Colorado Environmental Health Association News

CLEAR Program Launches in Weld County to Help Reduce Lead Hazards

Cassandra Theisen — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 16:40:30 GMT

The Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment (WCDPHE) has launched a new lead exposure mitigation initiative, CLEAR: Children’s Lead Exposure Action and Replacement to provide free mitigation resources to families of children diagnosed with elevated blood lead levels, commonly referred to as lead poisoning.

The program is made possible through a donation from the Bond Family Foundation, which established a dedicated fund to help replace hazardous consumer products and support families in reducing lead hazards within their homes.

While WCDPHE’s investigation program has been successful in identifying sources of exposure, staff have historically been limited to offering recommendations at the conclusion of an investigation. These recommendations may include professional abatement, replacement of personal items, and specialized cleaning — steps that can be costly. Many families lack the financial resources to implement these recommendations. The CLEAR program helps bridge that gap by providing direct assistance to eligible families.

Through CLEAR, WCDPHE can help replace contaminated items, such as cookware or spices, that families might otherwise continue using. The program can also provide essential tools, including disposable floor-cleaning supplies and HEPA vacuums, to help reduce lead-contaminated dust from aging paint and other sources inside the home.

“WCDPHE is excited to take this important step toward creating safer homes and brighter futures for Weld County children,” said Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Coordinator Cassie Theisen. “CLEAR represents a meaningful commitment to health equity and prevention by helping ensure families have the resources they need to reduce lead hazards and protect children from exposure.”

Children can be exposed to lead through ingestion or inhalation from a variety of sources. The most common sources include deteriorating lead-based paint, lead-contaminated dust, and soil in homes built before 1978. Utensils and food that that are not formally imported (such as brought back from vacation or travel) have a higher chance of containing lead. Some spices found to contain high amounts of lead include turmeric, azarcón, surma, sindoor, and pay-loo-ah. Artisan cookware including metal pots and glazed ceramic cookware have also been found to have high amounts of lead that can get into foods when used for cooking or even drinking hot liquids.

Children should receive lead testing at their 12- and 24-month checkups, or if there is an identified risk on the lead-exposure risk questionnaire. Families can access the questionnaire and learn more about lead exposure at www.weld.gov/go/lead.

An Analysis of Factors Impacting the Implementation of Effective Intervention Strategies

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 15:06:30 GMT

An Analysis of Factors Impacting the Implementation of Effective Intervention Strategies identified and assessed the implementation of risk factor interventions currently employed by local retail food regulatory programs enrolled in the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Retail Program Standards), with a focus on Standard 9. The study, conducted in 2021 by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the Conference for Food Protection (CFP) assessed how most jurisdictions targeted risk factors interventions, identified success factors and challenges, and developed recommendations to support the implementation of targeted interventions. The qualitative research uncovered that most jurisdictions targeted risk factors based on violations frequently cited during retail food regulatory inspections and that the risk factor most often targeted was poor personal hygiene.

Read the study at bit.ly/riskfactorstudy2022.

August 2022 Newsletter

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 15:01:10 GMT

Pointsource

CEHA Quarterly Newsletter

August 2022

PointSource Newsletter – a quarterly publication of Colorado Environmental Health Association

Presidents Remarks

By Josh Skeggs

While my presidential term for CEHA is coming to an end, the future is looking bright. I am most looking forward to the AEC in Mt. Crested Butte this year, and I hope to see many of you there. This is our first time going out to Crested Butte for our AEC. The idea has always been for our AEC's to be in locations that show off the greater beauty of Colorado, while also making sure that it is accessible for different regions. While we can't announce where next year's AEC will be quite yet, we are looking to have northern Colorado host us. Maybe next year will be another first with a location a little more central...

We often get emails from our membership asking for stances and statements on environmental issues from air quality to wildfires. While there is no doubt that the CEHA Board is comprised of environmental health professionals, I wanted to reaffirm that our mission and goal has been to promote the profession of environmental health and to deliver quality training. In your professional growth, I can only hope that you can take the stances you wish to see. Change starts locally.

On that note, we are looking for new board members. With exciting volunteer options and committees to help you develop skills, send a quick email with your interest to coenvirohealthassoc@gmail.com. We are currently looking for a Metro-region Representative and another student representative. We will also have openings for the Treasurer and Northeast region Representative in this next cycle. New terms start at the end of this month. Send an email with your interest by 9/07 to be considered in this upcoming ballot.

With all due respect,

Josh Skeggs

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Hi, How Can We Help You

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Environmental Health Super Hero

By Conner Gerken, President Elect and NCHD EHS

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s an outstanding Environmental Health Professional?!?!?! With the Academic Education Conference fast approaching, it’s that time again. Get out there and send your nominations for awards! CEHA offers numerous awards for all sorts of EH professionals.

CEHA’s most prestigious award is the Milton M. Miller award. This award goes to someone in a management position who has went above and beyond the usual employment requirements and exemplified the characteristics and principals for which Milton Miller stood - excellence, leadership, organization and dedication to the environmental health profession and CEHA. So, if you have an amazing boss/manager/supervisor that qualifies, nominate them!

CEHA offers an Environmental Achievement Award for both Environmental Health Professionals and Industry representatives. This award goes to outstanding Environmental Health Professionals in non-management positions who have significantly contributed to the field of environmental health and/or to CEHA.

Another Award CEHA offers is the Environmental Health Innovation Award. This award is for someone in Environmental Health that has created an idea, a practice, and/or a product that has had a significant impact on improving the environment, public health, and/or quality of life. This award encourages striving for creative solutions.

