What we do
At Environmental Health Wales, we work to keep people and communities across Wales safe, healthy and well.
Whether it’s making sure food is safe to eat, tackling noise and pollution, or helping improve housing conditions, our services are here to protect your everyday health and wellbeing.
See the services we provide and how they support you.
Environmental Health Case Studies
Food safety and integrity
Around one million people suffer from food-borne illnesses every year, costing the UK economy £1bn (source: National Audit Office) Environmental Health Service in local authorities work hard to ensure the food we eat is safe and what it says it is.
Food poisoning can cause serious illness and even death, so a major part of the job is to make sure that food is handled, prepared, stored and served safely by providing advice to food businesses, schools, hospitals and consumers and enforcing food law. This could be from the corner cafe to the best five-star hotel. Environmental Health Professionals also work to protect consumers with food allergies from harm, providing businesses with advice and making sure allergen labelling rules are followed.
Air quality
In Wales 44 Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) have been declared by local authorities, of which 43 have been declared as they exceed the EU legal limits for nitrogen dioxide associated with vehicle emissions and one for particulate matter from an industrial source (source: DEFRA).
EH Service are involved in monitoring air quality and seeking to improve local air quality. Where concentrations of pollutants exceed regulatory standards, Environmental Health will declare an air quality management area and produce action plans to remedy the problem. As motor vehicles are often the cause of high levels of these pollutants, many Environmental Health professionals, work closely with traffic planners.
Health and Safety
1.8 million workers suffering from work-related ill health (new or long-standing) in 2022/23 (Ref: Statistics – Work-related ill health and occupational disease). A lack of appropriate regulation, advice and support to local businesses can increase the risks to health associated with health and safety related issues (including serious illness and death) to members of the public and employees.
Local authorities predominantly cover the retail, consumer services, entertainment and warehousing/supply chain sectors and are responsible for around two thirds of all business premises. Local authorities carry out health and safety inspections and investigate complaints about workplaces targeting interventions on those activities that give rise to the most serious risks or where the hazards are least well controlled.
Housing
In terms of mental health impacts, living in non-decent, cold or overcrowded housing and in unaffordable housing has been associated with increased stress and a reduction in a sense of empowerment and control over one’s life and with depression and anxiety. Children living in overcrowded homes are more likely to be stressed, anxious and depressed, have poorer physical health, attain less well at school and have a greater risk of behavioural problems than those in uncrowded homes.
General
In addition, Local authorities across Wales are working closely with key partners to ease the pressure on Environmental Health services, helping to free up officer time for priority work.
For example, Pembrokeshire County Council has recently authorised its officers to issue Community Protection Warning Notices and Community Protection Notices, under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to Registered Social Landlords operating within its administrative area.
