Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

What Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry does

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a federal, non-regulatory environmental public health agency created by Congress in 1980 under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as the Superfund Act. Overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and organizationally co-located with the CDC's National Center for Environmental Health, ATSDR operates as the lead federal public health agency for determining, preventing, and mitigating human health effects from exposure to hazardous substances. It serves the general U.S. public, affected communities, state, local, and Tribal health departments, military personnel and veterans (notably Camp Lejeune cohorts), and partner federal agencies including EPA and the Department of the Navy, with services provided at no cost.

ATSDR's core deliverables include Public Health Assessments and Health Consultations, Toxicological Profiles for hazardous substances found at National Priorities List sites, the Assessment of Chemical Exposures (ACE) Program for rapid epidemiologic response, the APPLETREE cooperative agreement funding state and local health departments, the Land Reuse Health Program for brownfield redevelopment, Children's Environmental Health initiatives, the National ALS Registry, and exposure-focused health studies such as the Camp Lejeune mortality, cancer incidence, birth defects, and morbidity studies. Underlying capabilities include environmental public health assessment tools, toxicological science, epidemiological research, and groundwater and water distribution system modeling (exemplified by the Camp Lejeune Water Modeling program), alongside geospatial analysis tools such as the Heat and Health Index (HHI). The agency maintains a headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and 10 regional offices co-located with EPA's regional offices, providing coverage across all 50 states, U.S. territories, and Tribal Nations.

As a federal agency, ATSDR is funded through congressional appropriations rather than commercial revenue and does not generate revenue in the traditional sense. Its distribution model relies on direct federal service delivery, 24/7 emergency response capability, cooperative agreements, community advisory panels (e.g., the Camp Lejeune Community Assistance Panel), and public communications channels including its website, email updates, social media, and public meetings. The agency operates without a commercial pricing model and has no funding rounds, acquisitions, or subsidiaries disclosed in the input data.

Name

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Legal name

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Website

https://atsdr.cdc.gov

Company type

Public

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a federal environmental public health agency under HHS that assesses and mitigates health effects from hazardous substance exposure for U.S. communities, state and Tribal health departments, and military veterans, operating at no cost through appropriations and ten regional offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Public Health Services

NAICS

Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924), Administration of Public Health Programs (923120), Environmental Consulting Services (541620)

SIC

Hazardous Waste Management (4955)

akta.pro primary industry

Site Assessment & Remediation (Phase I/II, Cleanup Oversight) (BPAHAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water, Wastewater & Stormwater Compliance (BPAHAJAJ), Water & Wastewater Compliance (NPDES/Stormwater, Pretreatment, Drinking Water/SDWA) (EUAHABAB)

Keywords

• Environmental public health
• Toxicological profiles
• Hazardous substance assessment
• Environmental emergency response
• Public health assessments

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ATSDR is a federal environmental public health agency that conducts public health assessments, health consultations, exposure investigations, and health studies to determine whether people are being exposed to hazardous substances and whether such exposures are harmful. The agency operates programs for toxicological profiling, emergency response, children's environmental health, land reuse, and cooperative agreement funding for state and local health departments, with 24/7 response capability to environmental threats from chemical spills and natural disasters.

