Hello all!
so today we will focus on learning about the key environmental agencies in the united states
starting off with the the u.s uh environmental protection agency also known as u.s epa
so in july 1970 the white house and congress established the united states protection agency
us epa in response to growing public health demand for cleaner air water and land during
that time frame in this in the late 60s and very early 70s there was increased concern about the
deteriorating environment in the united states and it was like a good response for the united
states at that time to figure out a way to solve this problem by establishing this independent
agency whose focus was to protect human health and the environment
epa develops and enforces regulations that implement environmental laws of course these laws
have to be enacted by congress for uscpa to have the authority to enforce them epa is headquartered
his headquarters in washington dc with 10 regional offices around the united states and a dozen
labs and the main staff are from engineering science and health fields as well as policy
so when you review this make sure that you are able to explain what the role of u.s epa
is again the main role is to protect human health and the environment and the environment in this
case would be the air quality the water quality the soil as well as radiation to name some of
the most critical uh components that us epa works to protect and hazardous waste of course as well
um the next agency is niosh and osha these are two different agencies so under president nixon
um the occupational safety and health act or osha was signed in 1970 and this led to the
creation of two agencies one is niosh or national institute for occupational safety and health
and osha which is occupational safety and health administration niosh is the federal agency that
is responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for prevention of
work-related injuries so that the main thing in here is research and making recommendations
whereas osha is the federal agency that is responsible for preventing work-related injuries
illnesses and death by issuing and enforcing rules or standards for workplace safety and health
so niosh is focusing on conducting research whereas osha is the agency that uses that
research output and um enforces specific issues laws and regulations that later on enforces to
ensure that workers are protected niosh is part of the center for disease control and
prevention or cdc within the us department of health and human services it is a headquarter
in washington dc with labs in cincinnati ohio in morgantown west virginia pittsburgh pennsylvania
spokane washington as well as atlanta georgia they hire mostly epidemiologists
folks with training in medicine as well as industrial hygienists uh as well as people um
that have um safety um training and with psychology background as well as engineering
chemistry and statistics background on the other hand osha is part of the us department of labor
and osha's goal again as i mentioned earlier is to ensure that employers provide employees
with a workplace free from recognized hazards to safety and health and such expo and such
things can be exposure to toxic substances excessive noise levels mechanical dangers heat
or cold stress as well as unsaturated conditions so work they should be free of those recognized
hazards as you review the slide make sure that you can differentiate the role of niosh from osha
the next agency is atsdr atsdr stands for the agency for toxic substances and disease registry
it is the nation's public health agency for chemical safety it is headquarters in atlanta
georgia and it has four specific functions one protecting the public from toxic exposure
two increasing knowledge about toxic substances three delivering health education about
toxic chemicals and four maintaining health registries again make sure that you are able to
describe the main role of this agency
the next agency is the national institute of environmental health and health sciences also
known as niyash niash is one of the 27 institutes and centers of the national institute of health or
nih which is a component of the us department of health and human services niosh is located
in research triangle park or rtp in north carolina north carolina has a broad
focus on the environmental causes of disease supports a wide variety of research programs
directed toward preventing health problems caused by our environment and it is home to the national
toxicology program or ntp the nation's premier program for testing and evaluating and attesting
an evaluation of patents in our environment it functions to grant programs as well as in-house
research so the grant programs are the largest portion of this agency's budget and goes to
research laboratories population-based studies training programs that are conducted
at universities hospitals businesses and organizations around the country
this agency also conducts in-house research through its in-house laboratories in-house or or
intramural research is done by scientists implied by this federal agency who have laboratories at in
this agency such research includes epidemiology biostatistics molecular genetics reproductive
and developmental toxicology respiratory biology and other environmental research areas
finally the national toxicology program or ntp is a federal interagency program headquarters
in this agency neoshe whose goal is to safeguard the public by identifying
substances in the environment that may affect human health
the next agency that we'll talk about is the center for disease control and prevention or
cdc cdc is one of the major operating components of the department of health and human services
and its mission is to protect the safety health and security of america from threats here and
around the world cdc works 24 7 to protect america from health safety and security threats both
foreign and in the united states whether diseases start at home or abroad are chronic or acute
curable or preventable human error or deliberate attack cdc fights disease and
supports communities and citizens to do the same cdc's national center for environmental health
plans directs and coordinates a program to protect the american people from environmental hazards
cdc strategies framework and priorities are summed up in this diagram shown in here four capabilities
three strategic priorities and one single mission the five um core capabilities
are one world-class data and analytics so develop and deploy world-class data and analytics
which are critical assets to meeting today's and tomorrow's health challenges data is the
