Rep. Rick Hansen Tours Centers for Disease Control’s Environmental Health Laboratory

St. Paul, Minnesota — State Representative Rick Hansen (DFL – South St. Paul) participated in a tour of the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Environmental Health Laboratory last week prior to the National Conference of State Legislatures 2013 Legislative Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. Rep. Hansen was nominated to participate in the event by House Speaker Paul Thissen. The trip was sponsored and paid for by the NCSL’s Environment Committee and the Association of Public Health Laboratories.

“It was a great experience to tour the CDC’s Environmental Health Laboratory,” said Rep. Hansen. “The research that goes on here is incredible and makes an impact in so many fields. I look forward to taking back this information and looking into how our state labs can coordinate and assist the CDC.”

CDC’s Environmental Health Laboratory provides unique laboratory science that improves the detection, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases resulting from exposure to environmental chemicals and selected other diseases that require advanced laboratory measurement for accurate diagnosis. 

The laboratory plays a leading role in responding to toxic chemical exposures from environmental releases, terrorist threats, and public health emergencies involving chemicals. Participants will tour the lab, hear from the CDC lab director about how the agency responds to such emergencies, and learn how state labs can assist in these efforts.