The National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). It is a unique and unprecedented collaboration of federal, state, and local, and tribal government agencies; environmental and public health scientists, researchers, and leaders; community, faith-based, and nonprofit organizations; concerned citizens nationwide; and, representatives from private industry. Everyone who cares about the issues of chemical safety and public health is encouraged to lend his or her voice.
The goal of this National Conversation is to develop an effective, efficient, fair, and collaborative action agenda with recommendations for strengthening our nation’s efforts to protect the public from harmful chemical exposures.
The National Conversation is hosting the first of three facilitated Web dialogues to begin gathering public input from Monday, April 5 through Wednesday, April 7. Two virtual conversations will be conducted each day, and the public is invited to participate in one or all six. And because the National Conversation is committed to transparency, archives of all conversations will be available online for public review for five years. The agenda for the first Web dialogue includes:
· Monday, April 5: “Understanding the National Conversation” and “Achieving the National Conversation’s Vision”CDC and ATSDR invite you to participate personally in and blog about this first Web dialogue, and encourage you to invite others to do the same.
· Tuesday, April 6: “Involving People in Decisions that Affect their Health” and “Improving Research & Information Collection & Management”
· Wednesday, April 7: “Preventing Harmful Exposures” and “Responding Effectively to Exposures.”
For more information and to register for this event
This dialogue is just the first of several upcoming opportunities for the public to participate in the National Conversation. In the coming months, CDC & ATSDR will also be launching:
· The Community Conversation Toolkit, a downloadable resource to encourage real-world conversations. This toolkit will provide background information on chemical exposure issues, a discussion guide, and directions for providing input to the larger National Conversation.Additional requests for information can be directed to Dagny Olivares at CDC
· Two more facilitated Web dialogues to garner public input on developing National Conversation efforts as well as the draft action agenda.
You can also help keep the conversation going by following us on Twitter and Facebook.
