Environmental Public Health Overview

Environmental factors that influence human health are the cornerstone concerns of environmental health.  These concerns include diverse factors such as childhood lead poisoning, asthma triggers, indoor air quality issues such as mold and radon, and exposure to asbestos and pesticides.
 
NCSL's Environmental Health Project assists state legislatures in their efforts to address these and other environmental health concerns.  NCSL tracks state’s environmental health legislation and provides research and analysis on environmental health threats.  NCSL is a leading resource for state legislators, legislative staff, and others on bipartisan policy responses to environmental health threats.

Resources

• Environmental Health Legislation Database -  The Environmental Health databases track state legislation and statutes addressing environmental factors that may adversely impact human health or the ecological balances essential to long-term human health and environmental quality, whether in the natural or man-made environment.  A source for environmental health legislation from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories, the Environmental Health Legislation Database is grouped into six topics:  Asthma; Children's Environmental Health; Indoor Air Quality (includes Mold and Radon); Pesticides (includes Mosquito Control); Toxics and Chemicals (includes Asbestos, Lead and Mercury); and Tracking, Surveillance and Biomonitoring. The legislation database is searchable by keyword, year, state, topic, bill type, and status.

Programs and Projects

• Asbestos Management Project -NCSL initiated the Asbestos Management Project in 1987 to respond to the growing concern regarding the development of state asbestos laws. The project tracks state programs and reports on innovative approaches states have undertaken to regulate asbestos hazards, and responds to legislative requests to analyze and discuss federal programs and policies as they affect the states.

• Asthma - Asthma, a chronic disease that inflames the airways and lungs, causing shortness of breath, wheezing and -- in extreme cases -- death, affects 8% of the American population. What's more, cases of asthma are increasing, increasing 74 percent since 1980, with no reduction in sight.

• Biomonitoring -  Biomonitoring, the process of measuring environmental chemicals in people, plays an important role in protecting public health by helping researchers determine what environmental factors influence conditions or diseases such as birth defects, developmental disabilities and cancer. Biomonitoring also is an essential part of the public health response to chemical emergencies, whether accidental or terrorist. Although federal government laboratories can conduct biomonitoring, most state laboratories do not have biomonitoring capacity and lack the resources to develop this capability. A federal effort is currently under way to help states develop this capacity so they can better respond to local environmental health concerns.

• Children's Health and the Environment - A growing body of evidence, including rising developmental disability and asthma rates, indicates that children are more sensitive than adults to environmental contaminants. Children breathe more air, drink more fluids, and eat more food in proportion to their body weight than adults. Environmental exposures that would not harm an adult can cause permanent damage to the developing body of a child.  States may be required to update environmental standards to comply with retooled federal regulations. Currently, most state and federal regulations are based on adults, only within the last few years has state legislation been passed to take children's special vulnerabilities into account.

• Environmental Public Health Tracking - Environmental Public Health Tracking seeks to eliminate the “environmental health gap,” a lack of basic information needed to document links between environmental hazards and chronic disease.  The most common environmental health hazards come from air and water pollution, naturally occurring sources, and sources found in the home; asthma, cancer, and lead poisoning are the most frequent adverse health effects that concern Americans. With the help of the CDC, more than 23 states track environmental public health.

• Indoor Air Quality - Indoor air quality is a topic of increasing concern to environmental health professionals. Most people spend over 90% of their time indoors and for some contaminants exposure to indoor air poses a potentially greater health threat than outdoor air exposures. The last 15 years have been punctuated by concern over several specific indoor air contaminants including formaldehyde, radon, asbestos, and environmental tobacco smoke. Emerging concerns include exposure to combustion contaminants, microorganisms, pesticides, volatile organic compounds, and mixtures of contaminants. In addition, it is becoming more evident that many indoor air quality problems are inextricably linked to indoor climatic conditions including temperature, humidity, and rates of ventilation.

• Lead Hazards Project - NCSL's Lead Hazards Project assists states on the issue of lead poisoning prevention by facilitating information exchange among the states and by promoting improved coordination between the states and EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. Major activities undertaken by the project include publication of Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting: A Guide for States, numerous articles and memos on lead hazard reduction, summarizing legislation and regulatory programs that address lead hazards, providing technical assistance to state legislatures on lead hazard reduction and promoting states' interests in the development of federal policies addressing lead poisoning and hazard reduction.

• Radon - Radon is a cancer-causing natural radioactive gas that you can’t see, smell or taste. Its presence in our home can pose a danger to your family's health. Radon is the  leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, and the second leading cause of lung cancer in America, claiming about 20,000 lives annually.  Radon gas comes from the natural (radioactive) breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water.  It is found in every part of the U.S., and can get into any type of building - homes, offices, and schools - and result in a high indoor radon level. The greatest exposure occurs at home, where most people spend most of their time.

• Transportation, Public Health, and Environmental Health.  State Transportation policy and funding are at a critical juncture in the United States. Faced with budget shortfalls and a host of other challenges, state legislatures are exploring and enacting a number of innovative policies to ensure that the future mobility needs of all Americans are met in a manner that is fiscally sound and supports a broad range of policy goals, including public health and environmental health needs.