Front CoverContact
Director's Overview
Office of the Director
GenomicsHuman ResourcesInformation and TechnologyIowa Laboratory Appraisal Program - CLIAOrganizational DevelopmentPublic PolicyResearch and DevelopmentStrategic Communications
Year at a Glance
Administration and Finance
Financial ManagementCentral Accessioning and ReceivingCentral ServicesEducation and OutreachFacilitiesGlasswareGrants and ContractsMedia / Reagent LabSafety and Security
Disease Control Division
Environmental MicrobiologyMaternal Prenatal ScreeningMicrobiologyMolecular DiagnosticsNewborn ScreeningSerology
Environmental Health Division
Ambient Air QualityBlood LeadEmergency PreparednessFERN Chemistry CAPGas Chromatography AnalysisIndustrial Hygiene and AsbestosInorganic ChemistryIowa Lakeside Laboratory -
Regents Resource CenterLimnologyLiquid ChromatographyRadiochemistryRadiological Emergency Response Team
Testing Data - Page OneTesting Data - Page TwoRevenueExpenses
Back Cover
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
DIVISION
The Environmental Health Division monitors Iowa’s air, water and soil through analytical testing mandated by the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. Environmental scientists test for contaminants of public health concern and respond to environmental and natural disasters, such as compromised water supplies due to chemical spills and flooding.

Radiological Emergency Response Team

The Hygienic Laboratory is a member of Iowa’s Radiological Emergency Response Team (RERT). This group provides field monitoring, technical consultation and initial accident assessment in coordination with the Iowa Department of Public Health.

The RERT team also works with the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division to prepare for the unlikely event of an act of terrorism or an accident at one of the four nuclear power plants in or near Iowa. The laboratory can evaluate the extent to which radioactive materials have been released from an incident.

Federal guidelines require emergency planning for the areas within both a 10-mile and a 50-mile radius of a nuclear power station. The State Hygienic Lab provides the following services:

  • field surveillance and monitoring of radiation levels, including sampling for federal agencies;
  • analysis of all environmental sampling and radiological monitoring activities;
  • maintenance and communication of data relating to radiation exposure and contamination; and
  • technical expertise to local emergency response personnel for monitoring and decontamination of evacuees.

Major achievements:

  • Participated in five drills during fiscal year 2014: three drills at the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa and two at Ft. Calhoun Nuclear Station in Nebraska. (Drills are non-federally evaluated practice events, generally held quarterly.)
  • Participated in rehearsals and evaluated exercises for Duane Arnold Energy Center and Ft. Calhoun Nuclear Station. (A rehearsal is considered a practice before a federally evaluated exercise.)