(Press-News.org) When we determine which communities are more likely to get their water from contaminated supplies, median household income is not the best measure.
That’s according to a recent study led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin that found social factors — such as low population density, high housing vacancy, disability and race — can have a stronger influence than median household income on whether a community’s municipal water supply is more likely to have health-based water-quality violations. In general, rural communities and communities that grew up around large industries that have since left are most likely to face water-quality issues.
About 10% of community water systems in the contiguous United States have a reported health-based violation. The study’s findings are important because many state and federal agencies use median household income as the primary factor when deciding how to distribute funding meant to assist disadvantaged communities.
“As states are developing definitions and trying to prioritize disadvantaged communities, they should look at a number of different parameters and see which ones apply best for them,” said lead author Bridget Scanlon, a senior research scientist at the UT Bureau of Economic Geology. “The study offers a useful tool that lawmakers can use to learn more about how different types of social vulnerability are associated with different water-quality issues. This can then aid in coming up with lasting solutions that community water systems need to fix these issues.”
The study was published in Environmental Research Letters.
Scanlon and her collaborators were inspired to look into the connection between social vulnerability and water-quality violations due to the passage of new federal drinking water infrastructure laws. The new laws require states to allocate at least 49% of about $50 billion in federal funding to address water issues in disadvantaged communities.
But which communities are considered disadvantaged is often left up to state policymakers to decide, with most states opting to use median household income as the primary (or the only) factor, according to the study
The researchers tested how well median income matched up with water-quality violations reported during 2018-2020 in community water systems across the contiguous United States. It then compared the results with those from a new social vulnerability index created for the study that took 15 social factors into account. The study’s social index is modified from a similar index created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that’s used for identifying communities that may need more support during natural disasters and public health emergencies.
The index created by the researchers proved to be a better indicator, capturing three times as much of the population affected by community water-quality violations as median household income did. The results underscore the connection between social vulnerability and water quality. About 70% of people subjected to health-based water-quality violations were ranked among the most socially vulnerable, based on the index.
The study also highlighted the specific social factors that are connected to an increased probability of facing water-quality issues, and how they vary based on the specific water-quality issue at hand.
For example, most of the water-quality problems come from naturally occurring minerals seeping from the rocks — such as arsenic — and the byproducts of water treatment used to kill bacteria. Most of the communities facing these problems are in rural and deindustrialized areas. The index found that vacant housing, population density, and disability rate were the top three factors that most increased the probability of facing a health-based water-quality violation.
According to the study authors, many of the water-quality challenges are downstream of demographics, with many community water systems lacking the financial, managerial and technical abilities to address the water-quality issues.
The study was funded by the Environmental Protection Agency through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Jackson School of Geosciences. It was co-authored by Robert Reedy and Sarah Fakhreddine, both researchers at the Bureau of Economic Geology, and Gregory Pierce, a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles.
END
Water-quality risks linked more to social factors than money
2023-09-05
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Researchers use AI to find new magnetic materials without critical elements
2023-09-05
A team of scientists from Ames National Laboratory developed a new machine learning model for discovering critical-element-free permanent magnet materials. The model predicts the Curie temperature of new material combinations. It is an important first step in using artificial intelligence to predict new permanent magnet materials. This model adds to the team’s recently developed capability for discovering thermodynamically stable rare earth materials.
High performance magnets are essential for technologies such as wind energy, data storage, electric vehicles, ...
Aging alters pancreatic circadian rhythm
2023-09-05
“Overall, our study identified previously unknown circadian transcriptome reorganization of pancreas by aging [...]”
BUFFALO, NY- September 5, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 16, entitled, “Reorganization of pancreas circadian transcriptome with aging.”
The evolutionarily conserved circadian system allows organisms to synchronize internal processes with 24-h cycling environmental timing cues, ensuring optimal adaptation. Like other organs, the pancreas function is under circadian control. Recent evidence ...
