Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jul 2;19(13):8135. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19138135.
To address community-driven concerns about lead-contaminated drinking water in residential homes in the Greater Fifth Ward neighborhood in Northeast Houston, Texas utilizing participatory-based research. The study collected survey data and performed lead analysis on drinking water from residents’ homes. The Greater Fifth Ward is characterized as a majority-minority environmental justice community and is located within two confirmed cancer clusters. The residents of 172 homes completed a survey and had detectable lead levels in their water samples. Survey results indicated that more than half of the residents (58.2%) were concerned with the water quality and 42.9% rated the drinking water as poor. Water lead levels detected ranged from 0.01 to 22 µg/L. 10.9% of homes exceeding 1 µg/L, and one located exceeded the USEPA’s action limit of 15 µg/L. Homes built prior to 1978 without major renovation had significantly higher levels of lead in their drinking water compared to homes built after 1978 (p-value < 0.05). These findings demonstrate the need for lead testing of residential water in low socioeconomic-status communities, as well as demonstrating the benefits of community engagement and participatory research to address environmental health concerns.
为解决德克萨斯州休斯顿东北区大五区居民住宅中含铅饮用水的社区关注问题，我们采用了参与式研究方法。该研究收集了居民家中饮用水的调查数据并进行了铅分析。大五区是一个以少数民族为主的环境正义社区，位于两个已确认的癌症高发区。172 户居民完成了调查，他们的水样中检测出铅含量。调查结果显示，超过一半的居民（58.2%）对水质表示担忧，42.9%的居民认为饮用水质量较差。检测到的饮用水铅含量范围在 0.01 至 22μg/L 之间。10.9%的家庭超过 1μg/L，一个家庭的铅含量甚至超过了美国环保署规定的 15μg/L 行动限值。与 1978 年后建造的房屋相比，1978 年前建造且未经重大改造的房屋饮用水中铅含量明显更高（p 值<0.05）。这些发现表明，需要对社会经济地位较低的社区进行住宅用水铅检测，同时也证明了社区参与和参与式研究对于解决环境健康问题的益处。
