on all major modern pollutants is needed. Global efforts can synergise with other global environmental policy programmes, especially as a large-scale, rapid transition away from all fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy is an effective strategy for preventing pollution while also slowing down climate change, and thus achieves a double benefit for planetary health.Probabilistic estimates of prenatal lead exposure at 195 toxic hotspots in low- and middle-income countries
Assessment of the prevalence of lead-based paint exposure risk in Jakarta, Indonesia
Conflicting conclusions or competing methodologies? Documenting soil lead pollution in Owino Uhuru, Kenya
Caravanos, J. (n.d.).Publication year
2019Journal title
Journal of Health and PollutionVolume
9Issue
21A meta-analysis of blood lead levels in India and the attributable burden of disease
Cost Effectiveness of Environmental Lead Risk Mitigation in Low-and Middle-Income Countries
Geo-Spatial Characterization of Soil Mercury and Arsenic at a High-Altitude Bolivian Gold Mine
AbstractJohnson, G. D., Pavilonis, B., Caravanos, J., & Grassman, J. (n.d.).Publication year
2018Journal title
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and ToxicologyVolume
100Issue
2Page(s)
259-264AbstractSoil mercury concentrations at a typical small-scale mine site in the Bolivian Andes were elevated (28–737 mg/kg or ppm) in localized areas where mercury amalgams were either formed or vaporized to release gold, but was not detectable beyond approximately 10 m from its sources. Arsenic was measurable, exceeding known background levels throughout the mine site (77–137,022 ppm), and was also measurable through the local village of Ingenio (36–1803 ppm). Although arsenic levels were high at all surveyed locations, its spatial pattern followed mercury, being highest where mercury was high.Lead intoxicated children in Kabwe, Zambia
AbstractBose-O’Reilly, S., Yabe, J., Makumba, J., Schutzmeier, P., Ericson, B., & Caravanos, J. (n.d.).Publication year
2018Journal title
Environmental ResearchVolume
165Page(s)
420-424AbstractKabwe is a lead contaminated mining town in Zambia. Kabwe has extensive lead contaminated soil and children in Kabwe ingest and inhale high quantities of this toxic dust. The aim of this paper is to analyze the health impact of this exposure for children. Health data from three existing studies were re-analyzed. Over 95% of children living in the most affected townships had high blood lead levels (BLLs) > 10 µg/dL. Approximately 50% of those children had BLLs ≥ 45 µg/dL. The existing data clearly establishes the presence of a severe environmental health crisis in Kabwe which warrants immediate attention.Pollution and global health – An agenda for prevention
Prevention-intervention strategies to reduce exposure to e-waste
AbstractHeacock, M., Trottier, B., Adhikary, S., Asante, K. A., Basu, N., Brune, M. N., Caravanos, J., Carpenter, D., Cazabon, D., Chakraborty, P., Chen, A., Barriga, F. D., Ericson, B., Fobil, J., Haryanto, B., Huo, X., Joshi, T. K., Landrigan, P., Lopez, A., … Suk, W. (n.d.).Publication year
2018Journal title
Reviews on Environmental HealthVolume
33Issue
2Page(s)
219-228AbstractAs one of the largest waste streams, electronic waste (e-waste) production continues to grow in response to global demand for consumer electronics. This waste is often shipped to developing countries where it is disassembled and recycled. In many cases, e-waste recycling activities are conducted in informal settings with very few controls or protections in place for workers. These activities involve exposure to hazardous substances such as cadmium, lead, and brominated flame retardants and are frequently performed by women and children. Although recycling practices and exposures vary by scale and geographic region, we present case studies of e-waste recycling scenarios and intervention approaches to reduce or prevent exposures to the hazardous substances in e-waste that may be broadly applicable to diverse situations. Drawing on parallels identified in these cases, we discuss the future prevention and intervention strategies that recognize the difficult economic realities of informal e-waste recycling.Characterization and risk of exposure to elements from artisanal gold mining operations in the Bolivian Andes
Environmental contamination in Nigeria
Caravanos, J. (n.d.).Publication year
2017Journal title
Journal of Health and PollutionVolume
7Issue
13Page(s)
1Burden of disease resulting from lead exposure at toxic waste sites in Argentina, Mexico and Uruguay
Estimating the Prevalence of Toxic Waste Sites in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
AbstractDowling, R., Caravanos, J., Grigsby, P., Rivera, A., Ericson, B., Amoyaw-Osei, Y., Akuffo, B., & Fuller, R. (n.d.).Publication year
2016Journal title
Annals of Global HealthVolume
82Issue
5Page(s)
