Anyone interested in exploring the environmental causes of illness might want to check out the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, a new website created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Integrating health, exposure and hazard information and data from the CDC, the U.S. Geological Survey and local hospitals, the site aims to become a one-stop shop to bridge the “fundamental gap in knowing how environmental contaminants affect people’s health.”
But according to The Daily Green, the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network has a long way to go to fulfill this ambition.
Currently, only six conditions – asthma, cancer, carbon monoxide poisoning, childhood cancers, childhood lead poisoning and heart attack, and four environmental conditions – air quality, community water, homes and well water – are covered.
But as Dr. Michael McGeehin, director of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects at the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health, says, this is just the first phase of growth and we can expect more data to appear on the site in the coming months.
Sounds like the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is a site to bookmark for future reference. We’ll keep you updated.
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