The mission of the Analytical Chemistry programs within the State Public Health Laboratories is to provide analytical and technical laboratory information in support of state and national public health programs. The Analytical Chemistry Programs represent a first line of defense in the rapid recognition of toxic chemical exposures, aiding in the medical treatment of exposed individuals and the prevention of avoidable exposures. Core functions and responsibilities include:

Support environmental health and epidemiological programs that investigate human exposures to chemicals in the environment, with the ultimate goal of reducing or preventing harmful exposures. The human biomonitoring program provides analytical chemistry support for projects that assess human exposures to environmental contaminants such as mercury, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants.
Respond to chemical emergencies or chemical terrorism events, by providing rapid and definitive testing to identify and quantify chemical agents in specimens from exposed humans.
Helpful information for chemical terrorism preparedness and response can be found at the following website: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/chemical/
Provide forensic toxicology support to the State Medical Examiners office, to detect the presence of toxic chemicals or drugs of abuse in specimens from deceased humans (under development).
In collaboration with other agencies, provide high-complexity chemical testing services to detect the presence of trace chemical contaminants in a variety of sample types.