At a glance
Petitions connect communities to ATSDR resources – such as ATSDR environmental scientists, physicians, toxicologists, and other specialists – to assess and to help residents understand environmental exposures in the community that might harm their health. When communities are concerned about potential exposure to chemicals, ATSDR can bring tools and expertise to investigate.
To understand how to file a petition, we need to understand the basics:
What is an ATSDR petition?
A petition is a request, written as a letter or email, that asks ATSDR to investigate specific environmental health concerns in a community
What is not an ATSDR petition?
A list of signatures of concerned community members is not the same thing as an ATSDR petition.
Who can file a petition?
Any person or community group can file a petition.
What can ATSDR do in response to a petition?
- Assess whether your community is being exposed to hazardous substances in the environment
- Determine if these chemicals can enter your body and possibly harm your health
- Educate your community about hazardous substances and how to avoid exposure to them
- Determine how people in your community are being exposed to these substances
- Write a report and recommend actions you can take to reduce your exposure and protect your health
- Collaborate with local and state health departments to help address your community’s concerns about possible environmental exposures
What can’t ATSDR do in response to a petition?
- Change how a facility operates
- Clean up chemicals in your community
- Make medical diagnoses
- Tell you why there is a lot of illness in your community
- Change zoning codes
- Resolve issues between organizations and people
Now that you know the basics, how do you file a petition?
- Submit a letter or email to your ATSDR regional office requesting that ATSDR investigate specific environmental health concerns in your community.
- Be sure to share any relevant environmental data or evidence you have that might help ATSDR in evaluating your request.
What will ATSDR do after receiving your petition request?
Seek to clearly understand the potential problem by gathering information
- Listen to community members to understand their concerns
- Search for formal complaints with the city or local health organizations
- Review previous reports, health assessments, or related research on the problem
- Engage and involve the community, as needed, throughout the petition process
- Evaluate available information and environmental data to determine if there is enough information to initiate a detailed evaluation of your concern
What happens next?
- Wait for ATSDR to gather any needed environmental data to evaluate your request.
- Receive an approval or denial of your petition, usually within 6–12 months.