UK Colleges and Appalachian communities partner to reduce exposure to chemicals in drinking water

In the Environmental Health Chat podcast episode, Anna G. Hoover, Ph.D., UK College of Public Health (CPH) assistant professor and interim vice chair for education in Epidemiology and Environmental Health, and Nina McCoy, community scientist and retired high school biology teacher, speak about the importance of partnerships, trust-building, and community-engaged research for reducing health risks related to potential environmental threats.

Hoover goes on to describe historical concerns about drinking water, including environmental disasters, and how past organizational and interpersonal communication have contributed to a lack of trust in the region. According to Hoover, “Once that kernel of distrust is sown, it can really sprout quite quickly and become very difficult to weed out.”

A pilot study funded by the UK Center for Appalachian Research in the Environmental Sciences (UK-CARES) was conducted by community members in partnership with College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE) Professor Jason Unrine, Ph.D.

The pilot found that more than 80% of the people who were surveyed in Martin County drink bottled water, and more than 40% will not even cook with water from their tap. These numbers, Hoover said, are “an indication of where trust is to some extent.”

In the podcast, McCoy, who leads the community group Martin County Concerned Citizens, describes why they reached out to UK. When she and others had requested information from officials about what was in their water, McCoy said, “I just never really got a good answer to that question.”

Initially, the community members primarily worried about arsenic and other contaminants from coal. Instead, the study found DBPs, specifically trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids, which are commonly found in chlorinated drinking water.

Hoover, who herself is from Appalachian Tennessee coal country, sees community-engaged research as a way to rebuild lost trust.

Hoover and Unrine co-lead the current project, which centers on engaging residents to conduct research and communicate findings. McCoy and other community co-investigators connect UK scientists with local residents, then train those residents to collect monthly water samples from their homes.

The data will be helpful to Hoover and Unrine as they work with other UK scientists to model the changing levels and locations of disinfection byproducts in the public water systems of Martin and Letcher counties. The goal is to help water utilities reduce formation of DBPs during drinking water treatment and distribution.

The study also will identify how characteristics of individual homes affect DBP exposure from drinking water and inhalation of DBPs volatilized from tap water during cooking, bathing and cleaning.

Hoover said that this study gives Eastern Kentucky the chance to be a leader in solving problems that are common around the world. It's also a chance to rebuild trust between the community, government agencies, utilities and scientists.

Hoover says an important role for university scientists is helping meet the needs of the Commonwealth’s communities by providing data and evidence to support decision-making.