UA hosts Dewey Humboldt Community Meeting

On December 4, 2012 members of the University of Arizona MESH (Metal Exposure Study in Homes) project met with residents from Dewey-Humboldt, AZ to discuss drinking water quality which is a major concern for the community. Approximately 15 members of the community attended the meeting.  Dr. Miranda Loh from the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health kicked off the meeting by introducing the Yavapai County Agricultural Extension director, Jeff Schalau, and water quality expert Edessa Carr. Mr. Schalau and Ms. Carr spoke about some of the general services they offer and then described some of the basic concerns about drinking water quality in the area. Dr. Loh (in the picture) then introduced Dr. Janick Artiola, Co-PI of the UA SRP Research Translation Core and water quality expert, who talked about where drinking water comes from, how it gets contaminated, and how to remove those contaminates.  Much of the meeting focused on the removal of arsenic from drinking water, as it is naturally occurring in the geology of the area and is the major groundwater quality concern. For the last part of the meeting, members of the audience had a chance to ask questions of all of the experts. Also attending were Dr. Monica Ramirez-Andreotta, who recently completed a study on home gardening and the uptake of metals in Dewey Humboldt, MESH program coordinator Nathan Lothrop, MPH candidate Helen Bekris, MESH lab assistants Abigail Pena and Ariana Munoz, and MESH field technicians Christina Brooks, Rose Eitemiller, Kim Nathe, and Robin Yonker.