The environmental Web: a national profile of the state infrastructure for environmental health and protection

The success of our national environmental policies depends upon the capacity of states to implement them. This article presents the findings of an examination of the state level organization of environmental health and protection services. The goals of the project were to conduct a descriptive analysis of the structure, functions, and funding of state environmental health and protection services, and to examine the impact of the major federal environmental statutes on the organization of the state infrastructure. Future environmental progress will depend upon an improved understanding of the relationship between human health and the environment. This will require a commitment to improving the public health training of environmental professionals, and improved cooperation between health and environmental agencies to assure that they do not lose sight of their fundamental mission--the protection of public health.