Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Office of the Associate Administrator for Science
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| Q&A: Health/Environment Issues | ATSDR/CDC Prevention Guidelines |
| Quick Guide to Hazardous Substances | Hot Link to Internet Search Engines |
| Env/Hlth Tutorials/Guidelines | ATSDR World Wide Web Server |
 Questions! Comments! Suggestions!Mail to: ATSDR Information Center |
Search DHHS Employee Directory (ATSDR - CDC - FDA - NIH - etc) |
the Call: If you need more information than what you found at the ATSDR Science Corner, call the ATSDR Information Center at: 1-888-42ATSDR. Call is FREE and the ATSDR Staff are friendly!
FAX/E-mail: You can FAX your request to the ATSDR Information Center at 1-404-639-6359 or send an E-mail request directly to the ATSDR Information Center.
Soon, if you have a concern, you will be able to click the "Call the ATSDR Information Center" phone on this Web page and talk directly to staff at the ATSDR Information Center (we're working on it).
ATSDR Science Corner Search Tip: You can Click on "Edit" and then "Find in Page" (Netscape users) to search for a specific keyword or phrase at the ATSDR Science Corner!
SECTION I: Current Issues, Topics, and Questions
 WHO 50th WHO in Brief Health Topics and Policies The World Health Report -1998 (Life in the 21st century - A vision for all) |
Dr. David SatcherSurgeon General Assistant Secretary for Health Health and Human Services Confirmation Statement Dr. David Satcher Biography Agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services |
| Terms and Definitions Superfund hazardous waste sites!! Adverse health effects!! Confused!! Looking for useful terms and definitions? Check these glossaries! EDF Glossary ATSDR Glossary EPA's Terms of Environment |
Community Scorecard Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) EDF's Scorecard helps you find how close polluting facilities are to your home, your workplace, or your children's schools. |
| ATSDR ToxFAQs Exposed to toxic chemicals? Completed exposure pathways - Adverse health effects? Search ATSDR's 100+ ToxFAQs for some quick answers |
Hazardous Waste Sites!! Where are they? Do I live close to one? Should I expect any health hazards? Quick Access to EPA Site Locations and Information Profiles |
| Drinking Water Safety Do you take drinking water safety for granted? What contaminants are in drinking water? How safe is MY drinking water? |
Pesticides and Child Safety Household products! Do I have any "pesticides" around the house? |
| Methyl Parathion What is it? How can it affect my health? How does it get into my body? How can my children come into contact with methyl parathion? Answers and more information! |
Health / Disease / Travel Your health!! Any questions? Search HHS healthfinder™ Looking for Minority Health Facts? Access CDC's Monthly Vital Statistics Report Doing some travelling? Worried? Access CDC Travel Information: Graphical Travel Map |
| "Sick Building Syndrome"!! What is it? What do I look for? Who can test for it? Look here for indicators of "Sick Building Syndrome". |
Lead in Soil Do you have questions on health aspects of lead-contaminated soil? If you do, take a look at ATSDR's Analysis Paper: Impact of Lead - Contaminated Soil on Public Health |
| Superfund Hazardous Waste Sites! Uncontrolled! Completed exposure pathways!! A MUST reading!! What is the threat to public health? |
Legislation Congressional Bills: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry! Search Thomas ( Legislative Search Engine) or the ATSDR Table of Bills: 105th Congress at the ATSDR Washington Office |
| ATSDR Q&A Just an e-mail away!! Have a question or a good URL on health and environment?
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EPA CLU-IN EPA Hazardous Waste Clean-Up Information (CLU-IN) Serves as a "Forum" for all waste remediation stakeholders. Everything you wanted to know and then some! Also, you can register with "TechDirect" for monthly e-mail updates. |
| ATSDR Board of Scientific Counselors What is it? Who are the members? What are they discussing? Charter, Roster, and Minutes of Meetings (November 1994 - November 1998) |
 FREE "tune-up" of your Web site. Check for Dead Links.
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Environmental Health Tutorials / Guidelines
Toxicology Tutorials - National Library of Medicine
The three tutorials were developed by the Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program
of the National Library of Medicine, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
They are intended to provide a better understanding of the toxicology literature contained in the
National Library of Medicine's Chemical and Toxicological databases. They are written at an introductory
college level. Each tutorial contains a specific glossary.
