Evaluating Site-specific Health Effects

Introduction to the Section

Assume that

• There is an abandoned industrial site near your community

and

• Your community seems to have a high number of people with health problems.

You'd be concerned, of course.

You might want to know if there is a possible connection between the health problems and the industrial site.

As part of the public health assessment process, health assessors will decide whether a health outcome data evaluation will:

• be included to compare disease occurrence between a population exposed to site contaminants and an appropriate reference population, such as the county, the state, or the United States,
• assist in addressing community concerns about the occurrence of disease in potentially exposed individuals,

or

• give the health assessor information helpful in deciding whether any additional health actions such as exposure investigations, analytical epidemiologic studies, biologic or biomonitoring studies, or health surveillance are needed at the site.

To learn more about what this evaluation involves, click through this section.

Takes about 20–30 minutes.

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