California Regional Exposure Study, Region 3 (CARE-3)

The California Regional Exposure (CARE) Study measured and compared environmental chemicals in people across the state, one region at a time. CARE-3 collected samples in early 2020. Due to the COVID-19 emergency, field work was stopped in March 2020. At that point, a total of 530 residents had been invited, 323 people had enrolled (61%), and 90 participants (17%) had completed all study steps. The 90 participants donated blood and urine samples and completed surveys to identify potential sources of exposure to chemicals.

Samples from the CARE-3 participants were tested for ten metals (including arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury), twelve perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), nine phenols (including bisphenol A, parabens, and triclosan), and triclocarban. For more information on these chemicals, you can view Biomonitoring California’s fact sheets.

The CARE-3 participants were not representative of the region and the sample size was small (n = 90). We are not able to weight the samples to adequately reflect the population of San Diego and Orange counties. Thus, the CARE-3 results are not generalizable to the regional population.

We would like to acknowledge local community groups, organizations, and our study participants for their contributions to our work in San Diego and Orange counties.