Kevin Patterson joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss uranium exposure science, and his own family’s personal experience with the toxic metal.
Patterson, a PhD student in Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, also talks about what healthy, respectful partnerships between researchers and tribal communities look like, and his love of running.
The Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast is a biweekly podcast featuring the stories and big ideas from past and present fellows, as well as others in the field. You can see all of the past episodes here.
Listen below to our discussion with Patterson, and subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, Spotify, or Stitcher.
Transcript
Brian Bienkowski
All right, I am super excited to be joined by Kevin Patterson. Kevin, how are you doing today?
Kevin Patterson
Hi Brian, I’m doing pretty well. Yeah.
Brian Bienkowski
And where are you today?
Kevin Patterson
I’m in New Haven, Connecticut.
Brian Bienkowski
And speaking of space, you are not originally from the East Coast. You are from the Navajo Nation, growing up in New Mexico near the tribe’s reservation. So tell me about this place that you grew up. Tell me about your upbringing and how it shaped you.
Kevin Patterson
Yeah. So you’re right that I grew up in a town called Farmington, New Mexico. Town maybe like up for debate here now because with every year, Farmington, every time I go back, it feels likemy hometown is growing a little bit bigger each time. I think technically, by definition, it’s a city. And probably one of the larger sort of metro areas for a couple hundred miles, you know, around I think the next sort of equal size city could be like Durango, 45 minutes north across the border in Colorado, but I grew up in Farmington. It’s a border town to my reservation, the Navajo Nation. And I feel like there was no sort of separation between the two. Until really getting moving through like middle school and high school and coming to understand that some of my friends like had never been to the reservation. And even though it’s like 15 minutes away from where our school was. So it sort of created this separation of an understanding that, you know, this was one place and then Farmington was sort of its own thing, which I previously hadn’t really thought of, that spatially before that difference. And so, I think I had a great childhood growing up in Farmington. I grew up going to Catholic school and then went, then went into public school for middle school and high school. But I think the changes that Farmington has had, from you know, its early inception of when, you know, the town was founded, and then to now has certainly become this kind of space where a lot more, I would say like a lot more, Natives have been moving into the city, but has always been primarily supported by, you know, the reservation that’s there with people coming in to commute for buying, you know, groceries or supplies for the week or next two weeks. And then also just the industries that have existed there since I was a kid with oil and gas, oil and natural gas and so, yeah.
Brian Bienkowski
So I think we’re here a lot about how if we went back to some tribal teachings, tribals ways of tribal ways of life, that we would be better off environmentally and I, I’m painting with a broad brush, but specifically talking to your experience, I don’t know how much cultural teachings were a part of your childhood. But can you talk about some of the similarities and intersections that you see with the Navajo cultural teachings and the broader mission of environmental justice that you work on now?
Kevin Patterson
Yeah, I think like my, you know, my upbringing from my mom’s side, my, my grandmother or my shimásání really was. And I would say, my grandfather too before he passed, through them to my mom, then to me, a lot of his teachings about how we interact with the environment, the way we should see the environment, as we see ourselves that these things are not so mutually exclusive when we talk about, you know, what happens even globally, to the environment. Because what eventually gets put at stake is like, you know, our health involved with those cycles that are both, you know, naturally happening, but also sped up through, you know, anthropogenic activity that’s occurring every day. So I don’t quite like, integrate into, or I don’t do it as well, right now, and starting out in mind. So I just started my first year my program, and that is sort of a question that I’ve been trying to kind of figure out more of, like, were these oral teachings, these oral traditions, this sense of, cultural identity sort of fits in, or if it does fit in into the work that I do. And my advisor really has helped and, you know, putting into perspective that all knowledge and like all things and a similar teaching that I think my grandmother has always instilled in my family that you know, they’re these all systems of knowledge are so important to any of the work that we do. That one is not a, or one doesn’t necessarily have like a hierarchy over the other when we talk about the same thing. When we’re talking about like, how these like in my work specifically, like, you know, the composition of like heavy metals, whether it be in like groundwater, well water, or in the food that we eat. We can think about it, of course, in these more nuanced and heavier scientific terms of, you know, what? What is mechanistic, like the mechanisms like what’s happening when we ingest it and the dangers of that. But it’s not so I feel a different, different stories and being painted when we talk in terms of like, what has always been known through the way we respect the environment, and the way we understand how, like what is in the environment, and in mostly through all these early oral traditions and from the creation stories in Navajo culture, to the way we conduct ourselves through kinship, in our families, that it is all at a level of respect. And I think it’s a way that I’ve been trying to like further, you know, find ways to combine in the work that I do that, hopefully, by the next time you ask, I can do so in a much more eloquent answer in a more defined way.
