# Core B: Community Engagement Core (CEC)

> **NIH NIH P42** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2021 · $139,932

## Abstract

ABSTRACT: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CORE
The UNC-SRP Community Engagement Core (CEC) collaborates with two community-serving organizations—
Clean Water for North Carolina and the Winyah Rivers Foundation—to understand the needs of well users in
four North Carolina counties related to inorganic arsenic (iAs) contamination of well water. The overarching
goal of the CEC is to foster environmental health literacy in the context of well water contamination.
Drawing on the strengths of all collaborators, we jointly develop prevention and intervention strategies that
reduce exposure to toxic metals in drinking water. The CEC accomplishes its goal through three aims. First, we
facilitate dialogue among UNC-SRP investigators and key NC stakeholders about SRP research and its
implications for reducing exposure to iAs in well water by convening a Public Health Action Committee. This
committee stimulates bi-directional communication that will inform the development of responsive environmental
health sciences research and community problem-solving strategies. Second, we enhance understanding of iAs
exposures in high-risk communities and encourage well testing and filter deployment as local strategies to
prevent or reduce harmful exposures. Working with investigators in Project 4, the CEC and community partners
will identify high-risk areas as well as the need for additional sampling. We will assist residents in understanding
sampling protocols, results, potential risks of exposure, and actions they can take to reduce exposure. Project 5
also supports these efforts, with deployment of novel filters. Third, we inform the development of local and state
policies that prevent or reduce iAs exposure in private wells used for drinking water. Working with policy experts,
including staff of the Center for Environmental Health, and the UNC-SRP Research Translation Coordinator, we
will identify policy options for reducing iAs exposure in well water and convene decision makers to discuss
implications of recommended policies. Through these aims, CEC activities are directly relevant to the mission of
the UNC-SRP and are responsive to the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) Mandate 4,
promoting methods to reduce the amount and toxicity of hazardous substances. The bi-directional
communication resulting from active engagement of the UNC-SRP researchers with PHAC members and
community partners fosters creative thinking that will inform locally-relevant solutions to the challenges posed
by toxic metals contamination of well water in NC.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10112258
- **Project number:** 5P42ES031007-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Kathleen M Gray
- **Activity code:** P42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $139,932
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-02-20 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10112258

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10112258, Core B: Community Engagement Core (CEC) (5P42ES031007-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10112258. Licensed CC0.

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