About
Community members experiencing environmental contamination may endure chronic stress. It can worsen by feeling dismissed, powerless, unheard, or unsupported. Stress is a normal reaction to environmental contamination. It's not a mental health disorder. However, chronic stress can pose physiological health risks along with health risks associated with exposure to contaminants.
Resource Center
The research referenced in this Resource Center is drawn from decades of peer-reviewed and published literature, reports, and analysis. This research focuses on community stress and resilience.
Learn more by exploring the choices below
Chronic Stress and Environmental Contamination
An online training intended for public health professionals working with communities affected by environmental contamination. The training contains four chapters that can be completed together or individually.
- Chapter 1: The Biology of Psychological Stress
- Explores the concept of psychological stress and how it affects us and our health.
- Explores the concept of psychological stress and how it affects us and our health.
- Chapter 2: Chronic Stress and Environmental Contamination
- Focuses on why environmental contamination can be a source of chronic stress.
- Focuses on why environmental contamination can be a source of chronic stress.
- Chapter 3: Understanding Resilience
- Looks at how resilience plays a role in a community's ability to cope with the stress caused environmental contamination.
- Looks at how resilience plays a role in a community's ability to cope with the stress caused environmental contamination.
- Chapter 4: From Knowledge to Action
- Discusses ways to tailor public health activities to support psychosocial health. Includes two stories from the field.
- Discusses ways to tailor public health activities to support psychosocial health. Includes two stories from the field.
This training is also available through CDC TRAIN. After completing the training on CDC TRAIN, learners can receive a certificate of completion.
Key scientific literature
Bruce S. McEwen and Pamela Tucker
Stephen R. Couch and Charlton J. Coles
Tony N. Brown, R. Jay Turner, and Thomas R. Moore
Chronic Environmental Contamination: A Systematic Review of Psychological Health Consequences (2021)
Harrison J. Schmitt, Eric E. Calloway, Daniel Sullivan, Whitney H. Clausen, Pamela G. Tucker, Jamie Rayman, and Ben Gerhardstein
Daniel Sullivan, Harrison J. Schmitt, Eric E. Calloway, Whitney Clausen, Pamela Tucker, Jamie Rayman, and Ben Gerhardstein
Literature review webinar
Preliminary findings from a systematic review of chronic environmental contamination, psychosocial stress, and community resilience
Chronic environmental contamination (CEC) is the experience of living in an area where hazardous substances are known or perceived to be present in air, water, or soil at elevated levels. The contamination can be chemical or radiological, and it could be the result of industrial processes or a technological accident. The typical example would be someone living for years on or around a Superfund site.
This presentation explored and addressed several questions through a detailed literature review. The literature review provided scientific support and a framework for addressing community stress related to CEC. The questions addressed by the webinar included the following:
- What is the unique psychosocial profile of people living with CEC?
- What is the degree of psychological stress impact of CEC?
- Who is most vulnerable to this kind of stress, and how can public health officials intervene to reduce it?
Prior Work of the ATSDR Community Stress Team
Find examples, of when ATSDR has deployed a community stress team to assist locations where environmental contamination has affected the population.