Meet Environmental Health Professionals

Drew Kupper
LICENSED LEAD RISK ASSESSORS/PUBLIC HEALTH SANITARIAN I
PLACE OF WORK: PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT

1. Did you graduate from an accredited program? Which one?
I graduated in 2005 from Ohio University, which is an accredited program, with a degree in Environmental Health Science.

2. Why did you choose to pursue a career in environmental health?
I was interested in biology but I was looking for something to do with a more hands on approach and thought environmental health might be a perfect fit.

3. Why do you continue to work in the environmental health field?
I enjoy this work because it is interesting and there is always something new.

4. What advice would you give students considering enrolling in an accredited environmental health program?
I would advise anyone considering working towards an environmental health degree from an accredited school to go for it. Having a degree from an accredited program shows that you have been exposed to an education that focuses on preparing students for a career in this field. There are lots of environmental health jobs available right now and going to an accredited school will be beneficial when you are trying to land a good job.

5. What characteristics do you think makes someone successful in the environmental health field?
Having a strong science background is useful, but more importantly one has to want to do good for society by bettering the public environment.

6. What do you do? Can you describe your main duties? In other words, what makes your job interesting, unique, or important?
I work for the healthy homes program which entails childhood lead poisoning prevention. When there is a child with an elevated blood lead level we go to the child’s home and do a lead risk assessment. The risk assessment is to determine the presence of lead hazards in the home which may have contributed to the child’s lead poisoning. If lead hazards are identified in the home we issue lead abatement orders to the property owner so that the child can live in a lead free environment. We also educate the parents on the dangers of lead poisoning and lead poisoning prevention as well as monitor the child’s blood lead level until it reaches a safe level. We use the information we gather from these inspections to establish high risk zip codes which normally correlate with inner city poverty.

7. How does your career influence environmental health?
We work to protect the general public from environmental hazards such as lead paint. We educate the public about the environmental health hazards that can be found in homes by outreaching to local communities. We also provide free testing to educate parents about the risks of lead and lead poisoning.

8. What would you tell students considering this career path?
This line of work is very rewarding. What’s great about environmental health is the diversity of jobs within the field. There are lots of niches you can find yourself in, but the skills you learn from each job can transfer over if you decide to specialize in a different area.

9. What would the world be like without people like you doing your particular job?
Unfortunately there would be more cases of childhood lead poisoning. Children in these high risk zip codes would be more likely to have behavioral problems, lower IQ’s, hyperactivity, brain damage, learning disabilities and other health problems caused by exposure to lead.

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