Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
| ATSDR | |
ATSDR logo
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed |
December 31, 1980 (authorized) April 19, 1983 (created) June 11, 1985 (formally organized) |
| Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
| Headquarters | 4770 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, Georgia, 30341 33°52′44″N 84°17′32″W / 33.8788°N 84.2923°W |
| Employees | 306 FTE (FY 2010) |
| Annual budget | $76.8 million US$ (FY 2010) |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent Agency | United States Department of Health and Human Services |
| Key documents |
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| Website | www.atsdr.cdc.gov |
December 31, 1980 (authorized) April 19, 1983 (created)
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a federal public health agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The agency focuses on minimizing human health risks associated with exposure to hazardous substances. It works closely with other federal, state, and local agencies; tribal governments; local communities; and healthcare providers. Its mission is to "Serve the public through responsive public health actions to promote healthy and safe environments and prevent harmful exposures." ATSDR was created as an advisory, nonregulatory agency by the Superfund legislation and was formally organized in 1985.
Although ATSDR is an independent operating division within the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) performs many of its administrative functions. The CDC director also serves as the ATSDR administrator, and ATSDR has a joint Office of the Director with the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH). The ATSDR headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia, at the CDC Chamblee campus. In fiscal year 2010, ATSDR had an operating budget of $76.8 million and had roughly 300 full-time employees (not including contractors).
ATSDR is an agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services concerned with the effects of hazardous substances on human health. ATSDR is charged with assessing the presence and nature of health hazards at specific Superfund sites, as well as helping prevent or reduce further exposure and the illnesses that can result from such exposures. ATSDR is an oversight agency created to ensure that public health protection and environmental regulation work hand in hand.
ATSDR functions include public health assessments of National Priority List (NPL or Superfund) hazardous waste sites; petitioned health consultations or assessments concerning specific waste sites or industrial facilities that US citizens have requested further action upon; the conduct of health studies (including surveillance and registries) to determine the long-term impact of these facilities; response to emergency releases of hazardous substances, applied research in support of public health assessments, information development and dissemination, and education and training concerning hazardous substances. ATSDR also prepares toxicological profiles for hazardous substances found at National Priorities List sites, as well as at federal sites administered by the Department of Defense and Department of Energy.
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