The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a federal public health agency, is pleased to announce that a new notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for its APPLETREE program has been published on www.Grants.gov.
This new three-year ATSDR’s Partnership to Promote Local Efforts to Reduce Environmental Exposure (APPLETREE) cooperative agreement program will fund approximately 25 state and local health departments and/or federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native Tribal governments for a period of performance from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2023.
Through this cooperative agreement, funded applicants will receive resources and guidance to assess and respond to site-specific issues involving exposure to hazardous substances in the environment. This includes:
- Identifying if and how people are exposed to toxic chemicals at specific sites,
- reviewing environmental and health data to identify potential health risks,
- making recommendations to prevent exposures, and
- educating affected communities and local health professionals about site contamination and potential health effects
In addition to these activities, the funded applicants will use the funds to protect children from environmental hazards by ensuring assessment of new early care and education facilities for young children. The safe placement of early care and education facilities includes a review of:
- former uses of proposed sites that may have left harmful chemicals or metals on the property (both building and land),
- possible leakage of harmful substances onto the site from nearby properties or activities,
- any naturally occurring harmful substances on site, and
- access to safe drinking water at the site.
Applications are due no later than 11:59 p.m. (ET), on December 15, 2019. Please spread the word to eligible applicants that might be interested in applying. Information on how to apply is available at www.grants.gov.
For more information about ATSDR, please visit www.atsdr.cdc.gov or call 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636). For more details about the APPLETREE program, visit https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/states/index.html.