Understanding National Public Awareness of Emerging Pollutants
Mentor 1
Marcia Silva
Start Date
29-4-2022 9:00 AM
Description
Emerging contaminants are contaminants which are not federally regulated under the Clean Water Act. Many studies have investigated the potential health risks or levels of emerging contaminants in drinking water, although they have not linked public awareness with health risks and contaminant levels. Understanding how aware the public is of each contaminant is critical in understanding if there is a knowledge gap within the public over health risks. Additionally, each state has different emerging contaminants in the water supply, so understanding the public awareness of each individual state is also important. To gauge the level of the American public’s awareness of emerging pollutants, a survey of over 2700 responses was conducted in all 50 states where respondents were asked of their awareness of emerging pollutants. The top 5 emerging pollutants nationwide were found to be pesticides/herbicides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, microplastics, and PFAS. The top 5 in each state was mapped out and ranked based on frequency of response.
Understanding National Public Awareness of Emerging Pollutants
Emerging contaminants are contaminants which are not federally regulated under the Clean Water Act. Many studies have investigated the potential health risks or levels of emerging contaminants in drinking water, although they have not linked public awareness with health risks and contaminant levels. Understanding how aware the public is of each contaminant is critical in understanding if there is a knowledge gap within the public over health risks. Additionally, each state has different emerging contaminants in the water supply, so understanding the public awareness of each individual state is also important. To gauge the level of the American public’s awareness of emerging pollutants, a survey of over 2700 responses was conducted in all 50 states where respondents were asked of their awareness of emerging pollutants. The top 5 emerging pollutants nationwide were found to be pesticides/herbicides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, microplastics, and PFAS. The top 5 in each state was mapped out and ranked based on frequency of response.