The last award, which just happens to be everyone’s favorite, is the Donkey Tail Award. This infamous award is for someone that has had a goof, blunder, or blooper that has proven to be comical and deserves to be recognized. For example, one year we had a septic professional who dropped his cell phone in a septic tank, fished it out, and continued to use it. So, get out there people and nominate! Just remember, if they don’t like talking about it, most likely it’s gold!

There you have it folks. Those are our three prestigious and that one not so prestigious award. Check out our new nomination form at cehaweb.com, you have no excuse now! Nominate your EH superhero today; get after it!

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Job Board Reminder

by CEHA

CEHA has developed a new and improved job board, available primarily for our members but also for the public at large. You can access the job board by following this link.

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AEC: Back To The Future

by Kelli Powell, AEC Chair

This year’s annual education conference banquet (Thursday evening) will be 80’s theme attire or business casual if you choose. Feel free to have fun with it; the fabrics of the 1980s were unquestionably velour, spandex, and Lycra, with comfortable cotton and natural silk also popular. Severely tailored military -style suits and jackets with padded shoulders were worn side-by-side with printed t-shirts, velvet tracksuits, and baggy harem pants or leggings. The banquet will have a DJ, group games, awards will be given out, and of course there will be dinner and drinks!!

Wednesday evening will be the exhibitor’s reception with hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar.

Other notable things about this year’s conference: we will be having two pre-conferences on Tuesday one for industry (CFPM) and one for regulatory (Verbal Judo). There will also be a dual food track on Thursday morning with speakers geared towards new inspectors and seasoned inspectors. Wednesday morning will have a panel discussion about the Marshall Fire. There are a lot of new and familiar things to look forward to at this year’s conference. Visit the schedule here.

If you have not yet registered for the conference at Elevation Hotel and Spa in Crested Butte September 13-16, 2022, visit our website to do so. We look forward to seeing you all in Crested Butte!

Join us online!

acebook

www.cehaweb.co

Want to give feedback, suggest a topic, or contribute an article for a future issue of PointSource?

Contact Publications Committee member Josh Skeggs at jskeggs@tchd.org

CEHA AEC Registration open

Fri, 22 Jul 2022 00:21:49 GMT

The CEHA Annual education conference is less than two months away, and registration is open! This year boasts some impressive changes that take place in the beautiful Crested Butte locale.

There will be two very impressive pre-conferences, one for learning the de-escalation techniques that keep us safe and help fulfill regulatory missions through Verbal Judo. The other will help retail food staff and retail food professionals gain better insight into food safety management through a Certified Food Protection Manager course and exam!

The best things come in pairs they say, and this year we will have a split in the popular food safety track where we will have a half day of concurrently running beginner and advanced courses. There will be something for the new EHS to the food protection manager.

CEHA looks forward to seeing you there, as we return back to the future. Register here, and additional information is found here.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS & MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Fri, 07 May 2021 20:41:35 GMT

The 2021 CEHA AEC will be held in beautiful Pueblo Colorado September 14 through September 17. Our conference venue is Pueblo Convention Center and planning for the conference event is well underway. Don’t miss out on this most excellent opportunity to renew acquaintances, develop and sharpen skills, get the low down and updates on EH rules, regulations, case studies, field applications, and to network with YOUR colleagues, industry representatives and fellow practitioners in the Environmental Health profession. Updates to the AEC will be posted on our webpage here.

SPEAKERS
We all have plenty of stories to share since the end of 2019. If you are interested in presenting at this year’s conference, please visit our Call for Speakers webpage to submit your abstract. Being a speaker provides many benefits, including a free day of registration, providing education to your peers and local community, and networking!

Attend the conference, share your story, learn from the experiences of others! The CEHA AEC provides a unique learning and networking opportunity. You will leave the conference with enhanced skills and a deeper understanding of the work we do and its importance to the health and well being of our community and the people we serve.

Your 2021 AEC Planning Committee looks forward to seeing you in Pueblo Colorado September 14 through September 17 for the 2021 CEHA Annual Education Conference!

Don’t wish you had been there, just BE THERE!

RIHEL Upcoming Events and Team Intelligence

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 16:00:00 GMT

Hello all,

The days are getting longer, the sun is shining a little brighter, and new virtual programs from RIHEL are open for registration. Coming up in March is a brand-new workshop, Team Intelligence. This is for anyone on a team who wants to contribute to building and sustaining the higher-order team skills needed to thrive in pursuing your organization’s mission. Whether you are part of building a new team, or you have a good team that could be great, or you have a great team where the energy and purpose need to be renewed, this is a workshop for you.

DATE: Friday, March 26 – 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM (MT)

Registration is now open. Grab your spot today! Or grab spots for your whole team.

Other upcoming RIHEL workshops and programs include:

LIFE: Leadership Is For Everyone (Virtual Series) – an 3-day interactive leadership development series April 16, 23, and 30
Introduction to Coaching – 2-day workshop May 13 and 14
The Power of a Community of Practice – Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership – a 3-session series exploring leadership and intentional practices with an emphasis on solutions and actions. SAVE THE DATES: May 6, 13, and 20
Advanced Leadership Training Program (ALTP) – RIHEL’s flagship comprehensive leadership program – accepting applications through April

Thank you again for choosing RIHEL to support your professional development needs.

Join us for the 64th Annual Education Conference!

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 14:31:04 GMT

Held in beautiful Keystone, Colorado! This year's conference is filled with great networking opportunities, educational tracks and fun! We expect this year to have many new faces and old, alike, to make this year's conference one to remember. Please join us!

Click here to view the full conference Schedule!
Sponsor & Exhibitor Registration Now Open Attendee Registration Now Open