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6 <br />ORANGE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT <br />Board of Health Policy and Procedure Manual <br />Section I: Board Adopted Policies <br />Policy D: Requests for Environmental Services and Assessments <br />Reviewed By: Board of Health & Health Director <br />Approved By: Board of Health <br />Policy 1.0 Requests for Environmental Services and Assessments <br />Policy <br />This policy covers processing and budgetary considerations regarding requests from <br />citizens and communities for environmental services and assessments to determine <br />whether environmental contaminants are present, environmental degradation has <br />occurred or for the applicant's information for future reference. <br />Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to determine when environmental services, <br />surveys or assessments will be conducted and also to set forth the funding mechanisms <br />for those actions. Also covered within the policy scope is the decision tree for when <br />community assessments will be considered and the ensuing financial responsibilities for <br />those expanded efforts. This policy is not intended to cover nor does it cover <br />applications, inspections, approvals or other processes for regulatory programs generally <br />administered in the Environmental Health Services Division. <br />Section I Policy Overview <br />1.0 Environmental Health routinely receives concerns and queries from Orange <br />County residents regarding environmental investigations to determine whether <br />an environmental exposure exists and also whether unusual disease prevalence <br />is occurring. These requests may arise from an individual or from communities. <br />This policy addresses general and specific practices for these requests and <br />assigns responsibilities for their dispensation. <br />Section II Individual Requests <br />1.0 Individual residents may request services and environmental assessments for <br />their property, whether owned outright, leased, rented, or otherwise legally <br />occupied. These services include septic inspections, water samples, indoor air <br />quality (IAQ) assessments, vector control inspections, single disease case <br />investigations, or other services germane to current or future environmental <br />health programs. <br />Section III Community or Collective Requests <br />1.0 The following types of community or collective studies and assessments will be <br />considered and acted upon by staff with the appropriate approval(s) when <br />environmental conditions are suspected as a causative factor: <br />1.1 Acute and Chronic Disease <br />a. Airborne, vector borne and waterborne diseases are environmentally <br />related in their transmissions and may affect a community as a <br />whole. Chronic diseases such as asthma and cancer can have <br />causative factors related to environmental conditions and exposures. <br />Current Review/Revision Date: October 24, 2007 Page 1 of 4 <br />Original Effective Date: August 24, 2006 Last Revision Date: August 24, 2006 <br />