Guidance for ATSDR Health Studies
This guidance document presents the process used by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in
considering health studies for communities that might be exposed to hazardous substances. Health studies can be divided into two
basic types: those that are primarily exploratory in their approach (Type-1 studies), and those that require rigorous scientific methods
to evaluate specific exposure-outcome relationships (Type-2 studies). Specific guidance and criteria are provided for determining when
to do a health study, determining what type of study to do, and ensuring that a study is of high quality.
Dioxin and Dioxin-Like Compounds in Soil, Part 1: ATSDR Interim Policy Guideline
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has adopted this interim policy guideline to
assess the public health implications of dioxin and dioxin-like compounds in residential soils near or on hazardous
waste sites. These compounds include
Public Health Assessment Guidance Manual
The Public Health Assessment Guidance Manual is a guidance document for health assessors both at ATSDR and in the states. It
outlines the health assessment process and provides information to the health assessors on different technical and scientific aspects of
performing public health assessments.
ATSDR / CDC Prevention Guidelines
(ATSDR ToxFAQs, Medical Management Guidelines,
Case Studies in Environmental Medicine, Lead in Soil)
Through its legislative authority, ATSDR is mandated to develop informational materials and educational programs that aid healthcare
professionals in evaluating symptoms, making diagnoses, providing treatment, and conducting surveillance of human exposure to
hazardous substances.
The CDC Prevention Guidelines database (PGDB) was developed to allow state and local health officials and other public health practitioners to quickly access current CDC prevention guidelines. It is a central, electronically accessible, up-to-date repository of the full text, tables, and graphics of CDC's prevention guidelines and recommendations.
A Primer on Health Risk Communication Principles and Practices
The purpose of this Primer is to provide a framework of principles and approaches for the communications of health risk information
to diverse audiences. It is intended for ATSDR staff and personnel from other government agencies and private organizations who
must respond to public concerns about exposure to hazardous substances in the environment.
Water on Tap: A Consumer's Guide to the Nation's Drinking Water
This report provides information about the quality of U.S. drinking water safety, and addresses a variety of concerns that apply to many regions and
situations. The report stresses the need for all of us to take more individual and community-level responsibility for drinking water quality.
The Toxicologic Hazard of Superfund Hazardous Waste Sites
This timely paper focuses on the level of hazard and toxicologic import of those Superfund sites with completed exposure pathways. Much of the data cited in this paper is derived from HazDat, a central database on uncontrolled hazardous waste sites established by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). HazDat can be accessed through the Internet World Wide Web.
ATSDR Special Reports / National Alerts
DHHS Gateway(s) to Consumer Health Information
MedAccess (Indoor Air Pollution)
INFOMINE: Internet/Web Resources (University of California)
REUTERS World Environment (Daily) News
G7 - Environment and Natural Resources Management
What's Globally New in Occupational and Environmental Health
Health Effects Review/Great Lakes/International Joint Commission
"Toxic News for the Internet": EPA's Newsbreak Daily Edition
Chemicals in Drinking Water: EPA Standards
ATSDR ToxFAQs™
ATSDR/EPA Top 20 Hazardous Substances
Case Studies in Environmental Medicine
ATSDR/CDC Prevention Guidelines
Minimal Risk Levels (MRLs)
ATSDR/EPA Priority List of Hazardous Substances
Impact of Lead - Contaminated Soil on Public Health
ATSDR International Hazardous Waste Conferences
EPA Superfund / Brownfields / Environmental Justice
ATSDR Congressional Testimony
ToxLINKS to National/Global Environmental Health Resources
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)
ATSDR Database Search Engine: Quick search (Literal or Boolean) for All Documents
on ATSDR's World Wide Web Server
Chemicals in Drinking Water: EPA Standards:These fact sheets are about chemicals that may be found in some public or private drinking water supplies. These chemicals may cause health problems if found in amounts greater than the health standard set by the U. S. EPA. Consumer and technical versions of the fact sheets are available.
For more information on drinking water and health and safety issues, take a look at
A Consumer's Guide to the Nation's Drinking Water.
Also, you can search "Toxic News for the Net": EPA's Newsbreak Daily Edition and the Saturday/Sunday Weekend Edition (previous week)
Searching and Information Integration
Still looking for information on the chemical(s) you were searching? Try a quick search with the ChemFinder Web Server, Cambridge Soft, Corp.
