There have been a number of calls for such a national environmental health monitoring system that would expand current human exposure monitoring and health surveillance efforts complimented by the development and validation of a variety of potential indicators for environmental health status. Some members of Congress have begun work on legislation to appropriate funds needed to provide for such a system, while Federal agencies have begun discussions of implementation and development of indicators. The Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine is convening this workshop as an opportunity to discuss current efforts by industry, private, global, US federal government, and state governments. The workshop will take a critical look at potential indicators, proposed calls for monitoring, and other national monitoring systems to stimulate discussion of the necessary steps for a national environmental health monitoring system.

Historically, various governmental agencies and other organizations have directed substantial resources to tracking pollutants in our environment and, to a lesser extent, various health conditions of our population. However, these efforts, in and of themselves, are often fragmented and incomplete and designed with little thought as to potentially linking such data sets. Thus, it is almost impossible to know if changes in environmental policies and practices produce the sought-after health benefits. Yet, that is precisely the information desired by the public. It is clear that the US needs to establish a national environmental health monitoring system which strengthens the surveillance of key health conditions in conjunction with monitoring the presence of pollutants in out bodies and the environments with which we come into contact. The recent, tragic events in the US further reinforce the critical need to have access to reliable data on environmental exposure and disease outcomes. In times of crises, the information is needed quickly and in a usable format.