TAX 5. Environmental Health Parasitic and problems in the infectious diseases are among the most serious health Marshall Islands. Gastroenteritis, amebiasis, other dysenteries, parasitic infestation, and other gastro-intestinal disorders, when classified as a unit, are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. While there is not enough data to directly attribute all] the above conditions to poor environmental sanitation, it is reasonable to assume that improvements in environmental sanitation would have an impact on improving the health status of the people of the Marshall Islands. Due to the importance of environmental health in preventive medicine the Environmental Health Division operates as an independent division of the Department of Health Services. with general served as The Environmental Health Division is charged sanitation and public health an arm of the U.S. responsibilities and also has Environmental Protection Agency to enforce regulations which are related to pollution control. The major responsibilities of the Environmental Health Division are: Monitoring of public drinking water quality Monitoring of sewage disposal practices Monitoring of solid waste disposal Monitoring of lagoon water quality Issuance of dredging permits Enforcement of regulations regarding oi] spillage and other harbor pollutants Ship inspection Village inspections School and other public facility inspections (camps, theatres, prisons, etc.) Issuance of building permits (for water supply and waste water only) Inspection of restaurants, bars, bakeries, grocery stores, and the fish market Rodent and insect control Advice to citizens regarding private water supplies, sewage and solid waste disposal, personal and home hygiene, etc. Public environmental health education All the above responsibilities of the Environmental Health Division are governed by Trust Territory laws, rules, regulations and codes which were developed and administered by the Trust Territory Environmental Protection