Health Effects ReviewThe Health Effects Review is a monthly review and summary of the scientific literature on human health effects and environmental pollutants. Prepared under the direction of the Health Professionals Task Force of the International Joint Commission, emphasis is on pollutants within the Great Lakes ecosystem. English and French versions are available.
G7-ENRM/GELOS Global Environmental Information Locator Service (GELOS) is part of the G7 Environment and Natural Resources Management project (G7-ENRM) whose main objective is to create a globally distributed virtual library of ENRM data and resources.
Worker health and safety information is provided on a very large database of chemicals found in the work environment. Safe worker exposure levels are provided.
Newsbreak Daily EditionThe 'Newsbreak' is published daily (Monday-Friday) by the library of EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. It is a daily current events abstracting service covering environmental, toxics, and 'information age' news.
A Saturday/Sunday Weekend Edition (previous week) is also available.
World Environment Daily News Welcome to today's "World Environment News",
courtesy of Planet Ark and Reuters News Agency.
Global Health NewsLinks to recently released material, important in the world of Occupational & Environmental Medicine. The LINKS were compiled by Duke's OEM Webmaster from web-pages elsewhere, including: NIOSH, EPA, NCEH, CDC, ATSDR, and WHO. An outstanding and dynamic resource!! If you wish to go directly to these resources, the URLs are listed below.
Pub Med
Also, NLM began offering clinical alert notices online in January 1991. Clinical alerts are provided to expedite the release of findings from the NIH-funded clinical trials where such release could significantly affect morbidity and mortality. At Pub Med, there is a link to these alerts.
Compiled by librarians at the University of California Riverside, INFOMINE is intended for the introduction and use of Internet/Web resources of relevance to faculty, students, and research staff at the university level. It is being offered as a comprehensive showcase, virtual library and reference tool containing highly useful Internet/Web resources including databases, electronic journals, electronic books, bulletin boards, listservs, online library card catalogs, articles and directories of researchers, among many other types of information.
Hazardous Waste Sites!! Where are they? Are you living next or close to a National Priorities List (NPL)
Superfund "hazardous waste site"?
Try this quick search for an answer and an EPA profile of the site.
The site profiles are in PDF format. You will need an Acrobat(R) Reader(R) to view, navigate, and print PDF files across all major computing platforms. Download a FREE copy of the Acrobat(R) Reader(R) software HERE!!
Hazardous Waste Clean-Up Information provides information about innovative treatment technology to the hazardous waste remediation community. It descibes programs, organizations, publications and other tools for federal and other state personnel, consulting engineers, technology developers, and vendors, remediation contractors, researchers, community groups and individual citizens. The site was developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency but is intended as a forum for all waste remediation stakeholders. Try the Clu-In Site Map for a quick overview of what's new.
Concerned how a Superfund Site close to you is being cleaned-up? To answer some basic questions, try accessing the EPA's "Citizens Guide to Understanding Innovative Treatment Technologies". You do not need the Adobe Reader for these html coded files. Information available on bioremediation, chemical dehalogenation, in-situ soil flushing, natural attenuation, phytoremediation, soil vapor extraction and air sparging, soil washing, solvent extraction, thermal desorption, and treatment walls.
HHS - healthfinder™
healthfinder™ can lead you to selected online publications, databases, web sites, and support and self-help groups, as well as the government agencies and not-for-profit organizations that produce reliable health information for the public. The information you find can help you make better health choices for yourself and your family.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also provide an excellent resource on consumer health information. You can access the list (by subject) of on-line publications most requested by the public. Just click NIH SEARCH
FDA "The Nation's Foremost Consumer Protection Agency"
FDA provides special resource information:
Other Popular HHS Consumer Health Web Sites
Minority Institutions
MOLIS provides information on faculty profiles, research centers, facilities, equipment, administrators, degrees and enrollment, complete searching capability, file transfer/document delivery, multiple access methods, scholarship and fellowship information, and federal opportunity information.
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From the drop-down box above, select one of the following search engines: Excite, Infoseek, Yahoo!, HotBot, AltaVista (default), or DejaNews, Then, submit your request.(Adapted from AT&T WorldNet Service)
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atsdr server
Search the Internet HazDat Database for specific site and contaminant data
The Library of Congress "Explore the Internet"
(Note: This entry is the result of an inquiry from students in Mexico who, as part of a class exercise on "The Scientific Method", contacted the ATSDR Science Corner. We thank them for their inquiry and their interest in science. Information is provided on the use of the scientific method to analyze a problem, formulate a hypothesis, and develop a means of finding a solution. By the way, the first link is interactive!! Information for all ages!! Give it a try!!)
