Environmental Health- a branch of public Second strategy:

health that deals with the study of preventing

Shown by the treatment of water waste coming
illness by managing the environment and
from domestic and industrial sources prior to
changing people’s behavior to reduce exposure
release in the environment, particularly in the
to biological and non biological agents of
rivers.
disease and injury.
This strategy is specified in R.A 9275 “Clean
Mainly focuses on preventing diseases, which is
Water Act of 204” which took effect on May 6,
more cost- effective that curing and treating
2004 and aimed to abate and control water
diseases.
pollution from land- based sources.
“Envinronmental health deal with disease
Third strategy:
agents, people and the environment” – John
Tomarro The EPI Program’s purpose is to immunize the
children from the infectious diseases of
• Man
tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria,
• Disease agent
pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and measles and
• Environment
to immunize pregnant mothers against tetanus
Man- Disease Agent- Environment link: in order to prevent tetanus neonatorum in their
newly born infants.
Man, by manipulating his own environment, is
able to prevent contracting disease by blocking Nutrition Program’s goal: provide proper
disease agents from entering his body; thus, the nutrition to children and mothers and help
disease agents are unable to attack his body. them become resistant to diseases.

Preventive strategies: Control of Diarrheal Diseases (CDD) Program

1. Change the people’s behavior to - It is not enough to treat children with

manipulate environment and reduce diarrhea by providing Oral Rehydration
their exposure to biological and non- Solutions or Oresol. It is necessary that
biological disease agents an Environmental Health and Sanitation
2. Manipulate the environment to prevent Program through increasing access to
production or presence of disease sanitary toilets and safe drinking water
agents should be included in the CDD program
3. Increase man’s resistance or immunity implementation.
to disease agents.
Environmental Sanitation
First strategy:
- A study of all factors in man’s physical
• People’s use to food safety practices environment, which may exercise a
such as: use of safe drinking water for deleterious effect on his health well-
drinking and cooking. being and survival.
• Handwashing before cooking and eating • Water sanitation
• Washing vegetables properly during • Food sanitation
food preparation • Refuse and garbage disposal
• Storing cooked food in the right • Excreta disposal
temperature. • Insect vector and rodent control
 • Housing MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND
• Air pollution SANITATION PROGRAMS
• Noise
HEALTH AND SANITATION
• Radiological Protection
• Institutional sanitation Diarrheal diseases- first in leading cause of
• Stream pollution morbidity among the general population.

Environmental and Occupational Health Office • Pneumonia

(EOHO) under the National Center for Disease • Tuberculosis
Prevention and Control Program of DOH • Intestinal parasitism
• Schistosomiasis
- Is responsible for the promotion of
• Malaria
healthy and environmental conditions
• Infectious hepatitis
and prevention of environmental
• Filariasis
related diseases through appropriate
sanitation strategies. • Dengue hemorrhagic fever

These strategies include: DOH through EOHO- has the authority to act on
all issues and concerns in environment and
- Water quality surveillance health including the very comprehensive
- Evaluation of food establishments Sanitation Code of the Philippines (PD 856,
- Sanitation management of disaster 1978)
areas
- Impact assessment of environmentally WATER SUPPLY SANITATION PROGRAM
critical projects The DOH through EOHO has set some policies
- Enforcement of sanitation laws, rules, on the following areas:
regulations, and standards.
• Approved types of water facilities
EOHO promotes and provides technical • Unapproved type of water facility
assistance on sanitation programs through the • Access to safe and potable drinking
Department of Health’s Centers for Health and water
Development in the different regions of the • Water quality and monitoring
Philippines. surveillance
The environmental health and sanitation • Waterworks/ Water system and well
program is geared towards the elimination and construction
control of environmental factors in disease
Policies
transmission in all households.
Approved types of water supplies facilities
EOHO is also responsible for conceptualizing
new programs or projects to contend with LEVEL I (Point Source)- A protected or a well-
emerging environmentally related health developed spring with an outlet but without a
problems, like Water for Life, Hospital Waste distribution system, generally adaptable for
Management, Urban Health and National rural areas where the house are thinly
Projects, Pasig River Rehabilitation Project. scattered.

