Reorganization of the National Center for Environmental Health, 6526-6527 [2024-02018]

Agencies

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 22 (Thursday, February 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6526-6527]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02018]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Reorganization of the National Center for Environmental Health

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: CDC has modified its structure. This notice announces the 
reorganization of the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH). 
NCEH retitled three branches and established the Environmental Public 
Health Tracking Branch.

DATES: This reorganization was approved by the Director of CDC on 
January 26, 2024 and became effective January 26, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: D'Artonya Graham, Office of Strategic 
Business Initiatives, Office of the Chief Operating Officer, Office of 
the Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton 
Road NE, MS TW-2, Atlanta, GA 30329; Telephone 770-488-4401; Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Part C (Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention) of the Statement of Organization, Functions, and 
Delegations of Authority of the Department of Health and Human Services 
(45 FR 67772-76, dated October 14, 1980, and corrected at 45 FR 69296, 
October 20, 1980, as amended most recently at 88 FR 69188-69190, dated 
October 5, 2023) is amended to reflect the reorganization of the 
National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention. Specifically, the changes are as follows:
    I. Under Part C, Section C-B, Organization and Functions, make the 
following changes:

 Update the functional statements and retitle all references to 
the Asthma and Community Health Branch (CNCC) to the Asthma and Air 
Quality Branch (CNCC)
 Update the functional statements and retitle all references to 
the Lead Poisoning Prevention and Environmental Health Tracking Branch 
(CNCD) to the Lead Poisoning Prevention and Surveillance Branch (CNCD)
 Update the functional statements and retitle the Emergency 
Management, Radiation, and Chemical Branch (CNCE) to the Emerging 
Environmental Hazards and Health Effects Branch (CNCE)

    II. Under Part C, Section C-B, Organization and Functions, after 
the Emerging Environmental Hazards and Health Effects Branch insert the 
following organizational unit:

 Environmental Public Health Tracking Branch (CNCG)

    III. Under Part C, Section C-B, Organization and Functions, insert 
the following:
    Asthma and Air Quality Branch (CNCC) (1) develops, implements, and 
evaluates asthma programs and strategies that are part of the National 
Asthma Control Program to reduce asthma morbidity and mortality; (2) 
conducts epidemiologic research and investigations of asthma morbidity 
and mortality; (3) develops program, conducts epidemiologic analysis 
and supports other activities to address social determinants of health 
related to asthma disparities; (4) supports surveillance activities for 
asthma, and other respiratory diseases, as appropriate, to quantify 
burden and guide programs; (5) identifies the evidence for, promotes, 
and tracks interventions that reduce the burden of asthma, focusing on 
populations with a disproportionate burden of the disease; (6) develops 
and disseminates training, tools, communication products, and other 
resources to strengthen and sustain asthma control activities and 
technical capacity among national, state, tribal, local, territorial 
and other program partners; (7) provides technical consultation to 
state, local, private, international, and other federal agencies on 
asthma control, surveillance, epidemiology, and evaluation (including 
economic evaluation; (8) disseminates and promotes information from 
surveillance and health studies related to asthma control; (9) conducts 
epidemiologic research and investigations of the potential health 
effects of ambient air pollutants, including wildfire smoke; (10) 
designs and evaluates behavioral, communication, policy, technological, 
and community design interventions to reduce exposures to air pollution 
and improve health; (11) supports activities to reduce indoor air 
pollution; (12) develops and coordinates training and decision support 
tools to strengthen and sustain air pollution activities and technical 
capacity among national, state, tribal, local, and territorial program 
partners; (13) provides technical consultation to federal, state, 
tribal, local, territorial, private, and international agencies on 
environmental issues related to air pollutants; (14)

[[Page 6527]]

disseminates, communicates, and promotes information to protect 
communities from adverse health impacts from air pollution; and (15) 
coordinates asthma- and air quality-related activities throughout CDC.
    Lead Poisoning Prevention and Surveillance Branch (CNCD) (1) 
establishes, monitors, and evaluates goals and objectives for a 
national childhood lead poisoning prevention program and blood lead 
surveillance system for CDC; (2) develops and implements an integrated 
national program to eliminate childhood lead poisoning through 
partnerships with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, other federal agencies, and 
national organizations; (3) coordinates efforts of federal, state, 
local, tribal and territorial agencies that have programs related to 
childhood lead exposure and prevention to achieve national objectives 
and performance standards related to eliminating childhood lead 
poisoning; (4) supports state, local, tribal and territorial health 
agencies, and other stakeholders, in planning, developing, and 
implementing childhood lead poisoning prevention programs and blood 
lead surveillance systems; (5) collects, analyzes, and disseminates 
data on blood lead levels in U.S. children; (6) develops, conducts, and 
evaluates epidemiologic research on childhood lead poisoning including 
risk factors, geographic distribution, and trends; (7) works 
collaboratively across, NCEH, CDC and with external partners to build 
capacity for science, innovation, and translation research to 
accelerate progress towards national lead poisoning prevention goals; 
(8) develops and implements, in concert with other federal agencies, 
national organizations, and other appropriate groups, a training agenda 
for public health professionals related to childhood lead poisoning 
prevention and surveillance activities; (9) administers the CDC/NCEH 
Federal Advisory Committee relevant to lead poisoning prevention; and 
(10) coordinates lead poisoning prevention and surveillance activities 
through the Division, Center, and with other components of CDC and 
external stakeholders, as appropriate.
    Emerging Environmental Hazards and Health Effects Branch (CCNCE) 
(1) promotes public health protection from environmental hazards and 
exposures, as well as environmental health disasters--both natural and 
technological--through education, training, and information 
dissemination to the general public as well as the public health and 
clinician communities; (2) serves as the CDC lead to prepare for and 
respond to natural, nuclear/radiological, and chemical emergencies; (3) 
provides CDC leadership to protect public health and safety through 
independent oversight of the Army destruction mission including 
stockpiled weapons and recovered chemical weapons; (4) addresses 
environmental health emerging hazards by conducting surveillance, 
public health response, and environmental epidemiologic investigations 
and studies; (5) responds to outbreak or cluster investigations of non-
infectious etiology; and (6) builds the environmental epidemiology 
capacity of domestic and international public health partners.
    Environmental Public Health Tracking Branch (CNCG) (1) develops and 
maintains the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, 
the cornerstone of the Environmental Public Health Tracking Program, 
which connects environmental and health data at the national, state, 
and local levels to drive innovative, cutting-edge programs and 
solutions that protect and improve the health of communities across the 
country; (2) collects, integrates, analyzes, and disseminates non-
infectious disease, environmental, and sociodemographic data from a 
collective of partners at the national, state, and local levels; (3) 
delivers health, exposure, and hazards data, information summaries, and 
tools to enable analysis, visualization, and reporting of insights 
drawn from data; (4) provides timely, local, accessible information 
that drives actions to improve community health; and (5) empowers 
environmental and public health practitioners, healthcare providers, 
community members, policy makers, and others to make information-driven 
decisions that affect their health.

Delegations of Authority

    All delegations and redelegations of authority made to officials 
and employees of affected organizational components will continue in 
them or their successors pending further redelegation, provided they 
are consistent with this reorganization.

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3101)

Robin Bailey, Jr.,
Chief Operating Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2024-02018 Filed 1-31-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P