Table 1.
Demographic and Residential Characteristics of the 2018 Bradford County, PA Population Homes (n = 94) and the 2019 Belmont and Monroe County, OH Participants (n = 161)
| PA N (%) | OH N (%) | Combined (n = 255 homes, 250 individuals) N (%) | P-valuea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic characteristics | ||||
| Age (yrs) | ||||
| ≤30 | 1 (1) | 4 (3) | 5 (2) | |
| 31–50 | 21 (23) | 23 (15) | 44 (18) | |
| 51–70 | 53 (57) | 83 (53) | 136 (54) | |
| >70 | 18 (19) | 47 (30) | 65 (26) | |
| Gender | 0.096 | |||
| Male | 45 (48) | 93 (59) | 138 (55) | |
| Female | 48 (52) | 64 (41) | 112 (45) | |
| Race | ||||
| White | 91 (98) | 153 (97) | 244 (98) | |
| Other | 2 (2) | 4 (3) | 6 (2) | |
| Education (yrs) | <0.001 | |||
| <12 | 1 (1) | 9 (6) | 10 (4) | |
| 12–16 | 47 (51) | 114 (73) | 161 (64) | |
| >16 | 45 (48) | 33 (21) | 78 (31) | |
| Refused to answer | 0 (0) | 1 (1) | 1 (0) | |
| Employment | 0.050 | |||
| Employed | 43 (46) | 56 (36) | 99 (40) | |
| Retired | 40 (42) | 89 (57) | 129 (52) | |
| Other | 12 (12) | 7 (7) | 22 (8) | |
| Household income | 0.056 | |||
| <$49,999 | 19 (21) | 56 (36) | 75 (30) | |
| $50,000–99,999 | 43 (46) | 54 (34) | 97 (39) | |
| $100,000–199,999 | 21 (23) | 25 (16) | 46 (18) | |
| ≥$200,000 | 5 (5) | 8 (5) | 13 (5) | |
| Refused to answer | 5 (5) | 11 (7) | 16 (6) | |
| Do not know | 0 (0) | 3 (2) | 3 (1) | |
| Residential and water characteristics | ||||
| Water on property | 0.011 | |||
| Well | 82 (87) | 119 (74) | 201 (79) | |
| Spring | 3 (3) | 22 (14) | 25 (10) | |
| Both | 9 (10) | 20 (13) | 29 (11) | |
| Age of well | 0.007 | |||
| 2014 or later | 5 (5) | 9 (6) | 14 (5) | |
| 2000–2013 | 11 (12) | 29 (18) | 40 (16) | |
| 1980–1999 | 30 (31) | 32 (20) | 62 (24) | |
| 1960–1979 | 18 (19) | 38 (24) | 56 (22) | |
| 1940–1959 | 9 (10) | 7 (4) | 16 (6) | |
| 1920–1939 | 2 (2) | 3 (2) | 5 (2) | |
| 1900–1919 | 0 (0) | 1 (1) | 1 (0) | |
| 1899 or earlier | 0 (0) | 4 (2) | 4 (2) | |
| no private well | 3 (3) | 25 (16) | 28 (11) | |
| Do not know | 16 (17) | 13 (8) | 29 (11) | |
| depth of well | <0.001 | |||
| <50 feet | 4 (4) | 13 (8) | 17 (7) | |
| 50–150 feet | 34 (36) | 94 (58) | 128 (50) | |
| 151–250 feet | 23 (24) | 7 (4) | 30 (12) | |
| 251–500 feet | 12 (13) | 0 (0) | 12 (5) | |
| >500 feet | 3 (3) | 0 (0) | 3 (1) | |
| No private well | 3 (3) | 25 (16) | 28 (11) | |
| Do not know | 15 (16) | 22 (14) | 37 (15) | |
| Frequency of well-water testing | 0.001 | |||
| Never | 18 (19) | 53 (33) | 71 (28) | |
| <1/yr | 68 (72) | 74 (46) | 142 (56) | |
| 1/yr | 3 (3) | 6 (4) | 9 (4) | |
| >1/yr | 2 (2) | 2 (1) | 4 (2) | |
| No private well | 3 (3) | 25 (16) | 28 (11) | |
| Do not know | 0 (0) | 1 (1) | 1 (0) | |
| Main drinking water source | 0.009 | |||
| Private well | 73 (78) | 98 (61) | 171 (67) | |
| Spring | 3 (3) | 22 (14) | 25 (10) | |
| Municipal (city) water | 0 (0) | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | |
| Bottled water | 18 (19) | 38 (24) | 56 (22) | |
| Other | 0 (0) | 1 (1) | 1 (0) | |
| Main water source for cooking, washing, etc. | ||||
| Private well | 90 (96) | 115 (71) | 205 (80) | <0.001 |
| Spring | 4 (4) | 23 (14) | 27 (11) | |
| Municipal (city) water | 0 (0) | 9 (6) | 9 (4) | |
| Bottled water | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Rain barrel | 0 (0) | 3 (2) | 3 (1) | |
| Other | 0 (0) | 11 (7) | 11 (4) | |
| Water ever had unnatural color | 33 (35) | 40 (25) | 73 (29) | 0.080 |
| Water ever had unnatural taste | 18 (19) | 24 (15) | 42 (16) | 0.039 |
| Mean | Median | Range | ||
| UOG activity | PA | OH | PA | OH |
| Nearest UOG well (km) | 1.15 | 2.03 | 1.09 | 1.72 |
| Wells within 2 km | 7.80 | 4.72 | 6.00 | 3.00 |
| Wells within 5 km | 52.38 | 31.94 | 42.00 | 34.00 |
a
χ2 p-value; Fisher’s exact test used for cell sizes <5; 2019 census characteristics for study counties: range in percent age 65 and over = 20.1–22.6%; range in percent white = 92.4–96.1%; range in median household income = $45,917–52,358; and range in educational attainment, percent with Bachelor’s degree = 14.6–19.1%.59