health

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR

Introduction

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR , part of the U .S . Public Health Service , was created to implement health measures mandated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response , Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA ) of 1980 (Public Law 96-510 . ATSDR 's mission is to prevent or mitigate adverse human health effects and the diminished quality of life resulting from environmental exposures to hazardous substances . The Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act (SARA , 1986 ) greatly expanded ATSDR 's authorities and responsibilities resulting in the

establishment of additional health-related program areas (Kostecki and Calabrese , 2000

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Considering the primary goal of the ATSDR , their main task is to decrese the possibility of exposing and to avoid possible negative affliction on human health , and increase quality of life against the risk factors of hazardous substances from waste sites , dumping or release of wastes , and other point sources of environmental pollutants Such factors are initiated and passively comprises in a public health assessments of waste sites , health practitioners regarding such hazardous substances , applied research in providing appropriate scientific interventions , development of knowledge database and scientific body , and community health teaching in terms of prevention and awareness against the hazardous waste materials (Tweedy , 2005 br

.126 . The study focuses on the effectiveness of ATSDR in improving the concerned area of development , and to determine the possible rationales for the results of its propagation in the environmental security

Discussion

The Effectiveness of the Agency in Improving the Area Concerned

The effectiveness of the agency in the prevention of hazardous substance-related diseases , and improvement of quality of life can be traced back during its time of implementation up to the present . In 1988 , ATSDR issued a report to Congress on the nature and extent of lead poisoning in children . It contained estimates of the extent of childhood lead poisoning in Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSA ) and provided breakdowns by race , income , and urban status (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 1988 cited in Bullard , 1993

.78 . The estimates of affected children are largely based on the numbers of children in these areas who live in pre-1950 housing , where lead paint is most common , though data generated by childhood lead poisoning screening programs was also incorporated for the cities where such programs exist . Given the fact that the study focused on lead paint and largely ignored other common sources of lead exposure , it is possible that this study actually underestimates the extent of the problem . The sources of continuing exposure include lead-based paint and paint dust but also include contamination at work and neighborhood pollution by nearby industries and waste treatment facilities (Bullard , 1993

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Research determining the relationship between hazardous wastes and human health has been done by ATSDR . This report provides an aggregate national perspective on the relationship between human health and hazardous waste rather than providing individual outcomes for specific hazardous waste sites making its results applicable to all hazardous wastes sites in...