Our environmental health program provides a wide array of
services designed to protect the health of our residents and those that visit our county.
We have three registered sanitarians with 41 years of experience between them who work closely with the
Office of Environmental
Health Services of the
WV Bureau for Public Health.
Environmental Programs: (Click on a program to find more information)
Food Sanitation
Housing/Institutions
Recreation
Sewage
Water
Disaster/Disease
Food handler Training Schedule
Included under the food sanitation program are restaurants, school cafeterias, grocery stores, temporary food service establishments, mobile food units, and milk distributors. Raleigh county currently has 490 restaurants and 32 school cafeterias. These are inspected a minimum of twice per year and may be inspected more often if necessary. Retail milk samples are taken eight times per year and submitted to the State Hygienic Lab for examination. Should a food disease outbreak occur, our sanitarians would be involved in investigating the food borne outbreak. Complaints against restaurants are investigated by our sanitarians.
Our sanitarians conduct food service worker training classes. (Click here to see the latest training schedule) The Beckley-Raleigh County Health Department requires that each food service worker attend a food service worker training class and pass a written test. A charge of $10.00 is charged for the class and a card is issued for two years.
We have a simple checklist which will help you to evaluate your own kitchen and your food handling practices. If you would like to see this sample checklist, please click on the following link: Home Kitchen Checklist. (back to top)
Many different types of establishments are a part of our housing/institution program. Some include child care facilities, mobile home parks, motel, schools as well as home loan approvals.
We have 36 child care facilities in our county and they are inspected at least twice per year, as are our 65 mobile home parks. We have 34 public and private schools which are inspected every other year.
Upon request our sanitarians conduct home loan evaluations. Most lending institutions require that the sewage systems as well as individual water systems are inspected and approved before money is loaned to potential purchasers of the property in question. Our sanitarians conduct record checks to see that the septic systems were installed under proper permit and properly inspected at the time of installation. Dye tests are conducted on the systems to insure that they are functioning properly at the time of the loan. Individual water systems are inspected for proper construction and bacterial samples are taken at the time of the inspection.
Our sanitarians also check septic systems in conjunction with the requirements of the Raleigh County Code Enforcement. (back to top)
Included in the recreation program are public swimming pools and bathing beaches, campgrounds, organized camps, fairs and festivals, and parks.
Each year our sanitarians inspect food and facilities at the Taste of Beckley, Chili Night, Arts and Craft Festival, Kids Classic, and Wine Tasting at Daniels Vineyard.
Water samples are taken from bathing beaches
and public swimming pools at least twice per season and more often if warranted.
They are sent to the
State Hygienic
lab for examination. Residual chlorine levels as well as pH levels are
also taken at the swimming pools. Swimming pools are inspected prior to season opening and at least
once during the season. Other recreational facilities are inspected on a frequency determined by the
WV Bureau for Public
Health. These frequencies vary according to type of establishment.
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Sanitarians design and inspect individual septic systems. Home owners must obtain a septic tank permit prior to installation of individual septic tank systems. Sanitarians also work with alternative type individual septic systems when soil and topography conditions eliminate the use of conventional septic tank systems. Some existing homes require the installation of individual home aeration units to correct malfunctioning systems. Sanitarians have averaged 90 septic tank inspections over the last 3 years.
If you would like to search for a certified septic tank installer, please follow the link to the WV Bureau for Public Health Public Health Sanitation Page.
Individual water systems are inspected and sampled. Persons wanting to have a well drilled or modified must obtain a permit prior to drilling or modifying the well. Individual water wells must be drilled by licensed well drillers. Those persons licensed to drill wells in WV may be found at the Certified Drillers web site. Water samples are taken quarterly from random sample points on all public water supplies. Those public supplies with fluoridation have fluoride samples submitted quarterly. Sanitarians collect individual water supply samples upon request from home owners. Raw water samples from public supplies are also collected quarterly. Approximately 200 water samples have been taken each year for the last 3 years. (back to top)
Disaster/Disease items range from indoor air quality investigations to full-scale disaster assistance. Raleigh county has several areas that are prone to flooding and has experienced serious flooding over the years. Sanitarians are called upon to inventory and sample water supplies, food sources, and general cleanup operations during flood or disaster situations. Also included in this category are vector control, animal bite and rabies investigations, nuisance complaints, and radon and lead programs. This category covers a broad range of environmental health problems. (back to top)