Novel Filtration Devices for Arsenic Reduction
Unlike residents who have access to water through centralized water distribution systems, residents who rely on private wells are responsible for treating their own water to safeguard their health. In North Carolina, naturally occurring and human-caused contaminants infiltrate private wells, placing residents at risk for adverse health outcomes. Because almost one-third of the population in North Carolina drink water from private wells, improved filtration methods are necessary.
Filtration methods currently recommended by the US EPA and NC DHHS are easy to implement, yet there is still room for improvement in their filtration efficacy and their disposal of contaminated filter waste. Project 5 seeks to create a filtration system that removes contaminants better than existing in-home water treatment systems and minimizes contaminant re-entry into the environment.
The hypothesized treatment system will serve as an intervention point between drinking water contaminants and human exposure to them, resulting in reduced risk of adverse health outcomes from exposure to inorganic arsenic and other contaminants.
Project Leader
Orlando Coronell, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Gillings School of Global Public Health
UNC-Chapel Hill
Co-Investigators
Cass Miller, PhD
Okun Distinguished Professor, Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Gillings School of Global Public Health
UNC-Chapel Hill
Mustapha Soukri, PhD
Project Manager, Materials Chemistry
RTI
Kathleen Gray, PhD
Director, Center for Public Engagement with Science
Associate Director for Outreach and Public Service and Research Associate Professor
UNC-Chapel Hill
Haibo Zhou, PhD
Professor, Department of Biostatistics
UNC-Chapel Hill