Environmental Health Website Review Environmental Health

In today's technologically complex society we are all exposed to potentially harmful agents at work, home, school, and in the great outdoors. Tracking the levels of exposure in the United States is the responsibility of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but other non-governmental organizations have been formed in response to this concern and are providing complementary information to the public. This essay examines the online information that is available concerning environmental agents that pose a risk to human health.

Federal Agencies

The CDC has been tracking the levels of 219 known or suspected toxic chemicals, or their metabolites, in the blood and urine of a cohort of American citizens, for the purpose of determining toxicity levels and potential associations with negative health outcomes (2011, National report on human exposure). The information thus gathered will be used to alter official policy, so that exposure levels are reduced and associated health risks reduced. An agency within the CDC, the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, maintains a complementary website that provides information on toxic agents and associated diseases (2011). This site provides information on specific toxic substances, related government reports, information for both the public and medical professionals, press releases concerning current environmental contaminations, and emergency response recommendations. The CDC also maintains a webpage providing information...

The built environment can be a source of toxic agents, such as radon, mold, volatile chemicals, and high CO2 levels, or provide protection against a radioactive release or biological attack. Accordingly, this webpage provides information on what has been found during inspections at a number of locations, as well as guidelines for building designers to protect future inhabitants.
The EPA home page contains links and information concerning environmental issues and disasters of national or regional concern (2001). Links to press releases, popular issues, laws and regulations, and related scientific findings are provided, and the information can be selectively geared towards persons with different levels of expertise, such as students, scientists, or medical professionals.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which is an institute within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), maintains a website that provides news, reports, research grant information, and scientific findings for medical professionals and scientists engaged in toxicology or environmental research (2011). The National Library of Medicine (NLM), which is also a part of the NIH, maintains a website called "Tox Town" (NLM, 2010). This site is intended to provide information about environmental toxins, where the risk of exposure is greatest, and current concerns, primarily for children.

The Department of Energy (DOE) maintains two websites concerning environmental health. The Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS) provides information to the…