In the Annual Report and MINUTES documents, you can pick the menu item you want to read. There are "quiklinks" in these documents to help you move around quickly.
(April 1995) | (November 1995)
(April 1996) | (November 1996)
(April 1997) | (November 1997)
(April 1998) | (November 1998)
The MENU is a simple support tool for use by ATSDR scientists and other researchers searching the Internet for relevant environmental health information. The MENU is dynamic. New environmental health information resources are cited, searched, and documented, as they come on-line. It is a research service provided through the ATSDR World-Wide Web Server. It is a way for ATSDR scientists to find and share information with the public.
A short description of each data resource is provided to help you decide which data resource you want to access. To reach a resource, place the cursor over the highlighted hypertext and click once.
Give it a try. Share your findings with others!! Keep in mind that the Internet is in a state of flux. If something doesn't work, have patience. Somebody out there is trying to fix it.
Send us your comments. If you found an address on the Internet that would be useful to scientists in this field, send it to us with a brief comment on how you used the information. In this way, we can gradually expand and improve "ATSDR Science Corner".
Link to ATSDR Science Corner Home Page
Some Previous Listings on the ATSDR Science Corner
Quick Guide(s) to Hazardous Substances
The factsheets in these files were prepared by the ATSDR Division of Toxicology and answer the most frequently asked questions about exposure to hazardous substances and health effects. The summaries are brief and informative.
For more information on the health effects of exposure to specific hazardous substances, see the ATSDR/EPA "Top 20 Hazardous Substances" and the ATSDR Public Health Statements (Text Search)
"Top 20 Substances" on the ATSDR/EPA Priority List of Hazardous Substances for 1995. Each chemical is identified with a Rank Number and includes an ATSDR Public Health Statement.
A pesticide information project of cooperative extension offices at Cornell University, Michigan State University, Oregon State University, and the University of California at Davis. Very informative and easy to search for information.
Public Health Statements, taken from ATSDR Toxicological Profiles, are brief summaries of information on specific toxic substances. Each summary focuses on the effects to human health from exposure to a toxic substance.
ATSDR Case Studies in Environmental Medicine is a self-instructional publication(s) designed to increase primary care provider's knowledge of hazardous substances and to aid in evaluation of potentially exposed patients. (ATSDR supported CME / CEU Credits)
A Chemical Protocol includes a Description of the Chemical, Health Effects, Prehospital Management, Emergency Department Management, and Patient Information Sheet. (This file is under construction!!)
This is a primer for producing documents in HTML, the markup language used by the World Wide Web.
This document presents a concise reference guide to Version 1 of HTML, listing almost all of the Version 1 elements, and giving a brief description of each one. It was developed by Michael Grobe of the University of Kansas.
This is a "powerful yet easy-to-use Windows HTML document editor". The author of HTML Writer is Kris Nosack from BYU. This is a good Editor with many useful new features. There are simple instructions for the new user. Easy to download the files .
Do you want to learn how to design a page or code a file for the Web? This is a very useful guide for the beginner and the advanced student. Samples are provided so you can see what the format code will look like on a Browser.
This is a specialized service of the National Library of Medicine and you will need to be registered to access the databases. Read the TOXNET Fact Sheets to learn all about the databases that are available including HSDB, RTECS, CCRIS, TRI, and many more. Information is provided if you are interested in getting an account.
The Environmental Resources Information Network (ERIN) is a project of the Australian Department of the Environment and associated agencies. Information you can find includes air (weather and climate), land and water, humans and the environment, life (biodiversity), sea (marine and coastal environments), state of the environment, and general information. Also available is a Search the ERIN WWW Server.
This is the World Wide Web, Gopher, and FTP server of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), National Academy of Engineering (NAE), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and the National Research Council (NRC).
See especially the What's New at NAS/NAE/IOM/NRC. "Search all menus on the server" for quick access to published reports in toxicology, risk , and environment. Some reports have full text, others have short summaries. The Office of News and Publications has a good summary of press releases, reports and events guide.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the Federal Government established in 1950. Search the "Database of Research Awards" for research supported by the NSF.
This is the Home Page of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Want to learn something about ATSDR? Mission, goals, programs, activities, people, etc.
