Environmental Services

The Environmental Section of the Jefferson County Health Department performs a variety of services for the community. One of our most important responsibilites is to provide systematic inspections of all food handling establishments in the county including:

Bakery Shops	Grocery Stores	Daycare Centers
Ice Cream Shops	Convenience Stores	Golf Snack Shops
Senior Centers	Hospitals	Meat Markets
Candy Shops	Restaurants	Taverns
Pool Snack Bars	Head Start Centers	Catering Services

and any other establishments which prepares, serves, manufactures or stores food. These inspections insure compliance with sanitation standards and sanitary practices. The inspections are also crucial to the prevention of food-borne disease outbreaks.

Summer day camps, swimming pools and snack bars are inspected once a month during the season of operation.

Sewage, insect, and rodent complaints are investigated and corrective actions are recommended.

Reports of animal bites are recorded and heads of biting animals are submitted to the State Laboratory for testing.

Environmental complaints are received, answered and/or referred to other appropriate agencies.

Public swimming pools are inspected to insure chemical and bateriological quality.

Commericial lodging (hotels and motels) are inspected annually for safety and cleanliness.

Public and private drinking water supplies are tested for batereial contaminiation (there is a fee charged).

An Environmental Public Health Specialist will inspect a private well for sanitation defects upon requests from the owner. Chemical screening tests are performed on individual wells (a fee is charged).

Professional specialists provide education to food service personnel in safe, sanitary, and healthful food handling procedures.

Specialists also respond to citizen complaints related to a variety of environmental and other potential hazards.

For more information, please contact us.