Maintaining a healthy atmosphere in your everyday life is beneficial to a healthy lifestyle. From food safety to mold remediation to properly discarding medications no longer needed, environmental health plays a significant part in your own health.
Food Safety/Food Handling
Properly handling, storing and discarding food items helps ensure sanitary environments and healthy eating.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has more information on food safety.
Food inspections are conducted by the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
Lead Screening
Lead can be highly toxic, and in turn, cause a range of health problems. Adults and children can suffer effects of lead poisoning. However, childhood lead poisoning is more frequent.
Call the Health Department for more information on lead screening.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has more information on residential lead hazard prevention.
Mold
Mold is naturally occurring, but mold in a home or building can be bad because it may cause respiratory illness in some individuals.
Mold needs water to grow inside of a building. If you have mold in your home or building, you likely have a water problem such as a leaky pipe or basement flooding.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has more information on mold and mold remediation.
Unused Medications
Properly discarding unused and unneeded prescription medications is vital to keeping the medications from being misused.
Medications no longer needed can be discarded at the Newton Police Department. Additionally, the Harvey County Sheriff's Office participates in the national Drug Take Back Day initiative twice each year.
The Health Department can help you dispose of needles, also known as sharps.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more information on properly disposing of medications.