This is ATSDR's Hazardous Substance Release/Health Effects Database. Looking for information on hazardous waste sites and then some? You're at the right place!!
Scheduled for June 5-8, 1995, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Good information on the Congress.
Have you tried HyperDOC? This is a multimedia/hypertext resource of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). You can access easily several on-line information services. There is NLM, NIH, and the World. This last one is also called Other Biomedical On-Line Information Services. There is a good section on Navigational Aids. There is also a section on Specific Sources.
Information on the NIEHS Superfund Basic Research Program is available and includes Research Program Highlights for '94. Search the NIEHS Home Page for more information on NIEHS programs.
This is the Home Page of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Home Page of the World Health Organization with access to WHO Programmes, World Health Report, and Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER).
This is an on-line information and communication network for use by individuals and organizations working toward a sustainable future for our planet. It is a nonprofit organization.
Probably the "largest on-line environmental information service on the planet" say the developers, and "some advanced services require a password."
The Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology (CIIT) is located in the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and is a non-profit toxicology research institute. Short summaries of research supported by CIIT are available.
The National Toxicology Program (NTP) was established in 1978 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate toxicology research and testing of potentially hazardous chemicals. The status of all NTP studies is available through a WAIS search. Abstracts are also available of NTP reports.
This Department of Energy (DOE) resource contains much information including studies at Hanford, Fernald, Mound Facility, Oak Ridge, Rocky Flats, and Savannah River Plant. Check the CEDR Catalog for a full list of studies. The principal investigators are with the Lawrence Berkely Laboratory, University of California.
The mission of the DOE CEDR Program is "to enhance DOE's epidemiologic research by facilitating independent research to validate and supplement DOE research on health effects associated with working at or living near facilities involved with DOE or other energy production facilities."
This file was developed by the Royal Institute of Technology Library, Stockholm, Sweden. The information is well organized and comprehensive.
This is the searchable version of the biomedical information database on research supported by the Public Health Service (PHS) and intramural research programs of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The NIH CRISP (Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects) provides an abstract for each research grant funded and details to contact the principal investigator. Contains a good listing of biomedical research grants in support of Superfund research.
This is the quarterly publication (newsletter) of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Includes feature articles by ATSDR Staff and useful information on public health courses offered at Schools of Public Health.
This is a bi-weekly publication dealing with the politics and working conditions of modern science (with an emphasis on BioTechnology) and is available via ftp, | gopher, | telnet, | and WAIS.
Environmental Health Perspectives, the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, was first published in April 1972. The journal has been restructured to provide a forum for examining, discussing, and disseminating information about advances and issues in the environmental health sciences.
This is the popular and timely CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Information available includes MMWR Weekly, Recommendations and Reports, Surveillance Summaries, Supplements, Summary of Notifiable Diseases, and Other Publications.
Newsletters from the World Health Organization are available here and cover such issues as the environment, AIDS, leprosy, malaria, influenza, vaccines, and the WHO Library Digest for Africa.
See also IPCS News:
This is a publication (informal) of the WHO International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS). The IPCS News also welcomes articles on chemical safety for future publications.
We hope to visit the Menus of additional Schools of Public Health and Departments of Occupational and Environmental Health. Interesting topics from universities that deal with environmental and public health issues are highlighted.
Notes of interest on the U.S. Public Health Service. It has a great history of performance and committment.
This is an interesting insight into the history of the U.S. Public Health Service prepared by the Office of the PHS Historian. Very timely on the 50th Anniversary.
Indian Health Service, Public Health Service, DHHS
Congress is now on-line!!! Instant access to legislative proceedings.
Click on 104th Congress, search for SUPERFUND, and then follow the LINKS.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of the Secretary, has come on-line with a DHHS Resources Locator. Also available is an indexed access to DHHS Resources, arranged by Topic.
This resource will give you access to the UN database and to several conferences, including the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) (Rio Conf.).
Very useful for learning about the global perspective(s) on these issues.
Dr. Charlie Xintaras, the author of "ATSDR Science Corner" thanks the Information Resources Management Branch (IRMB) staff, especially Mike Perry, Ronald Parker, and James Brooks for encouragement and guidance in the development of this MENU and for general assistance in computer applications. Special thanks to the ATSDR scientists who suggested changes to the MENU, many of which strengthened and clarified the final version.
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