Lead Contamination in Drinking Water and Associated Housing Characteristics in the Mississippi Delta Kristie Willett, Stephanie Otts, John Green, Lynn Woo, Alex Fratesi, Rachel Haggard, Cathy Janasie, Cammi Thornton, Josephine Rhymes
LeadContaminationinDrinkingWaterandAssociatedHousingCharacteristicsintheMississippiDelta
KristieWillett,StephanieOtts,JohnGreen,LynnWoo,AlexFratesi,RachelHaggard,CathyJanasie,CammiThornton,JosephineRhymes
Lead(Pb)
Oneofoldestmoststudiedtoxicants,ubiquitousSources:smelters,coalburning,leadedgas,pipesesp.ifpHlessthan6.4,potteryglazes,paint
http://www.epa.gov/lead/
ProjectBackground• UMLeadinDrinkingWaterTeamformedin2016.Co-ledbyJohnGreen(sociology),StephanieOtts(law),andKristieWillett(toxicology).
• ORSPInvestmentGrantin2016toworkwithcommunitypartnersinMississippiDeltatoraiseawarenessoftheissueandcollect/analyzeresidentialwatersamples.
• MWRRIgrantin2017toassesseffectivenessofvariouscommunityengagementstrategies.
• ApproachedbyFoundationfortheMid-Southin2018toexpandworktoJacksontosupporteffortsofJacksonWaterCoalitionfundedin2018byUMCommunityWellbeingConstellation.
ResearchQuestions• Can multi-disciplinary, multi-method, andcommunity-basedapproaches to researchprovidemoredatatotestforpotentialleadexposure?
• Can these data be used to inform bettermonitoring,outreach,andpolicyreform?
• BasedonLCRviolations,ourworkhas focusedoncountiesinandcontiguoustotheMississippiDelta.
http://reic.uwcc.wisc.edu/water/
CommunityPartners• NewPathwaystoHealthInitiative,Tri-CountyWorkforceAlliance• JamesC.KennedyWellnessCenter• Right!FromtheStartProgramstaffandchurchpartners• MississippiStateUniversityExtension• HarvardLawSchoolMississippiDeltaProject/DeltaDirectionsConsortium• AaronE.HenryCommunityHealthCenterandDeltaHealthCenter
J.Rhymes
S.SnellRight!fromtheStartInitiative
J.Barrett
CommunityEngagement&WaterTestingProcess
If water lead concentrationis>5ppb,afilterisprovidedto resident. All participantsreceive their results andleadinfosheet.
Findings• 307householdshaveparticipatedintheprojectinsomeway
ü 214householdsrespondedtothesurveyandreturnedwatersamples
ü Datarepresents16countiesand50censustractswiththemajorityfromHumphreys(n=42)andCoahoma(n=39),thenPanola(n=26),Sunflower(n=20),Washington(n=20),Bolivar(n=19),andQuitman(n=17)counties
ü Percent bottle return from 8 different engagementapproachesrangedfrom49-100%withanaverageof70%.
ü Participantswithleadconcentrationsexceeding5ppb(n=10)receivedcertifiedNSF/ANSIStandard53filter.
Leadanddrinkingwaterhouseholdcharacteristics(Householdsreturningbothquestionnairesandwatersamples,Totaln=214)
CharacteristicsDeltaMS
f %
Housingtenure
Renters 61 30
Owners 134 65
Otherarrangement 12 5
Housingtype
House 162 78
Mobilehome 22 10
Apartment/townhouse 25 12
Knowwhenbuilt(yes) 113/206 54
Built1985orearlier(yes) 54/113 48
Pipeseverreplaced
Yes 34 17
Unsure 78 38
No 90 45
SourceofwaterPublicsystem 180 89Well 23 11
Usefilterfordrinkingwater(yes) 64/213 30
Usefilterforice(yes) 66/213 31
DrinkingwaterpHandleadconcentrationresults(ppb)
CharacteristicspH
(n=213)Lead(ppb)(n=214)
Mean 7.74 0.84
Median 7.82 0.30
Standarddeviation 0.52 1.86
Minimum-Maximum 5.84–9.13 nd–14.32
Pearson’scorrelationbetweenpHandleadconcentration -0.35
LeadConcentrationvs.WaterpHorYearHousingStructureWasBuilt
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
0 2 4 6 8 10
Aver
age
lead
con
cent
ratio
n (p
pb)
pH of water sample
JacksonMetroRegionDeltaandNorthernRegion
r=-0.35
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 Aver
age
lead
con
cent
ratio
n (p
pb)
Year housing structure was built
r=-0.23
Conclusions• Research revealed that some communities in Mississippi are
experiencingelevatedconcentrationsofleadintheirdrinkingwater.
• Neither water pH nor age of housing consistently predicted higherleadconcentrations.
• In a well-owner community event, 6 of the 20 samples had leadconcentrations above the FDA’s 5 ppb limit. The averagepHof thewellsampleswas6.97.
• http://nsglc.olemiss.edu/projects/lead-contamination/index.html
OngoingWork• Continue to informandempowerMississippi residents/parents tomake
behavioral choices in their own homes and communities throughresidentialandschooldrinkingwatertestingevents.
• Enhance community engagement in high risk exposurepopulations (e.g.JacksonMS,wellowners,andnewmothers).
• Assess programmatic features, such as implementation and outreachdifferences across the rural-urban continuum, to make scalablerecommendationsforthestateandnation.
For water: Filters certified by NSF International