Activities in
Activities
Neva d a
ATSDR in Partnership with Nevada
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR) is the lead public health agency responsible for
implementing the health-related provisions of the Compre-
hensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). ATSDR is an Atlanta-
based federal agency with 400 employees. ATSDR's annual
budget for 2002 was million. ATSDR is responsible for
assessing the presence and nature of health hazards at
Health Studies 5,748
specific Superfund sites, helping to prevent or reduce
further exposure and illnesses that result, and expanding the
knowledge base about the health effects of exposure to
hazardous substances.
Education 6,522
ATSDR works closely with state agencies to carry out its
ous waste sites and preventing adverse health effects.
ATSDR provides funding and technical assistance for states
to identify and evaluate environmental health threats to
communities. These resources enable state and local health
departments to further investigate environmental health concerns and educate communities. This is accomplished
through cooperative agreements and grants. At this time, ATSDR has cooperative agreements and grants with 31
states, 1 American Indian nation (Gila River Indian Community), and 1 commonwealth (Puerto Rico Department of
Health). From 1992 through 2002, ATSDR awarded more than 2,270 in direct funds and services to the state of
Nevada. In addition to direct funds and services, ATSDR staff provides technical and administrative guidance for
state-conducted site activities.
ATSDR Site-Specific Activities
A public health assessment provides a written, comprehensive evaluation of available data and information on the
release of hazardous substances into the environment in a specific geographic area. Such releases are assessed for
current or future impact on public health. ATSDR staff, in conjunction with public health and environmental officials
from Nevada, has conducted one public health assessment in the state at the Carson River Mercury site, the only
National Priorities List (NPL) site in Nevada. ATSDR has completed most of the work on the public health assess-
ment for Naval Air Station Fallon.
A health consultation is a written or oral response from ATSDR to a specific request for information about health
risks related to a specific site, chemical release, or hazardous material. To date, five health consultations have been
conducted at the following sites in Nevada: Carson River Mercury site, Carson-Tahoe Hospital, Fallon JP-8
Fuel Pipeline, Lake Meade National Recreational Area, and the Monite Dynamite site.
Fallon, Nevada - In July 2000, the Nevada State Health Division (NSHD) identified an increase in the incidence
rate of childhood leukemia for Churchill County, Nevada. In September 2000, NSHD began an investigation of
the case-families by administering a questionnaire and collecting drinking water samples from case-family homes. The
investigation did not reveal any obvious risk factor or etiology.
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