County and Environmental Health Programs
Individual cities and counties have their own public health departments. Your local health department may have a website describing its environmental health programs.

California Air Resources Board (CARB)
CARB seeks to promote and protect public health, welfare and ecological resources through the effective and efficient reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering the effects on the economy of the state. CARB developed A Public Participation Guide to Air Quality Decision Making in California.

California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)
This department serves as a regulator in clean up of hazardous waste sties, including brownfields properties being prepared for reuse.

California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA)
Cal/EPA has programs that address the cleanup of hazardous waste sites and setting limits of exposures to contaminants.

California Regional Water Boards
The State Board's mission is to preserve, enhance and restore the quality of California's water resources, and ensure their proper allocation and efficient use.

Division of Drinking Water and Environmental Management
California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
This division of CDPH has programs that regulate public drinking water, medical waste generators, shellfish production and harvesting operations, and recreational health (swimming pools and ocean beaches). This division also oversees radiological surveillance around federal facilities, the state's radon program, and low level radioactive waste disposal.

Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control
California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
This division of CDPH has programs that provide investigation, research and education about health impacts related to exposures at work or in the environment.

Division of Food, Drug, and Radiation Safety
California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
This division of CDPH has programs that investigate, inspect, and control foods, drugs, medical devices, and radioactive materials.

Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)
This agency sets limits of exposure to contaminants based on medical and toxicological information.

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR)
ATSDR evaluates the effect on public health of exposure to hazardous substances in the environment.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The CDC conducts environmental public health activities such as keeping track of some health outcomes through national survey and, providing educational resources. The CDC also houses the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH)/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Note: NCEH and ATSDR were combined in 2007.

National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH)
NCEH carries out many activities including laboratory research, tracking and evaluating environment-related health problems, and helping national and international agencies prepare for environmental emergencies.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)
NIH carries out and funds medical and behavioral research for the nation in order to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
NIEHS, which is an institute of the NIH, carries out research to understand how the environment influences the development and progression of human disease.

United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
The mission of the US EPA is to protect human health and the environment. The US EPA is divided into 10 different regions, and California is a part of Region 9.The US EPA Superfund Division oversees the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. The agency maintains the nation's National Priority List, which contains the hazardous waste sites that are in most critical need of being cleaned up. US EPA also regulates facilities that treat, store, and dispose of hazardous waste. This program is named after the law that created it, the Resource Conservation Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA). In the state of California, the Department of Toxic Substances Control has been given responsibility to oversee the RCRA program. California follows some of the federal rules for defining hazardous wastes. However, the state regulates many substances as hazardous that are not regulated under federal rules (see the California Department of Toxic Substances Control's Managing Hazardous Waste).