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Report of the
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Environment
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Report of the
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Environment
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Human health and the environment are inextricably linked. In rural areas, issues as diverse as land use, agricultural practice, water quality and biodiversity, all affect human health. Similarly, air and water quality, transport choice, urban form, and environmental health infrastructure underpin the health status of people in the urban and built environments. Increasingly, the effects on human health of global phenomena such as population growth and climate change are also recognised at a local level.
Responsibility for the management of environmental health hazards is deployed across three tiers of government. The Commonwealth and States work cooperatively to set environmental standards for drinking water and air quality. In NSW, the NSW Department of Environment and Conservation has carriage of legislation governing controls on air and water quality, chemical hazards, and contaminated land. The NSW Department of Health has specific responsibilities in relation to drinking water; and a variety of infectious hazards linked to premises and the built environment including Legionella in public air conditioning systems, tattooing and the funeral industry. The NSW Department of Health and Public Health Units in Area Health Services work in partnership with local government to manage these hazards effectively. The NSW Department of Health also manages statewide programs such as the Aboriginal Environmental Health Program, the NSW Drinking Water Monitoring Program and the Arboviral Disease Program. Increasingly, the NSW Department of Health is becoming involved in assessment of the health effects of major developments within NSW.
This chapter presents an overview of some important indicators of environmental health status in NSW, including air and water quality, blood lead levels and the Housing for Health program. It has been designed to complement rather than duplicate the comprehensive information presented in the triennial NSW Department of Environment and Conservation's New South Wales State of the Environment reports.
| For more information: |
EnHealth Council is the peak Environmental Health body in Australia. EnHealth website enhealth.nphp.gov.au Department of Environment and Conservation. New South Wales State of the Environment 2003. Sydney: Department of Environment and Conservation, 2003. Available at www.environment.nsw.gov.au/SOE/soe2003/index.htm. The next edition of the report is expected at the end of 2006. NSW Department of Health. Water Quality and Health website at www.health.nsw.gov.au/public-health/ehb/water/drinkwater.html |
| Print version: | Although this page can be printed directly from your Web browser, a higher quality version of this entire page (graph, table and text) is available as an Acrobat PDF file which can be printed or viewed on screen using free software. |
| Copyright notice: | This work is copyright NSW Department of Health, 2006. It may be reproduced in whole or in part, subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source. Commercial usage or sale is prohibited. |
| Suggested citation: | Population Health Division. The health of the people of New South Wales - Report of the Chief Health Officer. Sydney: NSW Department of Health. Available at: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/public-health/chorep/env/env_intro.htm. Accessed (insert date of access). |
| Produced by: | Centre for Epidemiology and Research, Population Health Division, NSW Department of Health. |
| Last updated on: | 16 November 2006 |
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