North Carolina Tracking Program

Website: https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/oee/programs/EnvPubHealthTracking.html
Email: ncepht_support@dhhs.nc.gov
Phone: (919) 707-5900

Goal/Mission:

The North Carolina Environmental Public Health Tracking Program’s mission is to empower communities by providing data and context to inform data driven policies, funding, and solutions to build a healthier and more equitable environment for all North Carolinians.

The program’s core functions include the following:

• Monitor environmental health and climate indicators over space and time.
• Map resources to strengthen community resilience against climate hazards.
• Examine community characteristics and vulnerabilities that lead to inequitable exposures and subsequent disproportionate health outcomes.
• Report findings to partners through education and outreach.
• Collaborate with community, government, and research partners to interpret findings and inform actions that promote health equity.

Milestones:

Important events and achievements of the tracking program

Unique Data:

The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network aims to host data that researchers can use to better understand potential links between the environment and health outcomes. In addition to Tracking’s Nationally Consistent Data Measures, North Carolina Tracking hosts data on climate, social determinants of health, chemical and other toxic incidents, and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Quick Stats:

• North Carolina has experienced rapid population growth over the past 30 years. According to the U.S. Census, North Carolina’s population grew from 6.7 million in 1990 to 10.4 million in 2020.
• From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Piedmont region, from the Sandhills to the beaches of the mid-Atlantic Coast and the Outer Banks barrier islands, North Carolina has several diverse ecosystems that attract tourists and retirees alike. Unfortunately, these ecosystems and the people who live in them are threatened by flooding, hurricanes, extreme heat, and wildfires.
• Education, science, and technology are among the largest industries in North Carolina, with manufacturing and retail closely following. Animal production and agriculture also remain economically important to the state, with an estimated 9 million hogs and 961 million commercial broilers (chickens raised for meat production) raised in North Carolina in 2020.
• Warren County is known as the birthplace of the environmental justice movement. Environmental justice issues in North Carolina include placement and creation of landfills, odors and waste from animal production, coal ash from energy production, odors and waste from paper mills, and failing private wells and septic systems.