ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
This program provides environmental health investigations of restaurants, lodging, and institutional facilities in order to prevent illnesses which can be transmitted through improper sanitation. This is done through routine inspections, educational sessions, and reviewing plans and issuing permits for new facilities.
This program inspects child and adult day care facilities two times per year in order to prevent accidents, food borne illnesses, or the spread of communicable disease. This program also provides continuing cooperation with Child and Adult Day Care Licensing Board located in Raleigh and Department of Social Services of Davidson County.
This program issues operating permits and carries out routine water quality evaluations in order to prevent disease transmission and accidents in public pools and spas.
This program prevents such public health problems as food borne illnesses and the spread of communicable diseases in residential care facilities by doing regular inspections and visitations for follow-up compliance.
This program enforces state laws and rules for the clean up of methamphetamine laboratories where people reside. Owners of the affected property are required to submit a pre-decontamination plan and a post decontamination plan after the clean up. Environmental Health staff review the plans and place where people reside to protect future residents.
Provide screening for lead levels in all children less than six years of age. To work in conjunction with the Regional Environmental Health Specialist to conduct lead hazard investigations in child care centers, any dwelling occupied by a child less than six years of age with elevated blood lead level, order abatement of remediation of lead hazards identified, review and approve lead abatement plans, and conduct a lead abatement verification investigation.
This program inspects tattoo parlors and permits each artist. A separate permit application is required for each location the artist works. Inspections include the facility, record keeping, and communicable disease control issues, in order to protect the public's health.
This program protects the public from rabies outbreaks. This is done by sponsoring rabies vaccination clinics, providing education, investigating animal bites, quarantining animals, and rabies testing. To report possible cases of exposure to rabies please call 336-242-2348. To report a complaint about an animal domesticated or wild, please contact the
ONSITE WATER PROTECTION SERVICES
This program ensures that the drinking water supplies are properly protected in order to avoid potential illness and death. This is done by permitting and inspecting for proper installation, taking water samples for bacterial, chemical, pesticide, and petroleum analysis, assisting in chlorination of contaminated water supplies, and by providing educational materials.
This program enforces state laws and rules pertaining to sewage treatment and disposal in order to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. This is done by evaluating soil and site conditions on each proposed building lot, investigating malfunction complaints, and issuing permits for the installation of sewage disposal systems.
This is an inspection program that protects public health in manufactured home and travel trailer parks by eliminating or preventing public health problems such as solid waste, waste water discharges, and public health pest management.
This program works to control and reduce the vector population through public education about vector borne diseases, including personal protection and control measures.
Vector control is any method to limit or eradicate the mammals, birds, arthropods, or insects which transmit disease pathogens.
The most frequent type of vector control is mosquito control using a variety of strategies, four of which are:
1. Habitat control: stagnant water is avoided, by removal of old tires, empty cans etc., and better management of used water.
2. Insecticides, spread over mosquito breeding zones, sprayed in houses, or impregnated in bednets.
3. Introduction of sterilized male mosquitoes, in order to reduce the breeding rate.
4. Larvicides.
This program enforces state laws and rules pertaining to sewage treatment and disposal and ensures that drinking water supplies are potable in order to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. This is done by an annual inspection of migrant housing facilities and reporting to the N.C. Department of Labor.
The air quality flag program is a multi-colored flag system that will act as a daily indicator of outdoor air quality at community venues. The system includes four colors and is based on the Air Quality Index of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Each day, a flag will be raised that corresponds to the color of the air quality index for that day. The color of the flag determines the schedule of outdoor activities for that day.
Inspected retail food establishments receive a number and letter grade from the Environmental Health Inspector. To find out what restaurants made in their latest inspection please click on the link.
The Mission of the Davidson County Environmental Health Section is to safeguard life, promote human health and protect the environment through the practice of modern environmental health science, the use of technology, rules, public education and above all, dedication to the public trust.
