Resources

ATSDR is directed by congressional mandate to perform specific functions concerning the effect on public health of hazardous substances in the environment. These functions include public health assessments of waste sites, health consultations concerning specific hazardous substances, health surveillance and registries, response to emergency releases of hazardous substances, applied research in support of public health assessments, information development and dissemination, and education and training concerning hazardous substances. This site provides access to fact sheets about specific contaminants and about petitioning ATSDR to become involved at a site. More »
 

The EPA administers the Superfund program in cooperation with individual states and tribal governments. The EPA's Office of Emergency and Remedial Response (OERR) oversees management of the program. This section of the Web site provides an overview of the Superfund program, highlights key steps in the Superfund cleanup process, guides users to enforcement information, lists EPA Superfund offices and partnership organizations, provides answers to frequently asked questions, and lists hazardous waste sites and their National Priorities List status. More »

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) is responsible for maintaining current information on housing needs, market conditions, and existing programs, as well as conducting research on priority housing and community development issues. In 1978, PD&R established HUD USER, an information source for housing and community development researchers and policy makers. HUD USER provides interested researchers with access to the original electronic data sets, including the American Housing Survey and HUD median family income limits, as well as to microdata from research initiatives on topics such as housing discrimination, the HUD-insured multifamily housing stock, and the public housing population. More »

A Superfund CAG is made up of members of the community and is designed to serve as the focal point for the exchange of information among the community, local public health agency, EPA, state regulatory agency, and other stakeholders involved in cleanup of the Superfund site. Its purpose is to provide a public forum for community members to present and discuss their needs and concerns related to the Superfund decision-making process. This site provides more information on the function of CAGs, as well as guidance on forming and operating a CAG. More »

Developed by the EPA, EnviroJustice Mapper is a Web-based mapping tool that provides the public with a detailed facility location and demographic analysis of their communities, including data on the racial makeup of a community, the types of permits a facility obtained, and cancer rates and education level of nearby residents. Through a combination of facility and geographic information system (GIS) data, the EnviroJustice Mapper creates a demographic profile of the area surrounding the facility, which is then illustrated through the use of GIS maps. More »

Provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Epi Info and Epi Map are public domain geographic information system (GIS) software packages designed for the global community of public health practitioners and researchers. Both provide for easy database construction, data entry, and analysis with epidemiological statistics, maps, and graphs. Although "Epi Info" is a CDC trademark, the programs, documentation, and teaching materials are in the public domain and may be freely copied, distributed, and translated. More »

The U.S. Census Bureau can be a good starting point for generalized demographic data, and this site contains valuable tools for beginning to understand the community profile. American FactFinder allows users to view, print, and download statistics about population, housing, industry, and business. FactFinder can also be used to find U.S. Census Bureau products, create reference and thematic maps, and search for specific data. TIGER Map Service was developed as an experiment in Web-based mapping. The Bureau's main effort now, in conjunction with private contractors, is in the development of a separate and more elaborate data delivery and mapping system called the American FactFinder. More »