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	Biomonitoring: Making a Difference Flash Presentation
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STATE GRANT ACTIVITIES

State health departments frequently respond to reports of cancer or birth defects clusters to find out whether the illnesses or birth defects are the result of an environmental exposure. State health officials also investigate industrial accidents, which may include potentially hazardous exposures. Biomonitoring is one tool these health officials can use to address the public's concerns about environmental exposures. However, most states currently lack the ability to perform biomonitoring testing. In 2001, CDC's Environmental Health Laboratory launched a planning grant program to support biomonitoring capacity building for public health laboratories. Approximately $10 million was distributed to 25 state and regional programs, supporting 33 states in biomonitoring planning. In 2003, CDC funded New Hampshire, New York, and the Rocky Mountain Biomonitoring Consortium to implement biomonitoring programs. The consortium comprises six states-Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

Grantees

New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Office of Community and Public Health has established the following goals for its Biomonitoring Implementation Program:

• Develop public health laboratory capability and capacity to monitor human exposure to arsenic, mercury, phthalates, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).
• Perform pilot studies to determine body burden of environmental toxicants using newly developed or enhanced biomonitoring analytical markers.

New York

The New York State Department of Health has established the following goals for its Biomonitoring Implementation Program:

• Have demonstrated capacity for the rapid and reliable measurement of polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites in urine, PBDEs in serum, organochlorine pesticides in serum, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in blood, cotinine in saliva, trace elements in blood and urine, and inorganic mercury in blood.
• Generate biomonitoring data to assess exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs). These data will guide actions for communities, stakeholders, and public health professionals.

Rocky Mountain Biomonitoring Consortium

The Rocky Mountain Biomonitoring Consortium has established the following goals for its Biomonitoring Implementation Program:

• Increase laboratory capacity for measuring environmental toxicants in people.
• Determine whether an association exists between diabetes and levels of arsenic in people's urine.
• Determine the feasibility of using newborn screening blood spots in assessing baseline data on exposure to heavy metals.
• Determine the feasibility of using excess urine specimens from health clinics for baseline analysis, including analysis of agents used in chemical terrorism.
• Determine whether a difference in urine arsenic levels and arsenic speciation ratios can be detected in individuals exposed to various levels of arsenic in drinking water.