CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The pandemic introduced many to COVID-19 testing from home, and now, some Northwestern University researchers plan to use that same approach to help local residents ensure their drinking water is safe.
“This puts power into people’s hands, and that’s what we’re so excited about,” said Dr. Sera Young, a professor of anthropology and global health at Northwestern.
Young is co-leading the study with her husband Julius Lucks, who’s a professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern. The program will provide several hundred Chicagoland residents with free water testing kits later this year.
“We think that people should be able to know what’s in their water, and that kind of knowledge should be democratized,” she said. “It should be rapidly available; it should be simple to understand; and it shouldn’t be expensive.”
Among the main goals of the study: to get knowledge into the hands of folks who are most vulnerable to the effects of lead, Young said.
In the immediate future, the study will provide homes with kits that test specifically for lead. In 2024 or 2025, a test for copper will be distributed, and researchers hope that by 2026 a test for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — commonly known as PFAs or “forever chemicals” — will be ready for distribution.
She said leaders in Chicago and the State of Illinois are on top of testing water for lead, copper and other contaminants, but the guidelines can be easy to skirt.
“This is information that people can use, act on and make constructive decisions about immediately,” Young said.
She encouraged anyone interested in learning more to email athomewatertests@gmail.com.
Check out the full announcement here.
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