Local and residential hygiene; advice and monitoring
Brief description
An important sub-area of environmental hygiene is local and residential hygiene.Description
As adults in industrialized European countries spend around 80 to 90 percent of the day indoors, an adequate standard of hygiene is essential from a health perspective.Organic and inorganic gases, dust, fibrous dusts and other environmental pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pentachlorophenol (PCP) or formaldehyde, allergens, microorganisms and their metabolic products as well as radiation, odors and noise are possible disturbance variables that must be taken into account when assessing the hygiene of places and homes.
The advisory and monitoring tasks of the health authorities of the districts and independent cities in the area of local and residential hygiene primarily extend to public areas and buildings such as schools, kindergartens, children's playgrounds and public swimming pools; if requested by other authorities, the health authorities can also be called in to assess the hygiene of private areas in individual cases.Legal basis