Superfund Research Program

May 2025

Screenshot of a video demonstration on changing a water filter

With support from the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP), Columbia University SRP Center researchers developed and successfully deployed a community-led arsenic mitigation program in Tribal communities across the Great Plains. The findings suggest that community-led mobile health interventions represent a scalable approach to reducing arsenic exposure in numerous communities.

Scientists divided participants into two groups. One group received arsenic filters and arsenic-related health messages through mobile phones, and the other group received the same as the first group, with the addition of a house visit. Then, they asked participants if they used arsenic-safe water and tested urinary arsenic levels.

The team found no differences in the use of arsenic-safe drinking water or urinary arsenic levels across both groups. This suggests mobile phone communication strategies may be just as effective as more intensive home visits, according to the team.

Learn more about the arsenic mitigation intervention in the NIEHS Partnerships for Environmental Public Health Newsletter.