Environmental Health
We promote healthy living conditions through clean air, safe food, and reduced exposure to environmental health and safety hazards.
Air Pollution
This program is responsible for promoting the physical health and welfare of the public by protecting and enhancing the quality of the ambient air in Nashville (Davidson County), Tennessee.
Air Quality
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air.
Animal Care & Control
The mission of Animal Care & Control is to provide the largest selection of adoptable pets in Nashville, educate the public about responsible pet ownership, prevent the spread of animal borne diseases, enforce animal control ordinances, including animal cruelty and neglect, and seizing nuisance animals running at large while providing shelter for impounded animals.
Food Protection Services
The Metro Public Health Department's Food Division provides protection from the threat of foodborne illnesses by conducting inspections among Davidson County's food service establishments (restaurants, snack bars, and school cafeterias) and retail food stores (groceries). During the year over 13,000 inspections are conducted by the Health Department’s Food Protection staff.
General Sanitation
The General Sanitation program is responsible for enforcing the health and sanitation codes in Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County.
Pest Management
The Health Department's Pest Management Services Division conducts on-site monitoring and control of insects such as mosquitoes, ticks, rats, mice, and other animals that are capable of transmitting the spread of disease.
Public Facilities
This program conducts environmental health and safety inspections of public swimming pools, hotels and motels, day cares, schools, correctional facilities and tattoo parlors located in Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. The program responds to complaints on these establishments to ensure the continued health and safety of the public.
Restaurant Scores
The best food inspection score is 100 points. Any score of 69 and below is considered a failing score. Any establishment with a critical violation must be re-inspected within ten days. An establishment's food permit can be revoked if it has three consecutive scores below 70 points with the same critical violations on each of the three inspections.
Septic & Sewage Disposal Systems
Septic and Sewage Disposal Systems seeks to promote and protect public health and the environment through the application of sound engineering principles and practices.
Services provided range from soils interpretation, design of on-site subsurface sewage disposal systems, technical consulting, land use and development, noise pollution, monitoring of percolation tests, groundwater protection, and the promotion of public sanitary sewers.
Vehicle Inspection
The Vehicle Inspection Program is responsible for the light duty automobile and truck emission testing program in Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. The program became mandatory January 1, 1985, and is a centralized testing program.