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.
Since 2000, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has laid the foundation of a national system to track environmental hazards and the diseases they cause, updating traditional medical detective work with computers, satellites, and geographic information systems. This foundation included efforts by state legislatures to adopt laws that authorize the gathering and tracking of environmental health hazard information. Beginning with Montana in 2001, 14 other states have enacted laws to support environmental public health tracking.
 Environmental Health
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