ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE
a home water filtration system (53%) and reg- ularly changing their furnace air filter (75%). Table 1 shows counts, percent agreement, and statistical significance between the state- ment “My health has been harmed by expo- sure to air pollution” and the environmental risk perception questions. Respondents who hunted or fished locally and spent more than 1 hr outside each day were more likely to disagree with the statement than respon- dents who did not. Respondents who grew their own produce and filtered their drinking water were also more likely to agree with the statement: “My health has been harmed by exposure to air pollution.” Table 2 shows counts, percent agreement, and statistical significance between the state- ment “My health has been harmed by unsafe drinking water” and the environmental risk perception questions. In contrast to the pre- vious question, respondents who hunted or fished locally were more likely to agree, as were respondents who grew their own produce and filtered their drinking water. Respondents who spent more than 1 hr out- side, however, were more likely to disagree with the statement: “My health has been harmed by unsafe drinking water.” Discussion We developed and implemented our survey to gather baseline demographic, health infor- mation, and risk perceptions among adult residents of Beaver County. While we found widespread concern among survey respon- dents regarding exposure to unsafe drink- ing water (65%) and air pollution (76%), we also found support for fossil fuels (56%) and moderate satisfaction with local industry’s environmental practices (39%). Similar to a study in Southwest Detroit by Warner et al. (2023), our study highlights the importance of understanding community perceptions toward environmental hazards such as air and water pollution, which are exacerbated by industrial activities. Perception of one’s health being harmed by specific pollution sources is based on a continuum of evidence ranging from clinical findings to subjective impressions. Nonethe- less, it appears that as many as 25% of Bea- ver County residents felt they were directly aected by current levels of water pollution, and 33% of residents felt they were directly aected by current levels of air pollution.
TABLE 1
Agreement Between Environmental Risk Perception Questions and the Statement “My Health Has Been Harmed by Air Pollution”
Question
Agreement With “My Health Has Been Harmed by Air Pollution” Agree # (%) Neutral # (%) Disagree # (%)
Total
158 (36.4) 82 (39.6) 76 (33.5) 157 (36.3) 78 (41.7) 79 (32.1) 159 (36.6) 96 (41.7) 63 (30.7) 157 (36.3) 90 (46.4) 67 (28.2) 159 (36.6) 81 (35.4) 78 (37.9) 158 (36.5) 117 (34.6)
139 (32.0) 45 (21.7) 94 (41.4) 139 (32.1)
137 (31.6) 80 (38.6) 57 (25.1) 137 (31.6) 71 (38.0) 66 (26.8) 137 (31.5) 64 (27.8) 73 (35.6) 136 (31.5) 52 (26.8) 84 (35.3) 137 (31.5) 85 (37.1) 52 (25.2) 137 (31.6) 120 (35.5)
I eat meat from local hunting*
Yes
No/not sure
I eat fish from local fishing*
Total
Yes
38 (20.3)
No/not sure
101 (41.1) 139 (32.0) 70 (30.4) 69 (33.7) 139 (32.2) 52 (26.8) 87 (36.6) 139 (32.0) 63 (27.5) 76 (36.9) 138 (31.9) 101 (29.9)
I grow my own fruits and/or vegetables *
Total
Yes
No/not sure
I filter my drinking water with a pitcher*
Total
Yes
No/not sure
I have a home water filtration system*
Total
Yes
No/not sure
I spend more than 1 hour a day outside*
Total
Yes
No/not sure
41 (43.2)
37 (38.9)
17 (17.9)
I feel well-informed about healthy indoor air practices*
Total
159 (36.7) 101 (35.8)
137 (31.6) 80 (28.4) 57 (37.7) 139 (32.0)
137 (31.6) 101 (35.8)
Yes
No/not sure
58 (38.4)
36 (23.8)
I use well water as my primary drinking source*
Total
159 (36.6) 75 (53.6) 84 (28.5)
137 (31.5)
Yes
30 (21.4)
35 (25.0)
No/not sure
109 (36.9)
102 (34.6)
*Statistically significant comparison at p < .05.
Many more felt current levels had the poten- tial to aect their health. These responses were associated with specific risk-related behaviors; however, at this point we cannot determine if practicing specific actions such as filtering drinking water alters an individu- al’s overall perception of risk or if a preexist- ing overall perception of risk leads someone to adopt these specific behaviors. While the full impact of the Shell Polymers Monaca plant is not yet known, the number of Beaver County residents who consume locally sourced foods is notable. This find-
ing can help justify soil and water monitoring because a large proportion of residents are at an increased risk of exposure to contami- nants through their eating habits. The application of the “exposome” con- cept, as explored in a study around the Vasi- likos Energy Center in Cyprus (Kleovoulou et al., 2021), oers an innovative framework for comprehensively assessing environmen- tal exposures. This approach, which seeks to explain an individual’s environmental expo- sures over an entire lifetime, could greatly enhance our understanding of the cumula-
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Volume 87 • Number 9
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