NALBOH Environmental Health Primer

The National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH) is pleased to provide the second edition of the Local Board of Health Environmental Health Primer. In the first edition, NALBOH identified faculty of environmental health programs to develop the Primer for local board of health members. In the second edition, NALBOH staff and NALBOH’s Environmental Health Subcommittee identified key passages that needed updating and revision. The Environmental Health Services Branch encouraged the project and provided technical oversight and support.

Local boards of health are responsible for assuring the provision of adequate public health services in their communities, including protecting a community from environmental health risks. A board of health’s role is to:

Assess a community’s environmental health needs
Develop or recommend policies and programs to meet a community’s environmental health needs
Assure that the personnel, training, and resources are available to support necessary environmental health programs.

This responsibility is a dynamic one. Needs change, the scientific knowledge base grows, and regulatory requirements are modified. Periodic evaluation and implementation of responsive program modifications are vital to ensure that community environmental health needs are met.

NALBOH Publications

The Local Board of Health Environmental Health Primer, Second Edition pdf icon[PDF – 2.9 MB]

Fact Sheets

Page last reviewed: June 30, 2014

Content source: National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice