Environmental Health

Enhance force health protection through the prevention of disease and injury by evaluating environmental health hazards and providing consultative support for their effective assessment, management, and communication.    Services
 

• Provides technical assistance and consultation support to operational Navy and Marine Corps activities and units, including Medical Readiness Inspections, recommendations for improvement and compliance with Environmental Health standards and principals (e.g., potable water and wastewater systems, food safety programs, waste management, habitability assessments, and overall sanitation).​
• Inspects and issues appropriate Ship Sanitation Control Program (SSCP) Certificates which include either a Ship Sanitation Control Exemption Certificate (SSCEC) or a Ship Sanitation Control Certificate (SSCC) to all Navy, Army, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, and Military Sealift Command vessels in their local region and upon request.
• Provides instruction, technical expertise, and quality assurance of the SSCEC program in their area of responsibility (AOR) which ensures ships in U.S. and foreign ports are free of public health threats.
• Provides technical assistance to organic preventive medicine assets and pre-deployment technical assistance for operational units.
• Conducts Occupational and Environmental Health Site Assessments when tasked to identify and quantify health hazards that pose potential risks to forces deployed ashore.
• Provides specialized expeditionary water lab services in determining short term drinking water analysis for Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief (HA/DR) and contingency operations support.

FAQs
 
Q:  How long is a Ship Sanitation Control Program Certificate (SSCP) good for?
A:  The Ship Sanitation Certification is good for six months. The certificate is provided using NAVMED Form 6210/1, U.S. Navy Shipboard Sanitation Control Exemption/Ship Sanitation Control Certificate (SSCEC/SSCC).  A one-month extension may be requested up to 30 days before the expiration date of the existing SSCEC. This extension is provided using NAVMED Form 6210/2, Notification of 30-Day Extension of Ship Sanitation Exemption Control Certificate or Ship Sanitation Control Certificate.
 
Q:  Who is authorized to conduct SSCP inspection?
A:  According to BUMEDINST 6210.4 (8MAR2013), Navy Authorized Agents to inspect and issue SSCEC/SSCC certificates are Preventive Medicine Technicians (NEC8432). Navy Environmental Health Officers individually approved by the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center upon completion of established training criteria. Agents must have a CDC seal issued by NMCPHC to inspect and issue SSCP certificates or extensions. Authorized inspectors serving aboard U.S. Navy ships in which NMCPHC has issued a CDC seal shall neither inspect, nor issue, a SSCP certificate for their own ship; however, they may issue certificates for other allowed vessels.
    
Q:  Are rat guards needed while in a U.S. port?
A:  OPNAVINST 6210.2 no longer requires the use of rat guards by ships except when the ship is berthed in a port where plague is endemic. However, continuing efforts to prevent entry of rodents onto the ship and sanitary measures to eliminate food and harborage sources aboard the ship are still necessary, particularly in areas where large populations of rodents exist. Accordingly, there may be instances when commanding officers or medical department representatives determine the use of rat guards to be advisable as an additional protective measure against rodent entry.
 
Q:  I am deployed with no access to other ships or a shore facility and lost/misplaced my original SSCP form which has the seal on it. How can I get a new form? Is it okay for it to be mailed to me?
A:  For lost/misplaced SSCP forms, contact the original issuing authority for a copy of the form with seal. Mail is an acceptable method to receive a copy of the original form.
  Resources

Program and Policy Support (navy.mil)  
Contact Information

usn.hampton-roads.navhospporsva.list.nepmu2norfolk-fleetsupport@health.mil
Quarterdeck: 757-953-6600