MISSION - VISION - GUIDING PRINCIPLES - KEY GOALS

The Office of Environmental Health Services (OEHS) is responsible for developing, administering and implementing a statewide comprehensive environmental health program that is designed to provide mandated services for the health and well-being of citizens of West Virginia in the home, workplace and the community at large.

The OEHS is divided into three divisions, each with its own specialization and tasks. These three divisions are: Environmental Engineering, Public Health Sanitation, and Radiation, Toxics and Indoor Air Quality. A fourth major section of the OEHS is Administration. Administration exists to support each of the divisions through financial management, purchasing, receptionist services, and computer support and networking.

The Environmental Engineering Division has the responsibility to develop, administer and manage programs designed to enhance and improve public health. The division's responsibilities include:

• Primacy for the federal Safe Drinking Water Act to assure all the 2000 public water supplies in the state provide a safe, reliable water supply meeting the latest federal and state standards.
• Investigate, evaluate and make health risk assessments of environmental multi media exposure factors affecting the public.
• Administer the state Drinking Water Treatment Revolving Fund.
• Provide professional management, engineering and technical assistance to public and private entities to enhance their effectiveness in the protection of public health.
• Provide training and certification for water treatment and waste water treatment plant operators, managers, sanitarians, and water well and monitoring well drillers.
• Provide public information and outreach activities to inform individuals of environmental issues affecting public health.
• Advance source water protection and preservation initiatives and programs.

The Public Health Sanitation Division has the responsibility to carry out programs designed to eliminate, control and constantly improve environmental and public health sanitation factors that may, through direct or indirect causes, adversely affect the health and well-being of West Virginians. The primary objectives of this division include to:

• Investigate health hazards and complaints related to sewage, infectious medical waste, food, milk and bottled water supplies in the state
• Enforce laws and regulations concerning on-site sewage disposal, infectious medical waste, food, milk and bottled water
• Educate households, haulers and health care providers on proper disposal of sharps and syringes
• Inform/educate people of proper emergency /disaster cleanup procedures
• Assure a competent public health sanitarian workforce

The Radiation, Toxics and Indoor Air Quality Division is responsible for developing and implementing activities to prevent environmental exposure to toxic substances such as asbestos, lead and radiation. This is achieved by identification of hazardous exposures, public education/information and control of exposures. The major goals of this division include to:

• Enforce laws and regulations regarding the health and safety of asbestos and lead abatement projects as well as the inspection and surveillance of mammography and x-ray devices
• Educate the public concerning dangers of radon gas and the need for testing and mitigation
• Investigate health problems resulting from lead sources in homes of lead-poisoned children as well as indoor air quality