Division of Toxicology

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AGENCY PROFILE

Division of Health Assessment and Consultation

The responsibilities of the Division of Health Assessment and

Consultation include the following activities:

Completing public health assessments for all sites on EPA's National

Priorities List (NPL) within 1 year of the date each site is proposed to

be added to the NPL;

Responding to petitions for public health assessments;

Providing consultation on health issues related to exposure to

hazardous or toxic substances, including consultations requested by

EPA, state, or local officials; and

Determining the extent of danger to public health from a release or

threatened release of a hazardous substance.

Division of Toxicology

The responsibilities of the Division of Toxicology include the following

activities:

Reexamining the CERCLA Priority List of Hazardous Substances

annually and including any additional hazardous substances found

to pose a significant potential threat to human health. Updated lists

are published biennially.

Preparing a toxicological profile for each hazardous substance on the

CERCLA Priority List of Hazardous Substances. A toxicological

profile is a document in which ATSDR scientists interpret all known

information about a specific substance and describe the levels at

which people might be harmed if exposed. The toxicological profile

also identifies significant gaps in knowledge about the substance

and serves to initiate additional research, if needed.

Providing emergency response consultations to determine the extent

of danger to public health from a release or threatened release of a

hazardous substance;

Conducting a research program in cooperation with the National

Toxicology Program to determine the health effects of hazardous

substances.

Division of Health Studies

The responsibilities of the Division of Health Studies include the

following activities:

Conducting periodic surveys and screening programs to determine

relationships between exposure to toxic substances and illnesses;

Conducting epidemiologic studies that test scientific hypotheses to

evaluate the causal nature of associations between exposure to

hazardous substances and disease outcome;