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Community Assistance PanelsWhat is ATSDR?ATSDR is the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a federal public health agency. ATSDR is part of the Public Health Service in the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. ATSDR is not a regulatory agency like the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. Created by Superfund legislation in 1980, ATSDR's mission is to prevent exposure and adverse human health effects and diminished quality of life associated with exposure to hazardous substances from waste sites, unplanned releases, and other sources of pollution present in the environment. Through its programs - including surveillance, registries, health studies, environmental health education, and applied substance-specific research - and by working with other federal, state, and local government agencies, ATSDR acts to protect public health.
What is a CAP?ATSDR is evaluating the possible public health impact of environmental contamination in your area. To help, ATSDR may form a Community Assistance Panel, or CAP. The CAP is a way for the community to participate directly in ATSDR's evaluation and make sure community concerns are addressed in any ATSDR report.The CAP will assist ATSDR by sharing community concerns and health information. ATSDR will assist the CAP and the community in understanding technical environmental and health information and public health decisions. The CAP will not direct ATSDR's activities. Instead, CAP members will work with ATSDR to gather and review community health concerns, provide information on how people might have been or might now be exposed to hazardous substances, and inform ATSDR on ways to involve the community in its activities. The CAP will usually meet once a month - but meetings may be more or less often, as needed. Meetings will generally last 1-3 hours. ATSDR cannot reimburse for expenses or pay panel members for participating. All CAP meetings are open to the public, and everyone who comes to meetings will have an opportunity to speak.
Who is eligible for the CAP?ATSDR will choose CAP members who:
Are you interested in being a CAP member?If you are interested in serving on a CAP in your community, please contact the ATSDR Community Involvement Team.
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For more
information, contact ATSDR at:
1-800-CDC-INFO or e-mail
(public inquiries)
Revised December 15, 2004
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