Skip to main content
Browse by:
GROUP

Water, Water Everywhere: Testing North Carolina's Drinking Water and Communicating Risk

SciComm Lunch Jan. 22 - Water, Water Everywhere. Free Lunch. Rubenstein 153
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Dr. Kathleen Gray and Dr. Lee Ferguson
SciComm Lunch & Learn

Testing North Carolina's Drinking Water and Communicating Risk: What is really in the water we drink, how do we know, and how do we communicate potential risks to the public in ways that inform without eliciting undue concern (or, worse yet, panic)? The presence of chemicals like GenX (a member of a class of chemicals known as PFAS or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in NC's water supply prompted the state of North Carolina to establish the PFAS Testing Network in 2018. In the first SciComm Lunch-and-Learn of 2020, Dr. Kathleen Gray (UNC Institute for the Environment), who is one of the leads of the NC PFAS Testing Network's Risk Communication Team, will discuss general strategies for communicating risk in science. She and Duke's Dr. Lee Ferguson (one of the Network's lead scientists) will then talk specifically about the PFAS testing that was done over the last year, what was found, and some of the science/risk communication challenges this presented. This is sure to be an informative and eye-opening session, so don't miss it.

Contact: Sarah Cromer