The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has awarded a grant to the Alaska Native Health Board (ANHB) to support surveys of the dietary habits of Alaskans who regularly eat traditional foods. The award provides a cornerstone for the ATSDR Alaska Traditional Diet Project, an effort begun in October 2000. The ANHB is developing an oversight committee to assist in soliciting and selecting grantees from among local communities and villages to implement regional dietary surveys. Training will be provided to enable grantees to administer the surveys and compile the data. This effort is one of numerous activities in Alaska that are attempting to determine the impact of environmental contamination on residents.
ATSDR is a public health agency in the Department of Health and Human Services. It is responsible for preventing or reducing the harmful effects of hazardous substances on human health and quality of life. ANHB, established in 1968, is at the forefront of addressing Alaska Native health issues. Their purpose is to promote the spiritual, physical, mental, social, and cultural well-being and pride of Alaska Native people.
The Alaska Traditional Diet Project was developed to assist consumers of Alaskan traditional foods in making informed dietary decisions to prevent adverse health outcomes. The project was developed in response to concerns about the effects of environmental contamination that is present in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. Many Alaskans worry that exposures to contaminants resulting from a subsistence lifestyle, or through commercial and recreational activity, can potentially lead to cancer, worsen existing conditions such as diabetes and asthma, and increase the incidence of other health problems. To enable informed choices about foods, Alaskans have requested more information about the risk from these exposures and the nutritional benefits of traditional foods.
ATSDR has worked with Native Alaskans; federal, state and local government officials; organizations focused on health, nutrition and the environment; and concerned residents to devise appropriate strategies. To date, ATSDR has provided support for consensus-building meetings, environmental sampling (to augment findings from the dietary surveys), and development of the dietary survey instrument. Development of the survey tool is a critical step in ensuring that data collection is accurate and consistent.
Community members who would like additional information about the ATSDR Alaska Traditional Diet Project may call Leslie Campbell or Bill Cibulas, toll free, at 888-477-8737 or call Richard Kauffman in the ATSDR Region 10 office (Seattle) 206-553-2632. ATSDR has published information about the project on its website. The address is http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/alaska
Members of the news media are requested to make an appointment for individual interviews with ATSDR staff. Phone Donna Garland, ATSDR Office of Policy and External Affairs, at (404) 498-0080.
Release Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2022
ATLANTA, GA – Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released the report for the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure assessment (EA) conducted in Moose Creek, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, near Eielson Air Force Base.
Release Date: Wednesday, July 01, 2020
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) announced today the initiation of an exposure assessment in Moose Creek, Alaska, in Fairbanks North Star Borough (AK) near Eielson Air Force Base. The purpose of the exposure assessment is to provide information to the community members about the levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in their bodies and provide information about exposures in the broader community.
Release Date: Tuesday, August 01, 2017
ATLANTA – The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a federal public health agency and sister agency of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is seeking public comment from residents of St. Lawrence Island, on two draft health consultation reports for Gambell and Northeast Cape on St. Lawrence Island. ATSDR will accept written comments on the draft health consultation report through September 30, 2017.
Release Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2009
ATLANTA - The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has completed a health consultation requested by the Alaska Native villages of Port Graham, Nanwalek, Seldovia, and Tyonek in the Cook Inlet area of Alaska. Village residents asked for the health consultation to find out whether eating Alaska Native traditional foods could harm people's health.
Release Date: Wednesday, January 24, 2007
A report released by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) concludes that, overall, the communities surrounding Elmendorf Air Force Base (EAFB) in Anchorage, Alaska, have not been exposed to base-related contaminants at levels considered harmful to human health.
Release Date: Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Communities surrounding the Eielson Air Force Base (EAFB) outside Fairbanks, Alaska, have been exposed to no contaminants from base materials released into the environment at levels considered harmful to human health, says the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). In a newly released report, the agency addresses the concerns of on-base anglers’ potential exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish captured from the Garrison Slough, and to fuel-related and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the groundwater.
Release Date: Monday, October 27, 2003
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, today is issuing the final public health assessment on the Fort Wainwright site in Fairbanks, Alaska. The purpose of this public health assessment is to evaluate potential sources of contamination associated with Fort Wainwright and to identify potential exposure pathways in the surrounding communities. The most common contaminants at the base are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and petroleum, oils and lubricants.
Release Date: Thursday, September 11, 2003
In ATSDR's public health consultation issued for the Galena Airport site in Galena, Alaska, the agency did not identify issues that pose an imminent public health threat. The health consultation outlines environmental issues and health concerns that will be evaluated by ATSDR in a future public health assessment (PHA).
Release Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2003
The public has from Aug. 13 through Sept. 12 to comment on a public health assessment of the Fort Wainwright site in Fairbanks, Alaska. ATSDR finds the contaminant substances from post operations present no past, current or apparent future public health hazard.
Release Date: Thursday, March 21, 2002
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, today announced the availability of the public comment version of its health assessment for the Naval Air Facility on Adak Island, Alaska.
Release Date: Friday, November 09, 2001
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department Health and Human Services, announced today the availability of the draft public health assessment for the Ketchikan Pulp Company (KPC), Ketchikan, Alaska, for public review and comment.
Release Date: Friday, November 09, 2001
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department Health and Human Services, announced today the availability of the draft public health assessment for the Ketchikan Pulp Company (KPC), Ketchikan, Alaska, for public review and comment.
Release Date: Tuesday, October 09, 2001
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has awarded a grant to the Alaska Native Health Board (ANHB) to support surveys of the dietary habits of Alaskans who regularly eat traditional foods. The award provides a cornerstone for the ATSDR Alaska Traditional Diet Project, an effort begun in October 2000. The ANHB is developing an oversight committee to assist in soliciting and selecting grantees from among local communities and villages to implement regional dietary surveys. Training will be provided to enable grantees to administer the surveys and compile the data. This effort is one of numerous activities in Alaska that are attempting to determine the impact of environmental contamination on residents.
Release Date: Monday, August 14, 2000
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced today the release of the draft results of the public health assessment for the Alaska Pulp Corporation (APC) site in Sitka, Alaska.