State Biomonitoring Programs
Program History
For more than three decades, CDC’s Division of Laboratory Sciences has produced data on the U.S. population’s exposure to hundreds of environmental chemicals and published its findings in peer-reviewed literature and in the National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals.
In 2009, CDC launched the State Biomonitoring Cooperative Agreement. The goal of the program is to increase states’ capability and capacity to conduct targeted and population-based biomonitoring to assess human exposure to environmental chemicals in their communities.
Program Information
CDC’s Division of Laboratory Sciences provides funding and support to states by training laboratory staff on analytical methods, data processing, and sample management. CDC program staff also provide technical support and quality assurance services to state public health laboratories and conduct site visits. Funded state biomonitoring programs and CDC staff meet annually to share best practices and address broad technical issues.
When the program started in 2009, 33 states applied for funding, and following an objective panel review, California, New York, and Washington were awarded a total of $5 million annually to support their state-based laboratory biomonitoring programs.
In 2014, CDC received 20 applications for the subsequent five-year funding opportunity. Following an objective panel review, six awardees were selected: California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Virginia, and Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico (as part of the Four Corners States Biomonitoring Consortium).
In 2019, 17 applicants competed for funding. As in the previous two cycles, an objective review panel was convened and six awardees were selected for funding:
Click on the map or the links above to learn more about the 2009, 2014, and 2019 funded states and their programs.
National Biomonitoring Network
CDC, Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and state public health laboratories collaborated to launch the National Biomonitoring Network (NBN), which supports laboratories using biomonitoring in public health practice and in response to environmental emergencies. The NBN complements CDC’s cooperative agreement efforts to expand state-based biomonitoring capabilities and capacity to assess exposures to local chemicals of concern.
For more information, please visit APHL’s NBN web page.