Brian Bienkowski
Now, that makes… What you said makes a lot of sense, especially the beginning portion reminds me of a quote that I really like and I can’t remember who it’s ascribed to, but that “we are nature too,” that people aren’t nature do. I think we often think of ourselves as separate and we look out there and that’s nature, but we are nature too and I think that’s, that’s an important point, especially for someone who’s, who’s looking at exposure science, like you are, and I want to talk about some of your work. But before we get to that, what is a defining moment or event that has shaped your identity up to this point?
Kevin Patterson
Yeah, I think what with what has kind of pushed me to the work that I do now and has been a big source of like, why want to look at, you know, these understand not just the mechanism of like, what causes what but you know, get a broader sense of like, how this affects the community that I come from, my mother in, when I was about, like, in the eighth grade, I think it was back in like 2009, she was diagnosed with breast cancer at that time, and I hadn’t quite like, come to understand, like, first, like, how does one get breast cancer, and then also finding kind of like this, or at least the time understanding that like, this was just something that happens. And that may be like, more motivated by like, these individual factors of like lifestyle. But, you know, through learning more about or, you know, critically understanding how there’s much more to the picture of beyond these l factors that can that can, you know, give rise to certain conditions like this. And I started to think more about like, environmentally, like, what, what are sources of, you know, these, what could be environmental sources of cases like this, because I remember, hearing from my mom and from my aunts that they also like, had heard of, or their friends with people that were getting other cases of cancer, be that mostly breast cancer. And I just remember, at this time that there was I was, like, thinking about, like, all these people, I mean, very close to my relatives, but like, thinking about, like, you know, what was the source of this? And like, is this something that just happens? And questions that I didn’t really quite connect until, in my later years of undergrad, and thinking about, you know, the history of not just, you know, where I was situated, but also my family and the movement of, you know, the exposures that they came into contact with over time. So, my grandfather was a uranium mine worker at the time, and along with his brothers and relatives, they either worked in cases daily, directly in the mines, or, you know, more tangential to it. And often without, you know, protective equipment. And so my aunt used to tell me stories of like, how her my grandmother used to, like, take his clothes at the end of the day, hand wash them, and, you know, and then prepare meals, you know, they’re after mixing. So, you know, there’s this, like daily contact of this exposure that was happening, that I just like, didn’t I, you know, it just sort of like started clicking, like, these. The understanding at the time too, for my family and the community, there was no warning, or there was no sort of Express precaution about what they were doing. So into today, and thinking about how, you know, I mean it was so long since then. So, you know, I can’t say like how much of that exposure is can be attributed to the rise of certain cases, such as my mom. But nonetheless, it is still a question that comes to mind when I think about how my mom’s breast cancer case that there are other families and other people in my community and others alike, that are experiencing, that have experienced the same thing. But when we think about the reasons for I think the environment is less of what comes at the forefront of the cause. And I think framing that now is more important than ever.
Brian Bienkowski
It can you speak in a broader sense about the dangers of uranium, specifically, you were talking about uranium and family exposures, and that comes from a deeply personal place. So what are some of the kind of health dangers and exposure risks of uranium and why are some Western tribes at such a higher risk for exposure?
