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