700-710AbstractBackground Exposure to heavy metals at contaminated industrial and mining sites, known also as hot spots, is a significant source of toxic exposure and adverse health outcomes in countries around the world. The Toxic Sites Identification Program (TSIP) developed by Pure Earth, a New York–based nongovernmental organization, is the only systematic effort to catalogue contaminated sites globally. To date, TSIP has identified and catalogued 3282 sites in low- and middle-income countries. The TSIP methodology is not designed to survey all contaminated sites in a country. Rather sites are prioritized based on their perceived impact on human health, and only a limited number of the most highly hazardous sites are surveyed. The total number of contaminated sites globally and the fraction of contaminated sites captured by TSIP is not known. Objective To determine the TSIP site capture rate, the fraction of contaminated sites in a country catalogued by TSIP. Methods Ghana was selected for this analysis because it is a rapidly industrializing lower middle income country with a heterogeneous industrial base, a highly urban population (51%), and good public records systems. To develop an estimate of the fraction of sites in Ghana captured by TSIP, assessors targeted randomly selected geographic quadrats for comprehensive assessment using area and population statistics from the Ghana Statistical Service. Investigators physically walked all accessible streets in each quadrat to visually identify all sites. Visual identification was supplemented by field-based confirmation with portable x-ray fluorescence instruments to test soils for metals. To extrapolate from survey findings to develop a range of estimates for the entire country, the investigators used 2 methodologies: a “bottom-up” approach that first estimated the number of waste sites in each region and then summed these regional subtotals to develop a total national estimate; and a “top-down” method that estimated the total number of sites in Ghana and then allocated these sites to each region. Both methods used cluster random sampling principles. Findings The investigators identified 72 sites in the sampled quadrats. Extrapolating from these findings to the entire country, the first methodology estimated that there are 1561 sites contaminated by heavy metals in Ghana (confidence interval [CI]: 1134-1987), whereas the second estimated 1944 sites (CI: 812-3075). The estimated total number of contaminated sites in Ghana is thus 7-9 times the number of sites captured through TSIP. On a population basis, it was estimated that there are between 31 and 115 contaminated sites per million inhabitants in Ghana. Conclusions The findings of this study indicate that the TSIP methodology provides a sound statistical basis for policy formulation. The statistical approaches used in this study can be replicated in other countries to improve estimates of the prevalence of contaminated sites. This information provides important input to calculations of the global burden of disease attributable to hazardous exposures at contaminated sites.Estimating the prevalence of toxic waste sites in low- and middle-income countries: a Ghanaian case study
Dowling, R., Caravanos, J., & Ericson, B. (n.d.).Publication year
2016Journal title
Environmental Monitoring and AssessmentThe Global Burden of Lead Toxicity Attributable to Informal Used Lead-Acid Battery Sites
The prevalence of toxic hotspots in former Soviet countries
Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks in 188 countries, 1990-2013: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013
Failed generating bibliography.AbstractPublication year
2015Journal title
The LancetVolume
386Issue
10010Page(s)
2287-2323AbstractBackground: The Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor study 2013 (GBD 2013) is the first of a series of annual updates of the GBD. Risk factor quantification, particularly of modifiable risk factors, can help to identify emerging threats to population health and opportunities for prevention. The GBD 2013 provides a timely opportunity to update the comparative risk assessment with new data for exposure, relative risks, and evidence on the appropriate counterfactual risk distribution. Methods: Attributable deaths, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) have been estimated for 79 risks or clusters of risks using the GBD 2010 methods. Risk-outcome pairs meeting explicit evidence criteria were assessed for 188 countries for the period 1990-2013 by age and sex using three inputs: risk exposure, relative risks, and the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL). Risks are organised into a hierarchy with blocks of behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks at the first level of the hierarchy. The next level in the hierarchy includes nine clusters of related risks and two individual risks, with more detail provided at levels 3 and 4 of the hierarchy. Compared with GBD 2010, six new risk factors have been added: handwashing practices, occupational exposure to trichloroethylene, childhood wasting, childhood stunting, unsafe sex, and low glomerular filtration rate. For most risks, data for exposure were synthesised with a Bayesian metaregression method, DisMod-MR 2.0, or spatial-temporal Gaussian process regression. Relative risks were based on meta-regressions of published cohort and intervention studies. Attributable burden for clusters of risks and all risks combined took