Kevin Patterson
Yeah. So I think I gave I provided a pretty classic example of like when people think about uranium exposure is you know, the cancerous effects of it through its radioactivity. But a lot of my research actually is more concerned with understanding the chemical effect of uranium. And I think with the the general understanding is, I think most people kind of situate themselves as like, this is something that, you know, the Southwest or like regions where uranium mining is occurring that this is, you know, that’s sort of their problem, or like, this doesn’t quite concern me, but actually, and through enhanced data that has shown that it is it is well understood that, that everyone is sort of exposed to very low doses, whether that is through the food that we eat, or the water that we drink, and inhalation is kind of more of a concern like ambient, air exposure in places in the Southwest where, you know, it kind of just combines and with certain like particulate matter, and that has been a research and for a lot of institutions situated up there looking at those air pollution exposures. But when we think about like the, the, the chemical effect of uranium, we know that it has, at high doses and animal models, a pretty adverse effects primarily the kidneys. And so a lot of there’s been cases associated with chronic kidney disease. And even further that, it deposits into bone mostly, but we do excrete like, most of it, most uranium that we do ingest. And so it’s not necessarily here at all, like cause any alarm for the general public. But when we think about like those exposed to elevated levels, chronically over the life course, I think that’s where it’s a little bit more murky and understanding what is happening here in these communities, primarily communities that have had histories of, you know, uranium mining in their areas, not just native, but like, a lot of other rural communities that are faced similarly with these, with a reality of having like stories similar to mine, of, you know, this was happening, and they didn’t know any, like, they didn’t know any better about what was happening, what they were doing to their health or like, the possible impact. So that is sort of the field that I or the work that I do, and kind of understanding these questions of who is most at, you know, risk for exposure and not just exposure itself, but like this elevated exposure, and further understanding mechanistically like what is happening.
Brian Bienkowski
And I should say that it’s not just a Southwest problem, as you said, when I moved into my house, I’m in a rural area, we had elevated uranium in my water here, actually, and I am in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula pretty far away from the Southwest. So we actually put it in a reverse osmosis system that took care of it, but it was higher than recommended levels. So test people, if you’re, if you’re on a private well. Test, test your water. Don’t Don’t be alarmed. But but you should test. So Kevin, what is some of the… can you give us a sense of some of the stuff that you’re working on now? What are some research projects that you’re currently engaged in?
Kevin Patterson
Yeah. So as I mentioned before, I’m a trainee with the Columbia Northern Plains Supefund research program. And there’s where a lot of my work is situated, in just understanding heavy-metal exposure through water primarily. So that was a great point that you made earlier about private water well, testing currently in the US private wells aren’t under EPA regulation. So if for and I feel that a lot we know that that impacts a lot of people living in more rural areas across the US that are sourcing their water from private wells. So and these are areas of like both this unknown-known occurrence of like elevated heavy metal exposure, whether that is just uranium or arsenic. That compared to counties with, you know, public data on their community water systems that are regulated by EPA, the EPA. Private well water tends to be at a higher occurrence for a lot of these, are just at a higher concentration. So it brings more into perspective understanding. We do know a lot, of course of like, you know, these not just like inorganic contaminants, but a lot of organic contaminants and well, water. But typically, I think a lot of research has put a single exposure or contaminant of concern to like a single outcome. And obviously, as we know, that we are exposed to many things every day. And it’s the co-occurrence and the mixtures of these various toxics and heavy metals that we’re trying to understand its impact and its rise to certain outcomes of interest. But also to mitigate that and eventually eradicate the disparity and people accessing safe and clean drinking water.
Brian Bienkowski
We talked about uranium mining, which is a pretty clear example of an extractive industry. But another kind of way that there’s been extractive relationships is when research is done in and around tribal communities, it’s often been done in an extractive way and not with the community in mind. So I’m wondering, when you think of healthy, respectful partnerships between researchers and tribal communities, what does that look like? And do you have any examples of that being done well?
Kevin Patterson
I think a great example of the researcher to any sort of tribal nation or tribal organization, collaboration that I know of, at least at the forefront of the work that I do right now, because a lot of my work is situated through this cohort study, but it’s called the Strong Herd study. And currently, as far as I know, it’s the largest epidemiologic study of cardiovascular disease in native populations, they recruit from 13 Different tribes, and North and South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Arizona. And it has really come out to be this… in some ways, like some authority and kind of bringing into perspective, these environmental contaminants that exist, and how mechanistically they are kind of occurring in this population, what is elevated there, but also coming to better illustrate, you know, what can be done as an intervention in water has been one of the direct pathways of, you know, a lot of these exposures that are occurring. And so I know that through this initiative, that there have been water interventions that have taken place, and that the study of the intervention itself is underway. But I feel that this is such a great example of both including the tribal members, the participants, there the the data sovereignty, there’s like it, it the tribe owns it. And so I think when we have to think about like, how, like ownership in general, when it comes to these large studies, it’s you would think, like, uh, you know, maybe it’s the funding organization here through NIH, or through the research team themselves or the researchers. But I find that like with, you know, honest and healthy collaboration begins, starts with understanding that the community that you worked with, especially tribes are, you know, really the authority over like, how their data is used and what questions are approved to be investigated and I just find that that is something that is going on with I’m sure with a lot of other similar studies and similar partnerships but with every the everyday work that I do that is a pretty strong example there of what we can learn from and continue to emulate but also like the lessons learned from from that, so.
