"This Web site provides access to health and environmental information within the common discussion of how they can be used, and what they may or may not be able to tell people about the complex relationship between environmental chemicals and health outcomes," said state Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D. "Researchers are trained to think critically about the data they use, and we are glad to share it with the public. This new program will help researchers and the public alike to learn more about important patterns and trends in environmental health. This new Web site improves public access to environmental health information."
Links are provided to data, such as birth outcomes, asthma, cancer incidence, childhood lead poisoning levels and cardiovascular disease, drinking water, pesticide use, radon, outside air and more. Plans are in the works to add more data links and to make the site more interactive by offering options to query data and generate more customized information.
The Web site is part of the state's larger Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, which is funded by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This project focuses on building a national environmental health data network for states to share data and to explore patterns and trends in environmental health. It also calls for improving public access to environmental health information.
"Our vision is to have a robust environmental public health tracking system in New York State that provides government agencies, researchers and the public with health and environmental data in a way that is responsive to their needs, that respects people's privacy and furthers our goals to protect and improve public health," Dr. Daines said.
