At a glance
For more than four decades, ATSDR has kept people in communities safe from environmental hazards, while working directly with concerned citizens and communities. ATSDR protects people’s health from environmental hazards that can be present in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the world that sustains us.
The Impact of Environmental Exposures
Did you know that environmental factors contribute to more than 25% of all diseases worldwide? In the U.S., the yearly cost of just four childhood health problems linked to chemical exposures — cancer, lead poisoning, asthma, and developmental disabilities — is greater than $54 billion.
Chemicals make our lives easier and are included in everyday items like foods, personal care products, prescription drugs, and household cleaners. Sometimes, however, exposure to chemicals can harm us. Exposure to chemicals happens in homes, schools, workplaces, and throughout communities. Accidental releases, certain household products, or hazardous sites are all possible causes of chemical exposures. 1 in 4 people in the U.S. lives within 4 miles of a hazardous waste site.
ATSDR's top priority is to protect people from harmful chemical exposures.
ATSDR's Impact by the Numbers
- 720 — Community, state, and federal requests for assistance responded to by ATSDR in Fiscal Year 2023.
- 30 — State health departments funded through ATSDR's APPLETREE cooperative agreement program.
- APPLETREE recipients complete site-specific health assessments and engage communities about health risks and exposure prevention. In Fiscal Year 2023, ATSDR and cooperative agreement partners assessed the environmental health risks of nearly 450,000 people nationwide.
- Over 40 — Communities across the nation where ATSDR has been working to examine the impact of exposure to PFAS, which are a large class of man-made chemicals. Some PFAS can build up in people and animals with repeated exposure over time. Scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals.
- Over 30,000 — Health professionals educated by ATSDR in Fiscal Year 2023 on ways to diagnose and treat conditions related to hazardous exposures. A total of 596 Continuing Education Certificates were issued for health professionals.
- Over 30,000 — Number of participants in the National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry diagnosed with the disease. As of FY 2023, CDC/ATSDR has connected thousands of patients with more than 70 clinical trials and epidemiological studies, collected specimens from more than 2,000 patients nationally for the biorepository, and funded 26 research grants.