Sunday, May 25, 2025
5/25/2025
Illinois Public Health Site Assessment and Environmental Exposure Reduction project. - The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Environmental Toxicology Program is responsible for investigating threats to public health related to environmental exposure to hazardous substances and assessing the human health effects associated with such exposure. The Environmental Toxicology Act requires IDPH to respond to environmental agency requests for a health-based assessment for any location designated on the National Priorities List (NPL). Currently, 48 Illinois sites are on the NPL, ranking Illinois in the top ten nationally with respect to numbers of NPL sites. Many of these sites are still actively under investigation or remedial actions are ongoing, making them a priority for assessment and public health input. Moreover, the recent federal emphasis on exposures to per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment justifies a need to evaluate PFAS sites. In Illinois this includes a large manufacturing facility, current and former U.S. Air Force bases, and an NPL site that had not previously been evaluated for PFAS. The Environmental Toxicology Program is a valuable and highly relied upon resource for local, state, and federal partners during emergency response. IDPH will continue to support local, state, and federal environmental emergency response efforts by assisting with development of community air monitoring and sampling criteria, evaluating impacts to private wells, sharing information with the public, advising local officials when it is safe to lift evacuation or shelter in place orders, and providing technical assistance. Over the course of this agreement IDPH will prevent and control disease and injury by increasing citizen awareness of the health hazards and risks posed by hazardous waste sites in their communities and collaborating with partner agencies to implement remedial actions to reduce or eliminate exposure to site-related contaminants. IDPH will accomplish these outcomes by leveraging existing partnerships along with existing staff experience. IDPH has prepared a 1-year work plan and a higher level 5-year plan that include a mixture of NPL sites, PFAS sites, and sites being evaluated by the Illinois EPA. Following each project year, the Program will prepare an annual report for stakeholders summarizing site-related activities, challenges, and successes.
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).