Visualizing nerves with photoacoustic imaging
2023-09-05
Invasive medical procedures, such as surgery requiring local anesthesia, often involve the risk of nerve injury. During operation, surgeons may accidentally cut, stretch, or compress nerves, especially when mistaking them for some other tissue. This can lead to long-lasting symptoms in the patient, including sensory and motor problems. Similarly, patients receiving nerve blockades or other types of anesthesia can suffer from nerve damage if the needle is not placed at the correct distance from the targeted peripheral nerve.
Consequently, researchers have been trying to develop medical imaging techniques to mitigate the risk of nerve damage. For instance, ultrasound and magnetic resonance ...
Study of “revolving door” in Washington shows one-third of HHS appointees leave for industry jobs
2023-09-05
LOS ANGELES – Almost one-third of government appointees to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) leave to take jobs in private industry, according to a study by the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics and Harvard University.
The study, published in Health Affairs, is the first to quantify the personnel movement between health-care industries and the government agencies that regulate them, according to the authors. Although there are understandable reasons for people to move between the public and private sectors, the study notes that such a revolving door could make government agencies more vulnerable to pro-industry bias.
“Laws passed ...
DOACs reduce dementia risk in Asian AFib patients compared to traditional blood thinners
2023-09-05
The use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) was associated with a reduction in dementia risk compared to traditional blood thinners—like warfarin—in atrial fibrillation patients, particularly in Asian patients. According to a study published today in JACC: Asia, this benefit may reverse with increased age and necessitates further follow-up study.
“Asian patients are more likely to be sensitive to vitamin K antagonism, which puts them at high risk for bleeding events, contributing to dementia development ...
New research sheds light on origins of social behaviors
2023-09-05
ITHACA, N.Y. – Male fruit flies don’t usually like each other. Socially, they reject their fellow males and zero in on the females they discern via chemical receptors – or so scientists thought.
New research from Cornell University biologists suggests the fruit fly’s visual system, not just chemical receptors, are deeply involved with their social behaviors. The work sheds light on the possible origin of differences in human social behaviors, such as those seen in people with bipolar disorder ...
New Chagas research unravels decades-long mystery of how the tropical disease progresses
2023-09-05
New research from Tulane University may shed light on how parasite strain diversity can impact Chagas disease progression and severity.
Chagas, a lesser-known and studied tropical disease, is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi parasites, which are transmitted by kissing bugs. In the Americas, the disease affects 6 million people in 21 countries, with approximately 30,000 new cases each year. While most infected patients remain asymptomatic, about 20-40 percent of those infected will develop chronic heart disease ...
Electrifying heavy-duty vehicles could reduce environmental inequalities
2023-09-05
New simulations model traffic-related air pollution over the region surrounding Chicago, North America’s largest freight hub
In the simulations, the researchers modeled a scenario in which 30% of current on-road heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) were replaced by electric HDVs
Electrifying HDVs would substantially reduce air pollution and save hundreds of lives annually in the region, with particularly large health benefits in predominantly Black, Hispanic and Latinx communities
The region also would save nearly $6 billion annually in avoided ...
Large Kaiser Permanente study could lead to better management for patients with aortic stenosis
2023-09-05
The diagnosed severity of aortic stenosis strongly correlates with clinical outcomes, new Kaiser Permanente research shows. But the study also suggests that fine-tuning physician assessment of those patients with moderate aortic stenosis could help improve outcomes and better determine which patients might benefit from surgery.
The study found that patients diagnosed with moderate aortic stenosis have outcomes most similar to those categorized with mild aortic stenosis while only those with moderate-to-severe aortic stenosis had outcomes similar to those with ...
Landmark NIH grant awarded to School of Nursing and Health Studies
2023-09-05
The University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS) has been awarded an unprecedented $23.57 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to join the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.
The interdisciplinary grant, the largest award to date in the Coral Gables Campus’ history, is funding an ambitious project spearheaded by Hudson Santos, RN, PhD, FABMR, FAAN, the lead Principal Investigator and Vice Dean for Research Affairs, with Professor Michael Paidas, MD, chair of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicines Department of Obstetrics, ...