Utah maintains a cooperative agreement with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a federal public health agency. Through ATSDR’s Partnership to Promote Localized Efforts to Reduce Environmental Exposure, known as APPLETREE, the Environmental Epidemiology Program receives federal funding to provide health-based risk assessments and public health education. These duties include public health assessments, health consultations, exposure investigations, health education, and community outreach. The goal of this partnership is to serve the public by using the best environmental science, providing accurate health information, and taking public health actions to prevent harmful exposures and disease related to toxic substances. We respond to environmental public health issues in Utah by:

• Identifying exposure pathways at specific sites;
• Educating affected communities and local health professionals about site contamination, potential health effects and coordinating public health interventions to reduce exposures to hazardous substances;
• Reviewing health outcome data to evaluate potential links between site contaminants and community health outcomes.

• Independent, objective health decisions based upon the best available science and data
• Health information and education to minimize exposure
• Recommendations to EPA, UDEQ, local health departments, and other regulatory agencies for further action

• Remediation or site clean-up
• Legal advice
• Environmental sampling and testing
• Enforcement of regulatory standards
• Medical attention or health care services