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Board
of Health Policy Goals and Priority Work Projects
Goal 5: Promote healthy and safe
environments
(Priority Work Project: Environmental Health)
Environmental Health Committee:
Keith Higman and
Karen VanDusen
Lead Staff: Ned Therien
Environmental health focuses on the health interrelationships between
people and their environment, and promotes a safe and healthful
environment. Environmental health issues such as food safety, drinking water
quality, and onsite wastewater treatment are foundations of public health.
The Board's
2007 Strategic Plan
identifies four objectives under the goal of
promoting healthy and safe environments:
- Increasing awareness of the impact of the build environmental on
health.
- Assuring Board environmental health rules are doing what they are
designed to do.
- Promoting school environments that protect human health
- Reducing human exposure to environmental toxins.
Environmental Justice
The Boards priority
environmental health work in 1999-2001 was in the area of
Environmental Justice. For 2001-05 the Board identified
Environmental Health as a priority area. The Environmental Health Committee
followed up on the environmental justice work, surveyed community
assessment processes, reviewed zoonotic disease prevention measures, revised several rules, and responded to citizen inquiries.
Community
Environmental Health Assessment Report
The Boards environmental
justice work found that communities perceive the need for more meaningful
community involvement in addressing environmental health issues. In
response to this finding, the Environmental Health Committee researched
existing processes and models used by local, state, and federal agencies to
resolve environmental health problems with communities. The committee worked with agency and community representatives to evaluate the strengths and
weaknesses of existing processes and recommended how to improve community
engagement.
Information was summarized and presented in a
report by Board
sponsor Carl Osaki and policy analyst Marianne Seifert at the October 2004
Board meeting.
Zoonotic Disease
and Exotic Pets Report
The Board participated in a
work group of Department of Health and local health jurisdiction experts in
2003-04 to evaluate public health authority related to diseases
transmissible from animals to humans (zoonoses). This included a review of
public health concerns regarding diseases carried by common pets and exotic
animals. The work group developed four recommendations for the public health
community to help control zoonotic diseases:
1. Develop a zoonotic disease
response plan.
2. Revise existing Board rules on rabies and psittacosis.
3. Give further consideration to adopting a point-of-sale education
requirement for all reptile sales.
4. Monitor the situation and periodically reevaluate whether additional
regulation is needed.
At its October 2004 meeting,
the Board approved a report sponsored by Chair Thomas Locke, MD, and
prepared by policy analyst Candi Wines titled,
Zoonotic Diseases
and Exotic Pets: A Public Health Policy Analysis.
Rule Revisions
The Board has statutory
authority to adopt rules in several environmental health areas (RCW
43.20.050 (2)) and will continue to review rules over the 2006-07
period. These include:
Citizen Inquiries
The Board has a statutory
mandate to provide forums for the development of public health policy in
Washington State, and to consider the citizen input gathered at the forums. It is empowered to hold hearings and explore ways to improve the health
status of the citizenry
(RCW 43.20.050 (1).
One area of citizen inquiry
has been regarding indoor air quality in schools. The Board has received input on school indoor air quality issues from many
sources: public
testimony, school district staff, local health jurisdiction staff, the
Healthy Schools Task Force, and others.
At its July 2003 meeting the Board heard a summary of the
School Environmental Health Rule Review, OSPI's School Environmental
Health Initiative, and state and local efforts to prevent and respond to
school environmental health concerns. The Board directed Board staff to
begin revising Chapter
246-366 WAC in 2004.
Board staff and Department of Health staff formed a rule development
advisory committee that met between November 2004 and July 2005 to provide
rule revision recommendations.
Additional information about the process is available on the Department
of Health's
School Rule Web site.
Additional Materials and
Resources
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