Brian Bienkowski
So Kevin, what are some ways that you would like to or that you’ve seen others communicate science and findings to tribal communities? I’m especially thinking of those who may only speak their traditional language. And maybe that’s how they consume information. What what do you think about this front? If you’re seeing it done, or if you’d like to do it in the future yourself?
Kevin Patterson
I think in an initiative that has been undertaken, maybe not necessarily– because I really have only sort of, I really only operate in the space of academia right now with research that I do. But outside of that, I know that there is a lot of research that is primarily community-driven in terms of like, whether it’s a tribal health board, or if it’s a local tribal health related organization. And at the forefront of that, like, the level of communication there is already being it’s at, its at the like, the question formulation, it’s like the community is so involved at that point, that I find that that, at least from my understanding, that is like the best way for any work out of that is communicated… they, because they’re already in the picture, they’re already in the way that the question has been designed. And as the research carries forward, in the case, when it comes to like, the work, like, from whatever I would publish, or others, my peers, like a lay summary report has to be produced. And that has to be proved and communicated by representatives on, for instance, in the strong heart, there is an over the, there’s a board that oversees that. And so I think we can hope that like, you know, it’s communicated enough that there is a lay understanding to it. But I feel that as I’m coming more into this work and understanding, like what even like talking to my friends here about the work that I do, there, it’s a little hard for them to even, like, quite understand exactly like, what this result means or like, you know, what this method is doing. And so I I’m not quite at like that for myself at that stage to truly understand, especially when it comes to like tribal communities and communicating that and their respective languages. Like an example of, of the, you know, that particular both communication and translation recently with the past Navajo Nation administration, the executive director of the Department of Health, Dr. Joel Jim, when COVID happened, and I was watching the live broadcasted sessions happening at the Navajo Department of Health seminars and announcements. She was both speaking and Navajo and English. And there was also another, others there to translate to, to both, like, delegate representatives across the reservation, to then also, you know, get further word out to their constituents, but I just, I think it’s such a imperfect way of communicating what I know through my training in and even like, more, like both, like you provide the lay summary, but then translating that even into Navajo. Take some steps even further break down, like maybe certain sentences or phrases that don’t have any direct translation. And so maybe you’re not fully getting to, like, convey maybe the alarm or the concern and what your message is or what the result is itself.
Brian Bienkowski
And Kevin, what is well, I should say real quick, so at EHN we have been translating a lot of our work into Spanish. And I can tell you to try to capture the complexities and nuance of language and communicate the same thing in two languages is something that I did not understand when we first started doing this. And that of course, is is just one language and now you’re dealing with how many different tribal languages and so totally understand that it is a huge undertaking to try to communicate in different languages and stuff, but I appreciate your appreciate response. And I I like to ask folks, because this work can be hard to deal with pollutants and communities and illness. What makes you optimistic?
Kevin Patterson
Yeah, I’m really optimistic with, you know, coming into this field, I think there’s a lot of outside of it, that he can sort of seem Doomsday, especially with the recent pandemic. And when I tell people that I do, or I’m being trained in epidemiology, that there’s an immediate, like, kind of hesitation or like breath taken. And I have to then say, like, oh, well, I mean, specifically, you know, I look at these environmental contaminants on population health. But I’m optimistic about the direction of the field, just because it’s so interdisciplinary with forming these collaborations with other departments and, you know, other researchers in various other fields of study, not even just like situated in STEM, that it takes the work that we do to I think points in which I want to even consider that our main make even a greater impact or, or more direct line of impact to, I think, ultimately, the communities that we’re trying to improve when it comes to just in specifically against my work of accessing safe water, clean water. But even the broader sensors living and in healthier environments. That, I think, obviously, with, like, when we think about all these exposures, and like, what can I do? I think it just by part of like, the the partnerships, and the community work that does happen, is what is pushing me through, you know, continuing to, like, investigate, like, what’s happening with my communities and others alike, because I think you can I feel some days, I can get siloed into thinking like, wow, like, what, you know, where we’re, where are we going at this point? And we’re like, you know, or how, in my lifetime, like, will we come to this, you know, resolution? But I think, putting myself more presently, and thinking about, like, all the incredible work that is happening right now, but work that is jointly supported by multiple different people from different perspectives and angles of the work that I think I know that we will get there to a resolution, and that that’s what makes me optimistic.
