Enhancing the public health perspective on onsite wastewater systems.

Editor’s note: NEHA strives to provide up-to­ date and relevant information on environmen­ tal health and to build partnerships in the pro­ fession. In pursuit of these goals, we feature a column from the Environmental Health Ser­ vices Branch (EHSB) of the Centers for Dis­ ease Control and Prevention (CDC) in every issue of the Journal. In this column, EHSB and guest authors from across CDC will highlight a variety of concerns, opportunities, challenges, and successes that we all share in environmen­ tal public health. EHSB’s objective is to strengthen the role of state, local, and na­ tional environmental health programs and professionals to anticipate, identify, and re­ spond to adverse environmental exposures and the consequences of these exposures for human health. The services being developed through EHSB include access to topical, rel­ evant, and scientific information; consulta­ tion; and assistance to environmental health specialists, sanitarians, and environmental health professionals and practitioners. The conclusions in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily rep­ resent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Max Zarate-Bermudez is an epidemiologist who joined CDC in June 2008. Previously, he was an assistant professor of environmental health at East Carolina University in Green­ ville, North Carolina, where he taught safe water and wastewater management courses. Enhancing the Public Health Perspective on Onsite Wastewater Systems