Environmental Health Tracking Tool

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has launched a Web-based surveillance tool to track exposures to environmental pollutants and chronic health conditions. The Environmental Public Health Tracking Network will be used to link vital environmental data on air and water pollutants with diseases such as asthma, cancer, and lead poisoning. Until now, health and environmental data have existed in separate silos, making it difficult to prove a link between environmental exposures and health effects. In March, CDC received funding from Congress for the new network, which grew out of pilot projects in 16 states and New York City. Those projects led to 73 public health actions to control diseases from environmental exposures, according to CDC.