• 15- 25 households
 • Not more than 250 meters from the Water quality and monitoring surveillance
farthest user
Every municipality through its Rural Health
• Yield or discharge from 40- 140 liters
Units must formulate an operational plan for
per minute
quality and monitoring surveillance every year
LEVEL II (Communal Faucet System or Stand- using the area program- based approach.
Posts) – A system composed of a source, a
Require quality standards that meet the
reservoir, a piped distribution network and
provisions of the National Standards for
communal faucets.
Drinking Water set by the DOH.
• Not more than 25 meters from the
The examination of drinking water shall be
farthest housed
performed only in private or in government
• Designed to delivery 40- 80 liters of
laboratories duly credited by the DOH.
water per capital per day to an average
of 100 households Secretary of Health- issues certificate of
• 1 faucet per 4- 6 households. potability of an existing water source.

Generally suitable for rural areas where houses Disinfection of water supply sources is
are clustered densely to justify a simple piped required on the following:
system.
• Newly constructed water supply
LEVEL III (Waterworks System or Individual facilities.
House Connections) • Water supply facility that has been
repaired/ improved.
• A system with a source, a reservoir, a
• Water sources found to be positive
piped distributor network and
bacteriologically by laboratory analysis.
household taps.
• Container disinfection of drinking water
• Generally suited for densely populated
collected from a water facility that is
urban areas.
subject to recontamination like an open
• Requires minimum treatment of
dug wells, unimproved springs and
disinfection.
surface waters.
Unapproved type of water facility
Waterworks/ water system and well
• Water coming from doubtful sources: construction
• Open dug wells • Well sites shall require the prior
• Unimproved springs approval of the Secretary of Health or
• Wells that need priming and shall not his duly authorized representative.
be allowed for drinking water unless • Well construction shall comply with
treated through proper container sanitary requirements of the
disinfection. Department of Health
Access to safe and potable drinking water • Water supply system shall supply safe
and potable water in adequate
All households shall be provided with safe and quantity.
adequate water supply. • Water shall be made readily available to
consumers/ users preferable through
water piped direct to homes to
 minimize contamination and encourage FOOD SANITATION PROGRAM
personal and home sanitation.
Policies
Adequate pressure and volume shall be
• Food Establishments shall be appraised
provided in the water system distribution line.
as to the following sanitary conditions.
PROPER EXCRETA AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL • Inspections/ approval of all food
PROGRAM sources, containers, transport vehicles.
• Compliance to Sanitary Permit
Policies
requirements for all Food
Approved types of toilet facilities Establishments.
• Provision of updated Health Certificate
LEVEL 1
for food Handlers, cooks and cook
Non- water carriage toilet facility- no water is helpers which include monitoring as to
necessary to wash the waste into the receiving presence of intestinal parasites.
space. • DOH’s Administrative Order no. 1-
2006 requires all laboratories to use
Examples: Pit latrines, reed odorless earth
Formalin Ether Concentration
closet.
Technique (FECT) instead of the direct
Toilet facilities requiring small amount of water fecal smear in the analysis of stools of
to wash the waste into receiving space. food handlers.
• Destruction or banning of food unfit for
Example: Pour flush toilet and aqua privies. human consumption.
LEVEL II • Training of food handlers and operators
on food sanitation.
On site toilet facilities of the water carriage type
with water- sealed and flush type with septic Food establishments shall be rated and
vault tank disposal facilities. classified as follows:

LEVEL III • Class A- Excellent

• Class B- Very Satisfactory
Water carriage types of toilet facilities
• Class C- Satisfactory
connected to septic tanks and/ or to sewerage
system to treatment plant. Ambulant food vendors shall comply with the
requirements as to the issuance of health
In rural areas, the “blind drainage” type of
certificate which also include monitoring the
wastewater collection and disposal facility shall
presence of intestinal parasite and bacterial
continue to be the emphasis until such time
infection.
that sewer facilities and off- site treatment
facilities shall be made available to clustered Household food sanitation are to be promoted
houses in rural areas. and monitored and food hygiene education to
be intensified through health education and
Conventional sewerage facilities are to be
provision of IEC materials.
promoted for construction in “Poblacions” and
cities in the country as developmental
objectives to attain control and prevention of
fecal water borned disease.
Four Rights in Food Safety: Right Storage

