Health Department to Evaluate Livingston County Facilities for Environmental Hazards

LIVINGTON COUNTY – The Livingston County Department of Health will soon be evaluating county facilities for possible environmental hazards to workers.

According to a press release from the Livingston County Department of Health, their Center for Environmental Health the evaluation will be part of their new Healthy Buildings program, which offers preventative education to local workers to educate them about possible environmental health hazards where they work.

“As one of the healthiest counties in New York State, we continue our commitment in helping the people of Livingston County to protect themselves from environmental health hazards,” said Mark Grovanz, Director of the Center for Environmental Health.

Grovanz said that that it is still being decided which county facilities will be evaluated.

“Right now we’re zeroing in on [which facilities will be evaluated],” said Grovanz. “The program is still in its earliest stages of development.”

The new program has a similar approach to the Healthy Homes Program, which was designed about 10 years ago to help homeowners preemptively identify potential hazards within and around the home before they cause a health problem. The Healthy Homes program was reestablished in 2015 after a brief hiatus.

The Healthy Buildings program is largely targeted toward indoor air quality and other factors that influence health in the workplace.

The Health Department says that many people spend approximately one-third of their time at work, so awareness of potential health hazards is vital.