Americans Concerned About Link Between Health And Environment: Survey

A survey released Sunday shows that Americans believe the government should be monitoring chronic diseases and their links to environmental hazards. The survey was released by Health-Track, a national public health organization funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

When asked what priority the government should give to reducing illnesses that may be caused by environmental pollutants, 44 percent of the respondents said that the federal government should give the issue top priority while 48 percent of those surveyed said their state and local governments should give the problem top priority. In addition to a lack of federal tracking, there are currently no state-level tracking systems for chronic diseases and environmental hazards, according to Jim O’Hara, executive director of Health-Track.

“Even at the state level, there may be bits and pieces, but no one has a comprehensive approach going,” O’Hara said.

The survey polled 1,565 registered voters nationwide between April 20-30 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Stateline.org is also funded by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts.