Wednesday, September 11, 2024
9/11/2024
New York State (NYS) is a densely-populated state with many Federal and State Superfund sites due to its long history of industry. NYS has 86 Federal National Priority List (NPL) sites, 555 non-NPL Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System sites, and 2,379 sites in the NYS Inactive Hazardous Waste Site program. Under ATSDR’s Program to Promote Localized Efforts to Reduce Environmental Exposure (APPLETREE), the NYS Department of Health (DOH) will prevent harmful environmental exposures and related health effects through site health assessments (Public Health Assessments, Health Consultations), community engagement activities, and prevention activities. DOH will use a multidisciplinary, integrated approach to responding to threats of human exposure to hazardous substances in the environment. DOH will interact with impacted communities and will provide health education to communities near NPL sites, ATSDR-accepted petition sites, other state and federal sites, Brownfields/other redevelopment sites, and locations where releases have occurred (Component 1). The documents and activities will identify pathways for human exposure and health effects, identify appropriate interventions and recommendations, and monitor progress in carrying out public health actions. DOH will also continue to implement and expand NYS’s Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education (CSPECE) program to prevent child care facilities from being located at sites that risk harmful environmental exposures. DOH also proposes to build environmental health and medicine capabilities for translating science into tools and actions that are useful for individuals, communities, and organizations in order to identify, reduce and prevent health effects from exposures to hazardous substances (Component 2). DOH will coordinate and collaborate with our ATSDR Technical Project Team, staff at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), New York City and county departments of health, the Region 2 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, NYS Children’s Environmental Health Centers and NYS Occupational Health Clinic Network, as well as other stakeholders to identify and prioritize sites and issues that should be on the cooperative agreement work plan. In consultation with ATSDR, DOH will develop a work plan and identify and assess site and community needs. DOH will develop a strategy to match site needs with a mix of site and community-related activities. This will include plans for community involvement, health education and promotion, and written health assessment documents. Health education activities will include conducting community assessments, developing fact sheets, meeting with community groups, and providing health education materials to communities and public health professionals. DOH will participate in local, state, and federal health and environmental workshops/community meetings and participate in ATSDR-scheduled training or workshops, regional meetings, and partners’ meetings. The ATSDR/DOH partnership program will provide an opportunity for DOH and ATSDR to formally recommend public health actions that are based on environmental data, identified exposure pathways and the best available science. The program will help to determine and provide documentation to support DEC and EPA actions to take exposure-reducing actions. Working with ATSDR, DOH will engage in project evaluation and performance measurement to help demonstrate the effectiveness of programs, drive continuous program improvement, and contribute to the evidence-base for each intervention.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
