A fancy new tool from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention enables users to track environmental health hazards across the country.
The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network collects information on environmental hazards, how people are exposed to them and if they lead to serious illnesses. The goal is to help people understand how the environment may play a roll in their health.
Scientists have known that air pollution and lead can contribute to illness, but many other environmental and health connections remain unproven. This site attempts to gather more information to better understand the possible connections.
The site collects information from state and local agencies and breaks them down into various topics. For instance, you can learn about how the CDC tracks lead poisoning, its effect on health and efforts to combat it. You can learn more about air quality status, details on arsenic in water and their links to health outcomes. You can also run individual “reports” on the impact of certain health problems in your area. After a bit of clicking, I learned there were 8,724 hospitalizations for asthma in Maryland in 2006.
There’s also a link to Maryland’s own tracking network, where you can get even more detailed information as well as tables, maps and downloads. Maryland is one of 16 states selected by the CDC in this effort.
“For the first time, the members of the public can be active and informed participants,” said John M. Colmers, Maryland’s health secretary. “Anyone will have access to the same information that policy makers and public health professionals use to better understand the complex relationships between our health and our environment and rely on that information to make informed decisions.”
