Environmental Health Division
Highlights
Environmental Health Division
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soilSHOP builds partnerships with local communities
soilSHOP events are designed to raise awareness about lead in soil, provide health education, and connect people to resources that help reduce exposure. Community members bring soil samples from their yards, gardens, or play areas to be screened for lead on the spot. Staff and partners, including health educators and environmental scientists, are on site to guide participants through the process. MDH staff support our local public health partners at the event screening soil samples for lead with an X-ray fluorescence device, and health educators then explain the results to them in clear, plain language. soilSHOP events emphasize partnership and community engagement. Working with local partners is integral to the events’ success, not only to strengthen relationships with local public health, but also to accomplish successful outreach that drives participation from the local community.
Investigating Environmental Contamination: Minnesota Supplement
The guide, created by the Minnesota Department of Health to provide local sources of information and data, is to empower community members who are concerned about environmental exposures in their neighborhoods. The information and resources are intended to help community members take steps to figure out if contamination is affecting the health of members of their community.
Wildfire Smoke
Wildfire smoke is becoming a more frequent part of life in the U.S. and Minnesota – even when wildfires burn thousands of miles away.
Extreme Heat
Extreme heat describes weather that is much hotter and/or humid than typical for a place and time of year.
Children's Environmental Health Resource webpage
Children's environmental health is an important concern to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). The Resources for Children's Environmental Health webpage brings together practical information to help parents, caregivers, and communities keep kids healthy.
Well Tested? Well Done SE Minnesota
Thousands of residents in Southeast Minnesota rely on private well for their drinking water. Private well users are responsible for maintaining their well water system, testing, and if necessary treating their water. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recommends that private well users in any part of the state test their drinking water annually for coliform bacteria and nitrate and at least once for arsenic, lead, and manganese. With support from the Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment, MDH and the Tap-In Collaborative are offering free water test kits to private well users in eight southeast Minnesota counties in response to requests from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Currently over 3,700 test kits have been requested and over 1,700 kits have been returned and analyzed. To learn more about work being done in southeast Minnesota related to nitrate visit Well Tested? Well Done SE Minnesota.
Licensing System
Minnesota Department of Health Licensing System is available for Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM), Registered Environmental Health Specialists/Registered Sanitarians (REHS/RS), Lead, Asbestos and Wells and Boring.
EH topics
The Environmental Health Division (EH) works on multiple topics to support the health of all Minnesotans. You can search these topics on the Topic Index webpage.
Minnesota Office of Accessibility
State of Minnesota’s free e-Learning program on how to create accessible documents.