CORDELE — Two women working at the Crisp County Health Department are the public’s front-line defense against a wide variety of health threats that affect us every day.

Lisa Leggett and Nephra Daniel serve as the local agency’s environmental health specialists, and they cover everything from food- and mosquito-borne illnesses to sewage management. As if that isn’t enough to fill their workdays, they are also charged with inspecting the county’s many restaurants and tourism accommodations.

Leggett and Daniel have a pretty straightforward approach to tackling the many facets of their job duties.

“Environmental health is about protecting our citizens,” Leggett said.

Those seven words are a mouthful, though.

Among Leggett and Daniel’s many duties, they:

•Inspect every new on-site sewage management system installed in the county as well as repairs made to malfunctioning systems

•Ensure public swimming pools are free of contaminants and other hazardous conditions

•Work to prevent exposure to hazardous chemical substances in the environment

•Work to reduce and prevent childrens’ exposure to lead

•Help monitor mosquito-borne viral diseases that can affect both humans and animals

•Oversee the county’s rabies control program

•Collect water samples for testing as required by state and federal law

•Provide assistance in programs related to indoor air quality, specifically mold infestations

•Assist in a variety of county emergency response and preparedness roles, and