Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: Difference between revisions

§==Overview==

** Office of Communications

** Office of Science

** Office of Management and Analytics

** Office of Policy, Partnerships, and Planning

** Office of Innovation and Analytics (OIA)

** Office of Community Health Hazard Assessment (OCHHA)

** Office of Capacity Development and Applied Prevention Science (OCDAPS)

:* [[Philadelphia]] ('''Region 3''': Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia)

:* [[Seattle]] and [[Anchorage, Alaska]] ('''Region 10''': Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington)<ref name=DROcontact>{{cite web|url=http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/DRO/dro_contact.html |author =Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry |title=Division of Regional Operations: Regional Operations Contact Information | date=May 13, 2010}}</ref>

The World Trade Center Health Registry was established in 2002 by ATSDR and the [[New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene]] to track the long-term [[health effects arising from the September 11 attacks|physical and mental health effects]] of the [[September 11 attacks]]. The registry contains more than 71,000 people who lived, worked, or went to school near the World Trade Center site, as well as emergency response personnel who were involved in rescue and recovery efforts. It is the largest post-disaster health registry in the United States. Researchers use the registry to study the health effects of the disaster and to develop public health recommendations for future disasters.<ref name="surveillance"/><ref name=wtc>{{Cite book|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/wtc/downloads/pdf/registry/WTC_AnnualReport.pdf |author =World Trade Center Health Registry |editor=June Schwartz |title=World Trade Center Health Registry 2009 Report and Findings |year=2009 }}</ref> A 2009 study based on registry data found that [[posttraumatic stress disorder]] and [[asthma]] were the two most commonly reported conditions among registry participants 5 to 6 years after the disaster. The study found that 19% of adult participants reported new posttraumatic stress symptoms, and 10% of adult participants reported developing new asthma.<ref name=wtcfindings>{{Cite journal|title= Asthma and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms 5 to 6 Years Following Exposure to the World Trade Center Terrorist Attack |author1=Robert M. Brackbill |author2=James L. Hadler |author3=Laura DiGrande |author4=Christine C. Ekenga |author5=Mark R. Farfel |author6=Stephen Friedman |author7=Sharon E. Perlman |author8=Steven D. Stellman |author9=Deborah J. Walker |author10=David Wu |author11=Shengchao Yu |author12=Lorna E. Thorpe |journal=[[Journal of the American Medical Association|JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association]] |volume=302 |issue=5 | date=August 5, 2009 |pmid= 19654385 |pages=502–516 |doi= 10.1001/jama.2009.1121|s2cid=22124694 }}</ref>

ATSDR is starting a new registry for people with [[amyotrophic lateral sclerosis]] (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease). President [[George W. Bush]] signed the ALS Registry Act, which provided for establishment of the registry, on October 8, 2008.<ref name=ALSact>{{Cite news |url=http://www.alsa.org/news/article.cfm?id=1365 |title=ALS Registry Act Signed by President |newspaper=ALS Association |date=October 10, 2008 |access-date=September 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223211937/http://www.alsa.org/news/article.cfm?id=1365 |archive-date=February 23, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is hoped that the registry will provide information on the prevalence of ALS and lead to a better understanding of factors that may be associated with the disease.<ref name=ALSfaq>{{cite web|url=http://wwwn.cdc.gov/ALS/ALSFAQ.aspx |title=Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Frequently Asked Questions |author =Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Control | date=October 8, 2009}}</ref> The agency began registering people for the registry on October 20, 2010.<ref name=ALSlaunch>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-oct-22-la-heb-als-20101021-story.html |title=New registry for ALS patients collects data in hopes of discovering disease's cause |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |author =Mary Forgione | date=October 22, 2010}}</ref>

ATSDR represents the Department of Health and Human Services on the [[National Response Center|National Response Team]] and works with other agencies to provide technical assistance during emergencies involving hazardous substances, such as chemical spills. In July 2007, for example, ATSDR responded to the [[Verdigris River]] flood in [[Coffeyville, Kansas]], after an oil refinery spilled crude oil into the floodwaters, contaminating many homes in the city. ATSDR worked with EPA and state and local authorities to provide health information to local residents and advised those agencies during the clean-up process.<ref name=coffeyville>{{cite web|url=http://www.epa.gov/oem/docs/oil/fss/fss09/casteel.pdf |title=It Isn't Over When the Rains Stop: Partnering to Protect Public Health in the Coffeyville, KS Flood and Oil Spill Response |author =Sue Casteel }}</ref><ref name=safeguarding19>{{Cite book|url=http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/docs/APHA-ATSDR_book.pdf |title=Safeguarding Communities from Chemical Exposures |author =Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry |page=19 }}</ref> ATSDR also assists with responding to terrorism incidents, which have included the [[September 11 attacks]] and the [[2001 anthrax attacks]].<ref name=terrorism>{{cite web|url=http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/terrorism/terrorism-response.html |title=ATSDR's Role in the Response to Terrorism |author=Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry | date=April 23, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224061202/http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/terrorism/terrorism-response.html |archive-date=February 24, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ATSDR responded to 132 chemical emergency events in 2008.<ref name=safeguarding9>{{Cite book|url=http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/docs/APHA-ATSDR_book.pdf |title=Safeguarding Communities from Chemical Exposures |author =Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry |page=9 }}</ref>

In 2015, ATSDR released a report, based on [[EPA]] data, declaring no health risk to communities near [[West Lake Landfill]]. The agency's assessment contradicted findings from scientific investigations initiated by the Missouri attorney general and affected residents, who started organizing in 2012 when an underground fire in the landfill raised awareness of radioactive material and high rates of childhood cancer. [[Republic Services]], one of the parties responsible for the landfill, has cited the report to argue against the removal of toxic waste.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Dowdell |first=Jaimi |last2=Pell |first2=M.B. |last3=Lesser |first3=Benjamin |last4=Conlin |first4=Michelle |last5=Quinton |first5=Pheobe |last6=Cunningham |first6=Waylon |date=August 7, 2024 |title=How a US health agency became a shield for polluters |url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-pollution-atsdr-landfill/ |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>