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Official Website

of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    The .gov means its official.

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    ​Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT)

    The Pennsylvania Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) program delivers data to protect Pennsylvanians from environmental hazards that could harm their health. The program monitors environmental exposures and related health outcomes, measuring changes over time and differences between regions in the state. EPHT provides a virtual platform to think critically about ways to address environmental health problems. It seeks to inform health interventions and policy initiatives by identifying groups, such as those living in Environmental Justice (EJ) communities, that bear an unequal burden of environmental pollution. It aims to be a centralized source of accessible and accurate environmental health information to promote a healthy Pennsylvania for all.

    EPHT Initiatives

    Pennsylvania is getting hotter. The EPHT Program, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Occupational Safety and Health Surveillance Program, is working to reduce heat stress. We monitor environmental health and climate data, including the prevalence of heat-related hospitalizations and emergency department visits, to reduce heat-related injuries and illnesses. Heat stress can impact anyone, but certain populations such as workers and the elderly may be at greater risk of heat-related injury and illness. 

    The following resources have been created:

    National Weather Service (NWS) heat alert counts

    Map data source: National Weather Service (NWS) heat advisories, excessive heat watches, and excessive heat warnings as compiled by the Iowa Environmental Mesonet at Iowa State University. In most parts of Pennsylvania, the NWS issues a heat advisory when the heat index is forecasted to be at least 100°F degrees and an excessive heat watch or warning when the heat index is forecasted to be at least 105°F degrees. The NWS issues heat alerts using forecast zones which often, but not always, align with county boundaries.​

    ​This resource details individual, community, and structural level actions to learn about and advocate for better environmental health. To date, we cover nine environmental health topics.

     

    ​The EPHT Program creates resources to celebrate environmental health awareness days, weeks, and months.

     

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    The Environmental Public Health Tracking Program is funded by the National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    For more information, please contact us at dehe@pa.gov or 717-787-3350.