Public Health Advisories

What is ATSDR?

What is a Public Health Advisory?

A Public Health Advisory reports information available about a release of toxic material, whether people might be exposed to it, and what harm exposure might cause. Public Health Advisories consider :

• what the levels (or "concentrations") of hazardous substances are;
  
• whether people might be exposed to contamination and how (through "exposure pathways" such as breathing air, drinking or contacting water, contacting or eating soil, or eating food)
  
• what harm the substances might cause to people (or the contaminants' "toxicity")
  
• whether working or living nearby might affect people's health
  
• other dangers to people, such as unsafe buildings, abandoned mine shafts, or other physical hazards

What Happens After the Public Health Advisory?

Public Health Advisory recommendations can contribute to :

• placing the site on the National Priorities List (or Superfund list)
  
• relocating exposed people
  
• site cleanup
  
• keeping people away from contamination and physical dangers - for example, by fencing the site
  
• giving residents acceptable drinking water
  
• community environmental health education for residents and health care providers to inform them about site contamination, harmful health effects, and ways to reduce or prevent health effects
  
• an ATSDR or state health study.

ATSDR Public Health Assessments are like Public Health Advisories, but are more detailed. They rely on three main types of information :

• environmental data, such as information about the contaminants and how people come in contact with them;
• health data, including available information on communitywide rates of illness, disease, and death compared with national and state rates;
• community concerns, such as reports from the public about how the site affects their health or quality of life.