Community Engagement Core

University Of Iowa, Iowa City IA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY As measured by the articulations of the Community Advisory Boards (CABs) and our partner school personnel, the Community Engagement Core (CEC) has made a significantly positive impact in East Chicago, Indiana and Columbus Junction, Iowa, where our primary engagement activities take place. The satisfaction of our community partners is our ultimate success metric. We recognize that the ongoing success of the CEC, and the Iowa Superfund Research Program (isrp), will require continued partnership in these communities. The CEC has contributed to the development paths of East Chicago and Columbus Junction and future plans for success include opportunities for growth and for deepening of relations. The CEC has and will continue to engage our partner schools and will address community issues related to airborne PCB exposure and remediation. The engagements proposed by the CEC are innovative in that they sustain successful, long- standing aims that focus on our partner schools while introducing new aims that respond to stakeholder input in the context of isrp research outcomes. For example, the CAB in Columbus Junction suggested the CEC lead an effort to investigate the remediation of airborne PCBs in homes where measured concentrations are above mean values. In the context of knowledge disseminated by the CEC, and in partnership with the RTC, the CAB hypothesized that wall paint, old fluorescent lighting and foam-based furniture could be PCB emission sources. In response to this hypothesis, the CEC agreed to propose a modest, community-based research effort to test the hypothesis. The research approach has been developed in consultation with the CAB, faculty and staff representing isrp Projects 4 and 6, and RTC staff. The CEC will also collaborate with social scientist, Dr. Madeleine Scammell to develop robust interview tools and methods that will garner Institutional Review Board approval and lead to scholarly publications, facilitated by the CEC, in partnership with Columbus Junction community members. An additional new aim is proposed that required the CEC to build relationships between isrp faculty and staff; the RTC; a small business focused on environmental remediation; and facilities staff and council members from the town of Altavista, Virginia. Altavista has been dealing with a PCB-contaminated site for years and the CEC secured permissions to study the fate of PCBs in poplar trees (Project 5) at the site. This aim will be pursued with heavy involvement from the RTC, project researchers and Larry Robertson, the isrp administrator, who has been to the Altavista site to discuss remediation strategies with town officials.