Hazard caution concept

The ATSDR Partnership to Promote Local Efforts to Reduce Environmental Exposure (APPLETREE) cooperative agreement program will award $13.95 million to fund 30 state health departments to evaluate past and present exposure to environmental hazards and to prevent future exposures. The cooperative agreement will provide $69.8 million (projected) to 30 state health departments over the next 5 years, beginning April 1, 2023, and is part of the White House Justice40 Initiative.

ATSDR will give resources and guidance to assess and respond to site-specific issues involving exposure to hazardous substances in the environment. These activities include the following:

• Identifying exposure pathways at specific sites

• Reviewing environmental and health data to identify potential health risks from exposures

• Making recommendations to prevent exposures

• Educating affected communities and local health professionals about site contamination and potential health effects at sites

Some recipients will also use program awards to develop plans and take action to protect children from environmental hazards through the safe siting of early care and education facilities.

Safe siting of early care and education facilities will review the following:

• Former uses of a site that might have left harmful substances on the property (buildings and land)

• Possible migration of harmful substances onto the site from nearby properties or activities

• Any naturally occurring harmful substances on site

• Access to safe drinking water at the site

A total of thirty state health departments applied for this funding and all state health departments that submitted an application will be funded under this Cooperative Agreement.

The APPLETREE program is critical to ATSDR’s success in accomplishing its mission to protect people’s health from environmental hazards that can be present in the air they breathe, the water they drink, or the food they eat. ATSDR is a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and co-located with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For a copy of the funding opportunity announcement, click here.