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  4. EPA-CDC/ATSDR Collaboration

EPA-CDC/ATSDR Collaboration

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and CDC/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) collaboration, in partnership with state and local governments, uses a community-centered approach to build healthy communities. Creating effective and sustainable solutions to environmental public health problems requires community capacity at the local level.

    EPA-CDC/ATSDR collaborative activities will strengthen coordination between environmental protection and public health programs. Such collaboration will reduce overlap and add synergy to ongoing community-based activities. EPA and CDC/ATSDR will work to optimize resource use and to coordinate assistance directed to communities to ensure safety and promote health.

    The EPA-CDC/ATSDR Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)  was signed on July 18, 2007.  The four pilot collaboration sites were also announced.

    NCEH’s Environmental Health Services Branch will contribute to the EPA-CDC/ATSDR collaboration by

    • disseminating lessons-learned about community-based environmental health assessments,
    • fostering leadership development in local environmental health organizations and communities,
    • providing the evidence-base for methodologies that promote community engagement,
    • participating in workgroups that define and organize the collaboration’s activities, and
    • offering technical assistance in communities where both EPA and CDC/ATSDR have relationships with local partners.

    Common goals and values of the EPA-CDC/ATSDR collaboration
    • Promoting healthy communities
    • CDC Healthy Communities
    • EPA Healthy Communities and Ecosystems
    • Addressing multiple public and ecologic health aspects of built and natural environments
    • Reducing health disparities
    • Decreasing environmental health hazards for vulnerable populations (children and elderly)
    • Improving environmental health literacy
    • Promoting environmental justice