© Joel Bennet, Alaska Division of Tourism

The Environmental Public Health Program evaluates the possible hazards to human health associated with toxic substances in the environment. Epidemiological studies and toxicological risk assessments are used to evaluate human exposures to hazardous substances and potential health risks. Chemical contaminants can enter our environment from emergency release events, hazardous waste disposal, global transport, local deposition and other sources.

Program objectives include:

• Develop intervention strategies to reduce or eliminate chemical exposures of human health concern
• Foster two-way communication in order to address community concerns about contaminants
• Provide information about the health risks associated with hazardous substances

Programs and Activities

• Alaska Fish Facts and Consumption Guidelines
• Alaska Lead Surveillance Program
• Alaska Statewide Hair Mercury Biomonitoring Program
• Subsistence/traditional foods safety
• Response to hazardous substances emergency events
• Public health consultations at sites that contain hazardous substances

Hot topics- What's new in the Environmental Public Health Program

• Gold Mining and Mercury
  
  
  • Fact Sheet: Gold Mining, Mercury, and Health

• Air Quality in Fairbanks North Star Borough
  
  
  • Fact Sheet: Air Quality and Hospital Visits - Fairbanks Study
  • Association between Air Quality and Hospital Visits — Fairbanks, 2003–2008
  • Press Release: Study connects Fairbanks hospitalization rates to air quality

• North Pole sulfolane contamination
  
  
  • DHSS Health Consultation Sulfolane Plume in Groundwater, January 2012
  • Press Release: North Pole sulfolane health impact evaluation released
  • ATSDR Health Consultation on Sulfolane, May 2, 2011
  • Press Release: Tests results released from sulfolane garden project
  • DHSS North Pole Garden Sampling Final Results & Fact Sheet
  • Press Release: Sulfolane levels low or undetected in tested North Pole garden plants
  • DHSS North Pole Garden Sampling Early Results & Fact Sheet
  • Press Release: Agencies to host public meeting in North Pole about solvent in well water
  • DHSS Companion Guide to ATSDR's Health Consultation on Sulfolane
  • ATSDR Health Consultation on Sulfolane, February 3, 2010
  • DHSS Sulfolane Health Fact Sheet
  • DHSS Community Health Concerns about Sulfolane
  • DEC Contaminated Sites Program

• Proceedings from conference, "Ingestion of Lead from Spent Ammunition: Implications for Wildlife and Humans"
  
  The Environmental Public Health Program recently participated in a conference convened by The Peregrine Fund discussing the available research on the effects and risks of lead exposure from spent bullet fragments. The Peregrine Fund, a conservation group for birds of prey, convened the conference after a decade of research on wild California Condors in the Grand Canyon region of Arizona revealed that lead exposure from spent ammunition is the most important factor impeding the full recovery of the species in the area. The research also suggested that lead from spent ammunition could be a concern to people who eat game harvested with lead bullets or shot shells.
  
  Click here to find EPHP's contribution, "Human Exposure to Lead from Ammunition in the Circumpolar North" and here for the full conference proceedings.

• A Women's Guide to Eating Fish in Alaska
  
  Alaska Fish Consumption Guidelines for women who are or can become pregnant, nursing mothers, and children age 12 years and under are now available. Click here for more information.

• Targeted Mercury Biomonitoring Project in Rural Alaska
  
  The Environmental Public Health Program is currently conducting a targeted mercury biomonitoring project in rural Alaska. The project aims to determine if there is a link between fish consumption and hair mercury levels in populations that eat northern pike. This project is being conducted in collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and is taking place in communities on or near several national wildlife refuges throughout Alaska. Click here for USFWS and Environmental Public Health Program project fact sheets. Click here for consumption advice for women and children eating pike from the Kuskokwim River or Lower Yukon River.

• Information for health care providers and parents about lead testing in children
  
  For information about lead testing in children, please click here.

Fact sheets and information on selected environmental health issues in Alaska

*Links to external resources are provided as a public service and do not imply endorsement*

• Arsenic - Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Arsenic - Municipality of Anchorage
• Asbestos - Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Carbon monoxide poisoning - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Environmental cancers - American Cancer Society
• "A Journey Into Cancer's Causes - Alaska Natives Ask about Cancer"
  - Siobhan Wescott, Alaska Native Health Board (721 KB)
• Environmental dust - Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
• Lead - Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Mercury - Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Mold - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Mold - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) - Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) - Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) - Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Radiation
• Sulfolane Health Fact Sheet (17 KB)
• Tetrachloroethylene (PERC) - Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Volcano facts - State of Alaska
• Volcano facts - U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
• Volcano facts - Alaska Volcano Observatory
• Wildfire smoke - State of Alaska

Don't see your topic? Click here for a link to all State of Alaska Section of Epidemiology Bulletins

© Alaska Division of Tourism

Public Comments and Questions

The Environmental Public Health Program welcomes comments and questions from the public. Please use this form to send us your comments or questions. Thank you.

The public is encouraged to contact the Environmental Public Health Program with any questions they might have regarding environmental health issues.

Other Links of Interest

Many other credible environmental health resources are available online, and individuals seeking general information about health and the environment are encouraged to take advantage of the following useful sites:

*Links to external resources are provided as a public service and do not imply endorsement*

• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
  Includes "ToxFAQs" fact sheets that describe the health effects of hazardous substances.
• ExToxNet (The EXtension TOXicology NETwork)
  Includes fact sheets for the environmental and human health effects of pesticides, and explanations of general environmental toxicology concepts.
• Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
  The State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
• CDC/NCEH
  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health