Thursday, December 15, 2022

Nature journal: Nationwide geospatial analysis of county racial and ethnic composition and public drinking water arsenic and uranium. Caution: Pseudoscience

Smells awfully like pseudo or even junk science!

The study does not mention how white people are affected by this! And, oh by the way, it happens in "regions where concentrations of these contaminants are high".
This is pure propaganda and demagoguery published in a prestigious academic journal like Nature! Disturbing!!!

This study was of course readily picked up by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health:
"US communities with greater proportions of Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Black residents have higher concentrations of uranium and arsenic in their drinking water, a study in Nature found; the findings were consistent regardless of socioeconomic status. The Hill"

From the abstract:
"There is no safe level of exposure to inorganic arsenic or uranium, yet recent studies identified sociodemographic and regional inequalities in concentrations of these frequently detected contaminants in public water systems across the US. We analyze the county-level association between racial/ethnic composition and public water arsenic and uranium concentrations from 2000–2011 using geospatial models. We find that higher proportions of Hispanic/Latino and American Indian/Alaskan Native residents are associated with significantly higher arsenic and uranium concentrations. These associations differ in magnitude and direction across regions; higher proportions of non-Hispanic Black residents are associated with higher arsenic and uranium in regions where concentrations of these contaminants are high. The findings from this nationwide geospatial analysis identifying racial/ethnic inequalities in arsenic and uranium concentrations in public drinking water across the US can advance environmental justice initiatives by informing regulatory action and financial and technical support to protect communities of color."

Nationwide geospatial analysis of county racial and ethnic composition and public drinking water arsenic and uranium | Nature Communications (open access)

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