NCEH in Partnership With Texas
NCEH is the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), a
part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
NCEH’s work focuses on three program areas: identifying
environmental hazards, measuring exposure to environmental
chemicals, and preventing health effects from environmental
hazards. NCEH has more than 450 employees and an annual budget for
2003 of approximately $182 million; its mission is to promote
health and quality of life by preventing or controlling those
diseases or deaths that result from interactions between people
and their environment.
NCEH and partners throughout Texas have teamed up on a variety of
environmental health projects throughout the state. From fiscal
years 2001 through 2003, NCEH awarded more than $4.9 million in
direct funds and services to Texas for various projects. These
projects include activities related to asthma surveillance, water
use, and childhood lead-poisoning prevention. In addition, Texas
also benefits from national-level prevention and response
activities conducted by NCEH or NCEH-funded partners.
Identifying Environmental Hazards
NCEH identifies, investigates, and tracks environmental hazards
and their effects on people’s health. Following are examples of
such activities that NCEH has conducted or supported in Texas.
Asthma
- Addressing Asthma From a Public Health Perspective—In
September 2001, NCEH began funding the Texas Department of Health
(TDH) to engage in planning activities, begin to implement asthma
interventions, and enhance surveillance activities related to
asthma. TDH and the American Lung Association of Texas have formed
a community coalition to address asthma across the state. The
Asthma Coalition of Texas (ACT) addresses asthma-related issues in
the areas of medical management, epidemiology and surveillance,
environment, patient education, advocacy and government, and
asthma in schools.
Rural Health Activities
- Risk Factors for Microbiologic Contamination of Produce: A
Field Study of Domestic and Imported Produce in Fields and Packing
Sheds—NCEH is currently conducting a field study in Texas to
identify specific farming and processing (packing shed) practices,
the critical control points, and the risk factors associated with
fecal contamination of domestically grown produce. This
information will be used to design scientifically based and
effective intervention measures. The sources of contamination and
risk factors that contribute to deterioration of microbiologic
safety of fresh produce in the field and during packing need to be
determined to prevent such deterioration.
-
Tropical Storm Allison Assessment—In 2001, NCEH worked with
the Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS) to
evaluate the community’s immediate public health needs after
Tropical Storm Allison flooded much of southeast Texas and caused
billions of dollars in flood-related damage and approximately 25
deaths. The rapid needs assessment results identified increased
illness in people living in flooded homes, suggesting a need for
rapid resolution of flood-related damage.
Environmental Public Health Tracking
- Planning and Capacity-Building—NCEH is funding a project
through which HDHHS is developing an integrated environmental
public health tracking network that will include both
environmental databases and environmental health outcome
databases. HDHHS is collaborating with the University of Texas
Health Sciences Center on this project and is building on existing
local data systems and integrating with the TDH chronic disease,
injury, and birth defects surveillance systems.
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Measuring Exposure to Environmental
Chemicals
NCEH measures environmental chemicals in people to determine how
to protect people and improve their health. Following are examples
of such activities that NCEH has conducted or supported in Texas.
Funding
-
Antiterrorism Funding to Increase State Chemical Laboratory
Capacity—In fiscal year 2003, CDC provided more than $1.1 million
to Texas to assist the state in expanding its chemical laboratory
capacity to prepare and respond to chemical terrorism incidents
and other chemical emergencies. This program expansion will allow
for full participation of chemical-terrorism response laboratories
in the Laboratory Response Network.
Studies
- Water-Use Activities—A water-use study was carried out in
Texas and North Carolina; urine and blood samples were analyzed
for the presence of disinfection byproducts (DBPs). DBPs are
formed from the reaction of disinfection agents with organic
material already present in water. Using chlorine is the most
common way to disinfect water. Chlorine also reacts with other
substances to form chemicals called trihalomethanes (e.g.,
chloroform). The link between exposure to DBPs and bladder cancer
is well established, and studies have suggested that other adverse
health effects, such as spontaneous abortion and birth defects,
may result from exposure to DBPs. To further our understanding of
the water-use activities that lead to exposure to DBPs, NCEH
collected blood and urine samples as well as air and water samples
while people performed water-use activities (such as bathing) in
their homes. Data from the study are now being analyzed and are
being prepared for publication in the peer-reviewed literature.
-
Organophosphate (OP) Pesticides—The Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry has funded a University of Texas
(Houston) study that investigated whether an association exists
between environmental factors and an increased incidence of a
spinal cord defect (known as a neural tube defect) among infants
living near the Texas-Mexico border. NCEH collaborated with ATSDR
by measuring urinary levels of current-use OP pesticides in study
participants. Levels of poylchlorinated biphenyls and
organochlorine pesticides were also measured in pregnant women and
in umbilical cord blood. The data are currently being analyzed.
Services
- Lipid Standardization Program (LSP)—CDC provides accuracy-based
analytical measurement standardization support to two lipid
research laboratories in Texas involved in one or more ongoing
lipid metabolism longitudinal studies or clinical trials
investigating risk factors and complications associated with
cardiovascular disease. LSP, supported by CDC’s Lipid Reference
Laboratory (the cornerstone of the National Reference System for
Cholesterol to which these lipid measurements are traceable),
provides quarterly analytical performance challenges and
statistical assessment reports to allow program participants to
monitor performance over time and thus ensure the accuracy and
comparability of study results and findings.
- Blood Lead Laboratory Reference System (BLLRS)—In Texas, nine
laboratories participate in NCEH’s standardization program to
improve the overall quality of laboratory measurements of blood
lead levels. This program assists laboratories nationwide in
evaluating their performance on these critical laboratory tests.
CDC provides BLLRS materials to the laboratories four times a year
without charge.
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Preventing Health Effects From
Environmental Hazards
NCEH promotes safe environmental public health practices to
minimize exposure to environmental hazards and prevent adverse
health effects. Following are examples of such activities that
NCEH has conducted or supported in Texas.
- Childhood Lead-Poisoning Prevention—HDHHS has received
funding for childhood lead-poisoning prevention since 1992. The
Texas Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program has received
NCEH funding for surveillance since 1997. Texas has developed
culturally competent programs, and all materials are available in
English and Spanish. Texas works with community members and
community organizations to develop and deliver health education
programs.
Elevated blood lead levels in children became reportable in Texas
in 1996. The Child Lead Registry was established in 1996 and a
program was instituted to ensure proper medical and environmental
follow-up of children with elevated blood lead levels. In
addition, a data system is used for appropriate investigation,
education, and intervention to prevent additional incidents of
childhood lead poisoning.
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Resources
NCEH develops materials that public health professionals, medical
care providers, emergency responders, decision makers, and the
public can use to identify and track hazards in the environment
that pose a threat to human health and to prevent or mitigate
exposure to those hazards. NCEH’s resources cover a range of
environmental public health issues, including air pollution and
respiratory health (e.g., asthma, carbon monoxide, and mold
issues), biomonitoring to determine whether and how much of
substances in the environment are getting into people, childhood
lead poisoning, emergency preparedness and response for chemicals
and radiation, environmental health services, environmental public
health tracking, international emergency and refugee health,
laboratory sciences as applied to environmental health, radiation
studies, safe chemical weapons disposal, specific health studies,
vessel sanitation, and veterans’ health.
For more information about NCEH programs, activities, and
publications and other resources, contact the NCEH Health Line
toll-free at 1-888-232-6789, e-mail
NCEHinfo@cdc.gov, or visit
the NCEH Web site at
www.cdc.gov/nceh.
February 2004
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