Community-Level Analysis of Drinking Water Data Highlights the Importance of Drinking Water Metrics for the State, Federal Environmental Health Justice Priorities in the United States

Datos Bibliográficos

ID15480368
AutoresUloma Igara Uche (0000-0003-1887-3419, Media Working Group, autor de correspondencia), Sydney Evans (0009-0008-7538-6004, Media Working Group, autor de correspondencia), Soren Rundquist (Media Working Group), Chris Campbell (0000-0001-7749-8538, Media Working Group), Olga V Naidenko (0000-0002-1594-5766, Media Working Group)
Año2021
Volumen18
Número19
Páginas10401-10401
Fecha de publicación2021-10-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
EditorialMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph181910401
PMID34639699
OpenAlexW3202445022
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas16

Research studies analyzing the geospatial distribution of air pollution and other types of environmental contamination documented the persistence of environmental health disparities between communities. Due to the shortage of publicly available data, only limited research has been published on the geospatial distribution of drinking water pollution. Here we present a framework for the joint consideration of community-level drinking water data and demographic data. Our analysis builds on a comprehensive data set of drinking water contaminant occurrence for the United States for 2014-2019 and the American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2015-2019) from the U.S. Census Bureau. Focusing on the U.S. states of California and Texas for which geospatial data on community water system service boundaries are publicly available, we examine cumulative cancer risk for water served by community water systems of different sizes relative to demographic characteristics for the populations served by these water systems. In both California and Texas, greater cumulative cancer risk was observed for water systems serving communities with a higher percentage of Hispanic/Latino and Black/African American community members. This investigation demonstrates that it is both practical and essential to incorporate and expand the drinking water data metrics in the analysis of environmental pollution and environmental health. The framework presented here can support the development of public policies to advance environmental health justice priorities on state and federal levels in the U.S

Environmental health · Environmental justice · Environmental planning · Occupational safety and health · Political science · State (computer science · Air Quality and Health Impacts · Computer Science · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities · Environmental Science · Fecal contamination and water quality · Law · Medicine