Pennsylvania department of health's modernizing environmental public health tracking to advance environmental health surveillance - the residents of pennsylvania (PA) face extensive historical and…

Pennsylvania department of health's modernizing environmental public health tracking to advance environmental health surveillance - the residents of pennsylvania (PA) face extensive historical and emerging environmental threats. PA is ranked third in the nation for the number of active national priority list sites. Steel manufacturing, oil and natural gas production, agriculture, among other industries all have the potential for chemical contamination of the air, water, and soil. Naturally occurring environmental concerns, such as radon, also pose a risk to human health. Forty-nine of PA's 67 counties have predicted indoor radon screening levels above the environmental protection agency's action guideline of 4 picocuries per liter. Climate change is an emerging threat to pennsylvanians, with rising temperatures and precipitation resulting in increased heat advisories, air inversions, and flooding events of waterbodies throughout the state. To address these and other environmental public health concerns, and in pursuit of a healthy PA for all, the PA DOH is requesting funding for component a and component b under this notice of funding opportunity to strengthen and continue the recent work of the division of environmental health epidemiology. As part of the modernizing environmental public health tracking to advance environmental health surveillance grant, PA DOH will build capacity through the expansion and strengthening of its environmental health surveillance and information technology infrastructure, form new and bolster existing partnerships with stakeholders, and identify and address emerging environmental health threats through evidence-based outreach and mitigation efforts. These efforts will enable PA to address existing environmental health disparities.