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The Florida Department of Health works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, and community efforts.

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National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network

Florida Department of Health - St. Johns County

The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (CDC Tracking Network) is a system of integrated health, exposure, and hazard information and data from a variety of national, state, and city sources.

View the CDC's Video:
CDC's Environmental Publioc Health Tracking Program - Tracking in Action - Florida: Preventing Mercury Exposure
CDC's Tracking Program:
Preventing Mercury Exposure in Florida
(Video Length 2:13)

On the Tracking Network, you can use the Data Explorer to view interactive maps, tables, and charts with data about:

The potential for toxic substance exposure surrounds us at home, work, and school. About 15,000 acute accidental or illegal releases of toxic substances occur in the United States every year.

National air quality has improved since the 1990's, but many challenges remain in protecting public health and the environment from air quality problems. Air pollution in the United States poses a public health threat affecting potentially millions of people throughout the country. It is associated with health problems that include asthma, increased emergency department visits and hospital stays for breathing and heart problems and increases in illnesses such as pneumonia and bronchitis.

Asthma is one of the most common long-term diseases of children, but adults can have asthma, too. Asthma affects all races, ages, and genders. Asthma attacks can happen when you are exposed to asthma triggers. The CDC does not know all the things that can cause asthma, but they do know that genetic, environmental, and occupational factors have been linked to developing asthma.

Scientists at CDC determine which environmental chemicals people have been exposed to by measuring how much of those chemicals actually get into people’s bodies. This is called biomonitoring. Most biomonitoring involves measuring the amount of a chemical or its breakdown product (metabolite) that is in a small sample of a person’s blood or urine. The amount of the chemical or metabolite in the blood or urine depends on the amount of the chemical that has entered the body. The CDC knows that some of them cause disease or illness in people. However, for most chemicals, the CDC does not know if low level environmental exposures affect our health. Finding an environmental chemical in a person’s blood or urine does not mean that it causes health effects or disease.

Birth defects are common, costly, and critical conditions that affect 1 in every 33 babies born in the United States each year. Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality, accounting for 20% of all infant deaths. Most birth defects are thought to be caused by a complex mix of genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors. However, the CDC does not fully understand how these factors might work together to cause birth defects.

Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. Cancer is a leading cause of chronic illness and death in United States. The cause of many cancer types is unknown and likely determined by many factors, such as lifestyle choices, genetics, and exposure to radiation, chemicals, and environmental pollutants.

Although carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning can be prevented, every year, hundreds of people in the United States die as a result of accidental, non-fire related exposure to this toxic gas.

Childhood lead poisoning is preventable. In the United States, the major source of lead exposure among children is lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust found in buildings built before 1978. No safe level of lead exposure has been identified.

The environment affects children differently than adults. Because their bodies are still growing, children are at greater risk if they are exposed to environmental contaminants.

Respiratory diseases, including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are among the nation’s most common and costly chronic conditions. People with COPD are more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution, and at lower levels than people without COPD. Exposure to air pollution has been linked to increases in COPD-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations.

Climate change, together with other natural and human-made health stressors, can affect human health in several direct and indirect ways. Tracking data may be used to inform decision-making and policies that can help local communities assess vulnerabilities, estimate the burden, and build overall resilience against the effects of a changing climate.

 Community characteristics can include information about an area’s natural features, such as how much land is covered by forests or water, and its human-made features from types of housing and roads to locations of hospitals, schools, or other public service buildings.

 Public health problems in the United States, such as motor vehicle-related injuries, obesity, physical inactivity, and breathing and heart problems related to air pollution are all influenced by the design of our communities. Designing communities that encourage healthy choices is critical to improving the health and quality of life of community members.

 In the United States, about 1 in 6 children have a developmental disability. Developmental disabilities are a diverse group of severe chronic conditions that are due to mental and/or physical impairments. The specific cause of most developmental disabilities is unknown, and may result from an interaction between genetic, environmental, and social factors.

About 90% of people in the United States get their water from a community water system. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets regulations for treating and monitoring drinking water delivered by community water systems. Drinking water protection programs at the state and national levels play a critical role in ensuring high-quality drinking water and in protecting the public’s health.

 Data on drought duration and severity in the United States can be used to better understand the connection between drought, other environmental conditions, and health effects. Although many factors influence how drought will affect a community, drought trend data and other related indicators can be used to prepare for and prevent potential health risks.

 All people—regardless of race, color, national origin, or income—are entitled to equal protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

 Looking at data in different resolutions can help us better understand the connections between health and the places where we live, work, and play. Resolution is the detail with which a map depicts the location and shape of geographic features, boundaries, and areas. The Tracking Network allows you visualize data in many different resolutions, and is working towards getting even more localized, finer resolution data for health and environmental data.

 Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, causing about 1 in 4 deaths. In the United States, the most common type of heart disease is coronary artery disease (CAD, or ischemic heart disease), which can lead to heart attack. A heart attack, or acute myocardial infarction, happens when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle is severely reduced or stopped. Several factors can be involved in the increased risk for heart disease. These factors can include health conditions, lifestyle risk factors, genetic and family history, and environment.

A stroke (or brain attack) involves brain damage from a blood vessel in the brain bursting or the occurrence of a blood supply blockage affecting a portion of the brain. Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. There are life-saving treatments for stroke, but patients must receive them in a timely manner.

 As a result of the changing climate, serious weather events, like heat waves, happen more often. These changes have the potential to affect human health in several direct and indirect ways, some of them severe.

 Hormones are chemical messengers that are secreted by glands and regulate many functions as part of the endocrine system in the body. Hormone disorders occur when a gland produces too much or too little of a hormone. Hormone disorders can be caused by many things, including being exposed to certain chemicals in the environment.

 Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. When examining chronic diseases and their potential connection to the environment, it is important to consider lifestyle risk factors that could play a role in their development. Four personal behaviors that can affect chronic diseases are: lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, tobacco use, and excessive alcohol use.

 People are exposed to low levels of pesticides every day in a variety of places—at home, at school, or at work. The health risks from pesticide exposure depend on how dangerous the pesticide is, the amount a person is exposed to, how long the exposure lasts, and the route of exposure. The Tracking Network has data from poison control centers on pesticide exposures and related health effects to help identify trends and patterns over time and across geographies.

 Certain factors, like sex, age, or income can influence an individual’s health, risk for certain diseases, and risk for being seriously affected by public health emergencies. The same is true for population groups.

 Floods are one of the deadliest of all weather-related hazards in the United States.

 Tracking Network data can be used to prepare for and respond to natural disasters or other public health emergencies.

 Tracking radon data in a standard way over time can help us identify areas that need more testing to provide a more accurate estimate of radon exposure in that locale. Every home should be tested for radon so the individuals living there can see if their home has elevated radon levels and take steps to reduce it, if needed.

More than three million healthy babies are born annually in the United States. While most women have a normal term pregnancy and deliver a normal infant, a safe and healthy pregnancy is not experienced by all women. Certain genetic, behavioral, social and environmental factors can affect the parents’ ability to conceive, carry, and deliver a healthy, full-term baby.

 Tracking sunlight and UV exposures in a standard way can help us identify regions of high exposure and to track trends over time.

Transportation choices can shape community health by affecting the air quality, traffic safety, and the physical and mental health of its residents.

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