Brian Bienkowski
For sure. And I have found writing about the environment for more than a decade now that change is incremental. And even though you want things to change overnight, it’s important to take a step back and realize that things are hopefully in most spaces inching along. So Kevin, I want to give readers a quick peek behind the scenes. So we were both at a retreat for this cohort. And I happen to know, because I was out on a run that you were out on a run one morning, and I believe we were the only two separately running before the retreat started. So I wanted to ask you, if you get a chance to run a lot these days?
Kevin Patterson
yeah, now I tried to make it a habit, at least like two to three times a week that I’m days when I’m not in New York that I am running. When I did get back here, it’s such a great like, moment for me to just clear my head and to, you know, not be so muddled and both, you know, the atmosphere, what is, you know, the city in New York, but even you know, here and being in my apartment, that it’s a nice time to just kind of have that moment of meditation.
Brian Bienkowski
For sure, I cycle a lot more than I run. And I can say, when I go on a bike ride, I have to put on all of this gear and weird shoes, and tight clothes, and I love it. But there’s something about just putting on your tennis shoes, and going out for a run no matter where you’re at whether you’re traveling at a conference or at your house. It’s just a very simple, beautiful way to decompress. So I totally agree. So Kevin, this has been a whole lot of fun to learn more about you and your research and we are we have reached what I consider the fun portion of things and we’re near the end. So before my last question, I have three rapid fire questions where you can just answer with one word or a phrase. The thing that makes me most unique
Kevin Patterson
is my friends say I am the most Aquarius person they know. I don’t quite fully understand what that means. But I’m not saying that that makes me unique in any way. By I’m sure there are many Aquarius is that may be listening to this podcast. But it is something that I hear a lot so that I mean that’s the first thing that came to mind.
Brian Bienkowski
Now I’m going to now I’m going to have to google characteristics of an Aquarius after this. Something that always makes me smile is
Kevin Patterson
We recently just got, well, not so recent, but we got a little cat. Her name is Kashi. And you know, she can both be like, getting so mad sometimes. But I think at the end of it always brings me into a smile when I think about like, oh, like we’re I’m doing this whole day, you know, of a commute or like doing whatever, in the city and then but thinking about like, oh, yeah, well, I get to come back to my cat. And usually, that’ll always bring a smile to my face.
Brian Bienkowski
For sure, as someone who has recently dealt with aging pets and saying goodbye, I can tell you to enjoy, enjoy the hell out of the early days, even if it’s occasionally frustrating because you will miss them. If I had an entire day free from responsibilities, I would likely
Kevin Patterson
I mean, I I think honestly, I would, and this was maybe this is controversial, but I likely just not do anything. I feel like I do way too much every single day. And so it would be nice, you know? You knowactually, I think in my my phrasing of like, nothing is more of me going to my favorite spot in New Haven, which is Atticus on Orange Street. It’s this market there. And I used to last summer, early in the morning, like if I if it was after a run or if it’s just me having to be there that I love just getting a coffee sitting outside and reading a really good graphic novel.
Brian Bienkowski
Yes, well, that sounds lovely. I’m a fellow graphic novel lover. Which brings me to my last question. And it doesn’t have to be a graphic novel. But what is the last book that you read for fun?
Kevin Patterson
Yeah, I mean, in this case, they will be a graphic novel for me because I sometimes I need some light reading in my life. And I’ve always loved just having illustrations to what I have, mostly with getting that out of graphic novel reading. So the last one I read that I thought was really great, was “The nice house on the lake.” I am a big fan of just like this post-apocalyptic, you know, setting of just understanding how people navigate the world at that moment. And as my close friends would argue that, you know, in some cases, maybe we are living in one right now. I just I find that just within that genre in graphic novel reading that. Any any book is for sure going to be on my list.
Brian Bienkowski
Kevin, this has been so much fun. Thank you so much for joining the podcast today.
Kevin Patterson
Thank you. Thanks for having me.