Product overview

ATSDR is a federal, non-regulatory, environmental public health agency that protects communities from harmful health effects related to exposure to natural and man-made hazardous substances. The agency offers a unified platform of public health services including Public Health Assessments and Health Consultations, Exposure Investigations and Health Studies, Children's Environmental Health initiatives, and specialized programs like the Land Reuse Health Program and APPLETREE cooperative agreement program. ATSDR also maintains the Toxicological Profiles database, Heat and Health Index tracking tool, and the National ALS Registry. The agency conducts extensive research through water modeling and health studies, particularly exemplified by its Camp Lejeune program investigating VOC-contaminated drinking water exposure, which includes mortality studies, cancer incidence studies, birth defects research, and community advisory panels. ATSDR maintains regional offices within each of EPA's 10 regional offices to provide localized environmental health support across all states and territories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public Health Assessments & Health Consultations ATSDR evaluates whether people are being exposed to hazardous substances and whether that exposure is harmful and should be stopped or reduced, providing systematic evaluation of public health risks at waste sites and other environmental contamination scenarios.
• Heat and Health Index (HHI) Interactive tracking tool that identifies communities where people are most likely to feel the effects of heat on their health, using geospatial analysis to support heat-related public health action.
• Toxicological Profiles Comprehensive documents providing health and toxicity information on hazardous substances found at National Priorities List sites, serving as authoritative federal references for toxicological science.
• APPLETREE Cooperative Agreement Program Partnership to Promote Local Efforts to Reduce Environmental Exposure (APPLETREE) cooperative agreement program that funds state, local, and tribal health departments to detect, respond to, and prevent harmful environmental exposures in communities.
• Land Reuse Health Program Program that promotes health, community involvement, partnerships, communication, and education to include health considerations in brownfield redevelopment and land reuse.
• Assessment of Chemical Exposures (ACE) Program Provides resources for rapid epidemiologic assessment during acute environmental emergencies, enabling timely public health response to chemical exposure incidents.
• ATSDR Emergency Response 24/7 emergency response capability to assist during emergencies involving hazardous substances in the environment, including chemical spills, natural disasters, and other environmental threats.
• Children's Environmental Health Initiatives to protect children in childcare and early learning facilities from environmental hazards, including Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs).
• National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry Registry that collects, manages, and analyzes data about persons with ALS to support research on the disease.
• Camp Lejeune Health Studies Comprehensive health studies investigating exposure to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune, including mortality studies, cancer incidence studies, birth defects studies, and morbidity studies.
• Water Modeling Scientific methods to estimate historical water system conditions and identify where and when areas at Camp Lejeune received VOC-contaminated drinking water.
• Community Assistance Panel (CAP) Community advisory panel that voices concerns of affected community members and provides input on ATSDR's public health activities at Camp Lejeune.
• Vapor Intrusion Public Health Assessment Evaluation of whether people's health might be harmed from current or past exposures to indoor air contamination from vapor intrusion into buildings at Camp Lejeune.
• PFAS and Your Health Information resources explaining how exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can impact health, supporting public education on emerging contaminants.
• Asbestos and Your Health Educational resources explaining how exposure to asbestos can lead to health effects, supporting public education on legacy hazardous substances.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerATSDR staffs a regional office within each of EPA's 10 regional offices. Collaborates on Superfund site assessments, brownfield redevelopment, and land reuse health programs. EPA can award health programs funding through Brownfields awards.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicescoreOthersATSDR is a federal agency overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Part of CDC/NCEH organizational structure.
• State and Local Health DepartmentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPPLETREE cooperative agreement program funds health departments to detect, respond to, and prevent harmful exposures in communities. Health departments form partnerships and implement site-specific protections.
• Tribal NationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerATSDR helps tribal governments identify and address environmental contaminants and investigate exposures on American Indian/Alaskan Native lands.
• U.S. Department of NavycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Camp Lejeune water contamination assessment. DON/ATSDR Data Mining Workgroup conducted meetings from 2010-2012 to complete data gathering for water modeling and epidemiologic studies. Navy provides funding for ATSDR research at Superfund sites on government property.
• Academic InstitutionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with academic institutions are essential for collaboration and leveraging resources to achieve public health goals.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Tetra Tech: Leading federal contractor providing environmental consulting, site assessment, and water quality services to agencies like EPA, DOD, and HHS; supplies capabilities ATSDR contracts for and competes for the same federal environmental health funding pool.
• ICF International: Federal contractor and consulting firm providing environmental health, toxicology, and public health research services to ATSDR-adjacent programs at EPA, NIH, and HHS; competes for cooperative agreement and task order work.

Regional players

• Health Canada / Public Health Agency of Canada: Canadian federal counterpart conducting similar environmental health risk assessment, toxicological profiling, and exposure science; comparable scope and mission but serving Canadian jurisdictions rather than U.S. states.

Direct peers

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH): Sister CDC/HHS agency with near-identical operating model—federal, non-regulatory, conducts exposure assessments, hazard evaluations, and health studies for worker populations. Strongest direct peer given matched mission architecture, scientific workforce composition, and relationship to NCEH/ATSDR.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: Federal research institute conducting environmental health science, toxicology, and epidemiological studies; conducts harmonized research and shares workforce with ATSDR on Superfund-related and PFAS-related scientific questions.
• California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Environmental Health Division: State-level agency executing functions analogous to ATSDR (toxicological evaluations, exposure assessments, site consultations) via cooperative agreement model; strong APPLETREE-style recipient and most comparable state-level peer.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Federal agency co-located with ATSDR in all 10 regional offices; the primary regulatory counterpart that funds ATSDR health programs and acts on its public health assessments at Superfund sites. Direct comparator on environmental mandate and federal operating model, though EPA holds enforcement authority ATSDR lacks.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Parent public health agency with shared NCEH organizational structure; CDC operates the same federal public health delivery model and host multiple ATSDR-aligned programs (e.g., National ALS Registry).
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): Federal agency with overlapping jurisdiction on chemical exposure and workplace hazards; complementary rather than competing, OSHA holds regulatory authority ATSDR lacks while ATSDR provides the health-science backbone.
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry NCEH (combined leadership): Structurally integrated with ATSDR under joint NCEH/ATSDR leadership (Dr. Aaron Bernstein); operates Geospatial Research, Analysis, and Services Program and tracking tools such as the Heat and Health Index tracker that ATSDR surfaces.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/agency-for-toxic-substances-and-disease-registry

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry