Environmental Health

LT William “Billy” Eickmeyer, Department

Head
Environmental Health

 Food, Water, Solid Waste and Health and Sanitation Support

– Medical Readiness Inspections
– Technical Assist Visits
– Ship Sanitation Control Exemption Certificates
 Preventive Medicine Support
– Theater Security Cooperation Missions
• Pacific Partnership, CARAT, Cobra Gold
– Fleet Liaison
 PrevMed/Environmental Health Training
– Food Safety Supervisors/Managers
– Ship Sanitation Certificate Program

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 Water Testing

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 Chlorine (Cl)

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Chlorine

 Two types of chlorine testing.

– Total Available Chlorine
• Remaining chlorine after interaction with water
– Residual/Free Chlorine
• Concentration of chlorine available for disinfection
 Background
– To determine the chlorine concentration ability to disinfect water
 Instruments
– Utilizing reagents and colorimeter to determine chlorine levels in water

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Chorine

 Total Available Chlorine  Free Available Chlorine

– Requirements for treated water – Requirements for treated water
• Total Chlorine should be • Free Chlorine should be
between 0.5 and 2.0 mg/L between 0.2 and 2.0 mg/L

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 pH

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pH

 Background
– Scale used to specify how acidic or basic a water-based solution is
– Acidic solution have a lower pH, while basic solution have a higher pH

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pH

 Using the colorimeter

– Step 1
• Prepare the blank sample: Fill cell with water to the 10 ml mark
• Clean the blank sample
– Step 2
• Insert the blank into the cell holder and install the instrument cap over the cell holder
• Push the ZERO button and the display should show 0.0
• Remove the blank sample cell.

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pH

 Using the colorimeter

– Step 3
• Prepare the sample: Fill cell with water to the 10 ml mark
• Add one Phenol Red Tablet
• Shake sample cell for 20 seconds
– Color will vary depending on the pH levels
• Clean sample cell
– Step 4
• Insert the sample to the cell holder
• Push the READ button and document results

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pH

 pH requirements
- Between 6.5 and 8.5 pH

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 Test Strips

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Test Strips

 Capabilities
– Able to test simultaneously
• Total Available Chlorine
• Free Available Chorine
• pH
– Great for quick, on-site evaluation of water quality

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Test Strips

 Step 1
– Dip entire strip into water for 1 second (or pass under water steam, remove
 Step 2
– Compare test results to the color chart provided for pH
 Step 3
– Dip strip again into the water and move back and forth for 30 second (or hold 2 chlorine pads under water stream
for 10 seconds)
 Step 4
– Compare Chlorine pads to color chart provided

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 Bacteriological Testing

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Bacteriological Testing

 Presence/Absence Coliform Test

– Colilert (IDEXX)
– Background
• To monitor drinking water for
microorganisms that may produce
disease
• No specific pathogens
• Presence of an indicator
organism
• Coliform group bacteria
– Instruments
• Utilizing reagents and incubator
to determine presence of coliform
• Even though a presences or no
presence, attempt to quantify
coliforms

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Bacteriological Testing

 Collecting water samples

– When collecting water sample, let the water run for 1-3 minutes

– Collect 100 ml of water into a sterile plastic container or sterile plastic bag that contains sodium thiosulfate .

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Bacteriological Testing
 Step 1
– Wear your personal protective equipment (PPE) example gloves
 Step 2
– Reassure that the incubator is on and set at 35°C +/- .5°C
 Step 3
– Add reagent to sample and shake vigorously for 20-30 seconds
– Incubate for 24 hours
 Step 4
– Read result:
• Colorless/clear = negative
• Yellow = total coliform
• Yellow/fluorescent = E. coli

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 Food Safety

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Potentially Hazardous Foods
Many foods can breed
harmful bacteria, including:

Cooked Rice
Meat Poultry or Pasta Shell Eggs

Dairy Fish/Shellfish Cooked Beans/

Tofu

Garlic/Oil Baked or Boiled Raw Sprouts

Mixtures Potatoes
Sliced Melons

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 The Temperature “Danger Zone”
Harmful bacteria grow fast at temperatures between 42º F and 134º F

Minimize time food is in the danger zone while:

Storing Preparing
Displaying
Cooling Serving

Any food kept at unsafe temperatures for more than 4 hours

should be discarded!

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Thawing Frozen Food

 Refrigerator (41°F or lower)

 Running Cold Water

 Microwave (if cooked immediately)

 Cooking (part of cooking process)

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 Questions?

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