These four rights on food safety involve in the • All cooked foods should be left at room
chain food processing from the source in the temperature for not more than two
market until the food reaches the table. They hours to prevent multiplication of
mainly encompass the following: bacteria.
• Store cooked foods carefully. Be sure to
Right Source:
use tightly sealed containers for storing
• Always buy fresh meat, fish, fruits and food.
vegetables. • Be sure to store under hot conditions
• Always look at the expiry dates of (at least or above 60 degrees
processed food and avoid buying the centigrade) or in cold conditions (below
expired ones. or equal to 10 degrees centigrade).
• Avoid buying canned foods with dents, • This is vital if you plan to store food for
bulges, deformation, broken seals and more than 4- 5 hours.
improper seams. • Microbial organisms easily multiply
• Use water only from clean and safe within the 10- 60 degrees centigrade
sources. temperature.
• When in doubt of the water source, boil • Foods for infants should always be
water for at least 2 minutes (running freshly prepared and not to be stored
boiling) at all.
• Do not overburden the refrigerator by
Right Preparation
filling it with too large quantities of
• Avoid contact between raw foods and warm food.
cooked foods • Reheard stored food before eating.
• Always buy pasteurized milk and fruit Food should be reheated to at least 70
juices. degrees centigrade.
• Wash vegetables well if to be eaten raw Rule in Food Safety: “When in Doubt, throw it
such as lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes & out!”
carrots.
• Always wash hands and kitchen utensils HOSPITAL WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
before and after preparing food.
Municipal refuse disposal- hospitals uses for
• Sweep kitchen floors to remove food disposing hospital waste.
droppings to prevent the harbor of rats
and insects. Policies

Right Cooking • All newly constructed/ authorized and

existing government and private
• Cook food thoroughly and ensure that hospitals shall prepare and implement a
the temperature on all parts of the food Hospital Waste Management (HWM)
should reach 70 degrees centigrade. Program as a requirement for
• Eat cooked food immediately. registration/ renewal of license.
• Wash hands thoroughly before and • The use of appropriate technology and
after eating. indigenous materials for HWM system
shall be adopted.
 • Training of all hospital personnel 2. R.A 6969 – “Toxic Substances
involved in waste management shall be Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control
an essential part of hospital training Act 1990” and its implementing Rules
program. and Regulations (DAO 29) (1992)-
• Public information campaign on health Regulating the importation, use,
and environmental hazard arising from movement, treatment and disposal of
mismanagement of hospital shall be the toxic chemicals and hazardous and
responsibility of hospital nuclear wastes in the Philippines.
administration. 3. R.A 8749 “Clean Air Act of 1999”
• DOH Hospital Waste Management - Provides a comprehensive air pollution
guidelines/ policies shall be guided by management and control program to
existing legislative health and achieve and maintain healthy air.
environmental protection laws policies - Section 20 bans the use of incineration
on waste management. However, with for municipal, bio- medical and
the passage of the R.A 8749: “Clean Air hazardous wastes but allows the
Act of 1999” it is now unlawful to use traditional method of small- scale
incinerators in hospitals and LGU’s community.
garbage disposal. 4. R.A 9003- “Ecological Solid Waste
• Local ordinances regarding the Management Act of 2000”
collection and disposal techniques shall - It declares the adoption of a systematic,
be institutionalized. comprehensive, and ecological solid
waste management program as a policy
PROGRAM ON HEALTH RISK MINIMIZATION of the State. Adopts a community-
DUE TO ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION based approach. Mandates waste
1. Stockholm Convention on Persistent diversion through composting and
Organic Pollutants (POPs) in May 2001, recycling.
where the Philippines is a signatory and 5. R.A 9275- “Clan Water of 2004”
eventually ratified by the Senate on - This law aims to establish wastewater
February 2, 2004 through Senate treatment facilities that will clean
Resolution 676. wastewater before releasing into the
This treaty bans the use of POPs in bodies of water like the rivers and seas.
households and industries. These POPs Furthermore, it also requires LGUs to
are called “Dirty Dozen” of pesticides, form Water Management Areas that
industrial chemicals and unintentional will management wastewater in their
by- products of burning: respective.
• Pesticides: aldrin and dieldrin, 6. SUPPLEMENTAL IMPLEMENTING RULES
endrin, chlordane, heptachlor, DDT, AND REGULATIONS OF CHAPTER II-
hexachlorobenzene, mirex “WATER SUPPLY”, OF THE CODE ON
toxaphene SANITATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (P.D
• Industrial chemicals: 856)- this supplemental IRR provides
the guidelines on the proper regulation
• Unintentional by- products of
of the water filling stations.
burning: Digoxin and Furans
(caused by burning plastics)