National
Center for Environmental Health
Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects
The
Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects (EHHE) is part
of the National Center for Environmental Health, whose mission is to
promote health and quality of life by preventing or controlling
diseases or deaths that result from interactions between people and
their environment.
The Division
conducts surveillance and investigations that increase knowledge
about the relation between human health and the environment and uses
this knowledge to develop national public health programs and
policies for preventing disease. The Division studies ways to
prevent or control health problems associated with exposure to air
pollution, radiation, and other toxicants, as well as health
problems resulting from natural, technological, or terrorist
disasters.
Four branches
support the Division’s mission:
Air Pollution and Respiratory Health
Branch:
conducts epidemiologic research and investigates the effects of airborne environmental agents on respiratory
diseases such as asthma, and through its National Asthma Control Program ($35 million for fiscal year
2002) works to reduce the number of deaths, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, school
or work days missed, and limitations on activity due to asthma.
Health Studies
Branch: investigates the human health effects associated with exposure to
environmental hazards and natural, technologic, or terrorist disasters and develops and evaluates
strategies for preventing human exposure to environmental hazards and disasters and for
minimizing the effects of such exposures when they do occur.
Radiation Studies
Branch: identifies potentially harmful environmental exposures to ionizing radiation
and associated toxicants, conducts energy-related health research, and responds to protect the public’s health in
the event of an emergency involving radiation or radioactive materials.
In 2002, the Division established a new branch:
Environmental Health Tracking
Branch: coordinates the development of sustainable environmental public health capacity and infrastructure for the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, develops innovative methods and tools for tracking of environmental hazards and associated health effects, disseminates environmental public health information to diverse audiences, and conducts studies of the links between environmental hazards, exposures, and health effects.
CDC defines environmental public health tracking as the ongoing collection, integration,
analysis, and interpretation of data about the following factors: environmental hazards (measures
of contaminants in the environment); exposure to environmental hazards (measures of contaminants
in the human body); and health effects potentially related to exposure to environmental hazards.
The overall goal is to protect communities by providing information to federal, state, and local
agencies. These agencies, in turn, will use this information to plan, apply, and evaluate public
health actions to prevent and control environmentally related diseases. CDC’s goal is to develop a
national network that will (1) be standards-based, (2) allow direct electronic data reporting and
linkage within and across health effect, exposure, and hazard data, and (3) interoperate with other
public health systems.
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