into account evidence on the mediation of some risks such as high body-mass index (BMI) through other risks such as high systolic blood pressure and high cholesterol. Findings: All risks combined account for 57·2% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 55·8-58·5) of deaths and 41·6% (40·1-43·0) of DALYs. Risks quantified account for 87·9% (86·5-89·3) of cardiovascular disease DALYs, ranging to a low of 0% for neonatal disorders and neglected tropical diseases and malaria. In terms of global DALYs in 2013, six risks or clusters of risks each caused more than 5% of DALYs: dietary risks accounting for 11·3 million deaths and 241·4 million DALYs, high systolic blood pressure for 10·4 million deaths and 208·1 million DALYs, child and maternal malnutrition for 1·7 million deaths and 176·9 million DALYs, tobacco smoke for 6·1 million deaths and 143·5 million DALYs, air pollution for 5·5 million deaths and 141·5 million DALYs, and high BMI for 4·4 million deaths and 134·0 million DALYs. Risk factor patterns vary across regions and countries and with time. In sub-Saharan Africa, the leading risk factors are child and maternal malnutrition, unsafe sex, and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing. In women, in nearly all countries in the Americas, north Africa, and the Middle East, and in many other high-income countries, high BMI is the leading risk factor, with high systolic blood pressure as the leading risk in most of Central and Eastern Europe and south and east Asia. For men, high systolic blood pressure or tobacco use are the leading risks in nearly all high-income countries, in north Africa and the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. For men and women, unsafe sex is the leading risk in a corridor from Kenya to South Africa. Interpretation: Behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks can explain half of global mortality and more than one-third of global DALYs providing many opportunities for prevention. Of the larger risks, the attributable burden of high BMI has increased in the past 23 years. In view of the prominence of behavioural risk factors, behavioural and social science research on interventions for these risks should be strengthened. Many prevention and primary care policy options are available now to act on key risks.Lead exposure: A pending task in Mexico
Téllez-Rojo, M. M., & Caravanos, J. (n.d.).Publication year
2015Journal title
Salud Publica de MexicoVolume
57Issue
2Page(s)
115-116Protecting communities by remediating polluted sites worldwide
Spatial associations between contaminated land and socio demographics in Ghana
A simplified risk-ranking system for prioritizing toxic pollution sites in low- and middle-income countries
AbstractCaravanos, J., Gualtero, S., Dowling, R., Ericson, B., Keith, J., Hanrahan, D., & Fuller, R. (n.d.).Publication year
2014Journal title
Annals of Global HealthVolume
80Issue
4Page(s)
278-285AbstractBackground In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), chemical exposures in the environment due to hazardous waste sites and toxic pollutants are typically poorly documented and their health impacts insufficiently quantified. Furthermore, there often is only limited understanding of the health and environmental consequences of point source pollution problems, and little consensus on how to assess and rank them. The contributions of toxic environmental exposures to the global burden of disease are not well characterized. Objectives The aim of this study was to describe the simple but effective approach taken by Blacksmith Institute's Toxic Sites Identification Program to quantify and rank toxic exposures in LMICs. This system is already in use at more than 3000 sites in 48 countries such as India, Indonesia, China, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine. Methods A hazard ranking system formula, the Blacksmith Index (BI), takes into account important factors such as the scale of the pollution source, the size of the population possibly affected, and the exposure pathways, and is designed for use reliably in low-resource settings by local personnel provided with limited training. Findings Four representative case studies are presented, with varying locations, populations, pollutants, and exposure pathways. The BI was successfully applied to assess the extent and severity of environmental pollution problems at these sites. Conclusions The BI is a risk-ranking tool that provides direct and straightforward characterization, quantification, and prioritization of toxic pollution sites in settings where time, money, or resources are limited. It will be an important and useful tool for addressing toxic pollution problems in LMICs. Although the BI does not have the sophistication of the US Environmental Protection Agency's Hazard Ranking System, the case studies presented here document the effectiveness of the BI in the field, especially in low-resource settings. Understanding of the risks posed by toxic pollution sites helps assure better use of resources to manage sites and mitigate risks to public health. Quantification of these hazards is an important input to assessments of the global burden of disease.