foundation of cdc's work as a strategic asset the cdc that the data cdc generates and uses
needs to be timely accurate and usable the second core capability is state-of-the-art lab capacity
as the reference lab to the world cdc must maintain state-of-the-art laboratory
capacity cdc is a world leader in laboratory science which is fundamental to cdc's work
conducted to the highest standards of safety and quality this science informs public health action
a third capital core capability is be having an elite public health expertise
to accomplish its mission cdc needs to maintain an elite highly trained cutting edge deployable
and flexible scientific programming work force that represents diverse personal and disciplinary
backgrounds to increase understanding and partnership with all those that cdc serves
the its four core capability is responding to outbreaks at their source cdc quickly responds
to outbreaks at their source both domestic and abroad cdc's foremost responsibility is to respond
to outbreaks which are becoming ever more complex and frequent to protect america's health save
lives and protect livelihoods the world counts on cdc to implement appropriate and immediate early
interventions which could prevent an aggressive and aggressive outbreak from becoming an epidemic
and prevent an epidemic in a country or region from develop developing into a worldwide pandemic
its fifth core capability is global capacity and domestic preparedness
so cdc is building on its current foundation for strong global health capacity by refocusing
to the highest risk region regions and thus ensure an adaptable resilient better coordinated system
and better prepared countries that can address disease threats at their source the three cdc
strategic priorities are securing global health and america's preparedness eliminating diseases
and ending epidemics cdc's mission is protect america's safety health and security cdc strategic
priorities are also enacted by unique expertise and interdependent capabilities
including strategic communication operational excellence
built upon a foundation of equal employment opportunities partnerships across all populations
cdc serves and culturally appropriate stakeholders engagement in here you can review cdc's role
in addition to what we just discussed which connects with things that we just talked about
the next agency is u.s fish and wildlife service also known as fws this is a federal agency
responsible for fish and wildlife management in the united states
its mission is to conserve protect enhance fish wildlife and plants and their habitats
for the continuing benefit of the american people the fws enforces federal wildlife law
laws lists and manages endangered species protects migratory birds and conserve wildlife habitats
the next very important agency is us department of agriculture usda provides leadership on food
agriculture natural resources rural development nutrition and related issues based on public
policies the best available science and effective management usda's vision is to provide economic
opportunity through innovation innovation helping rural america to thrive to promote agricultural
production that better nourishes americans while also helping feed others throughout the world
and to preserve the united states natural resources through conservation
restored forest improved watersheds and healthy private working lands usda helps keep america's
farmers and ranchers in business and ensure that the nation's commercial supply of meat
poultry and egg products is safe wholesome and properly labeled they also help to ensure
the health and care of animals and plants and the health of the land through sustainable management
and they work to improve the economy and quality of life in all of rural america
the next agency is u.s department of food and drug administration fda's mission is um is listed in
here so fda is responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety
efficacy and security of human and veterinary drugs biological products and medical devices
and by ensuring the safety of our nation's food supply cosmetics and products that emit radiation
today the fda regulates one trillion dollar worth of products a year it ensures the safety of all
food except for meat poultry and some act products which we just discussed is under the umbrella of
usda fda ensures the safety and effectiveness of all drugs biological products including blood
vaccines and tissues for transportation for transplantation
your fda also regulates medical devices and animal drugs and feed and make sure
that cosmetics and medical consumer products that emit radiation do not harm
the scope of fda's regulatory authority is very broad fda's responsibilities are closely related
to those of several other governmental agencies often frustrating and confusing for consumers
is determining the appropriate regulatory agency to contact when it applies to some of the products
that are regulated and they do overlap between us epa fda usda for example as well as cdc
u.s border of land management or blm blm manages 245 million acres of public lands which is one
in every 10 acres of land in the united states and manages 700 million acres of mineral states
which is approximately 30 percent of the nation's minerals these public lands and subsurface acres
are integral to the lives and livelihoods of communities and families across the country
these lands and minerals are found in every state in the country and encompass
forests mountains rangelands arctic tundra and deserts
um the u.s bureau of land management's mission is to sustain health diversity
and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations
so now that we discussed most of the most important uh federal agencies
here is a chart showing uh state level uh agencies and how they connect in this case
in the state of california so cal epa is that in california environmental protection agency and it
and its reports uh to the u.s environmental protection agency at the federal level
under the california uh um environmental protection agency we have the california
resources board which focuses on air calorie cycle which focuses on recyclable materials and waste
the california department of pesticides and regulation which focuses on pesticides and
used in agriculture and other department of toxic substances control which focuses
on toxic chemicals ohia which also focuses on different aspects of toxicity
and then the water resources board which focuses on the water and waterways
hopefully this lecture was uh useful in introducing some
critical environmental agency in the united states thank you for listening
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