Applicants attending Farmers' Market in Portsmouth must be members or approved temporary guests of Seacoast Eat Local (SEL). Please visit the Seacoast Eat Local webpage for more information on becoming a member. 

Temporary Event Food Permits are only available to vendors for events that are scheduled and have an Event Coordinator who assumes overall responsibility for the Event.

Event Coordinators must submit a Temporary Event Coordinator Application to the Health Department through our online permitting portal no later than one month prior to the date of the event. This application is NOT an event permit. 

Used needles, syringes, infusion kits or other similar sharps are infectious waste and need to be managed properly to mitigate risk to public health, safety and the environment. While NHDES prefers that sharps be managed by using a container exchange or mailback program, not every household has access to these services.

Another alternative is to use a specially-designed needle cutter or incineration device purchased from your pharmacy.

As a last resort, household-generated sharps can be safely placed in your household trash by following a few simple steps:

Rabies

Rabies is a disease that attacks the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) of animals and people. This disease is caused by a virus and is almost always fatal. Rabies in humans is rare in the U.S., but rabies in certain animals, especially wildlife, is common throughout the country.

Click Here to Learn More about Rabies

Hurricanes, Floods, Ice Storms and other severe weather events can occur in New Hampshire. Are you ready? The Portsmouth Health Department would like to remind our residents to make a preparedness plan for themselves and their families. In an emergency, it can take several days for vital services to be restored. Experts recommend that you should be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least three days.

Take Action now to be prepared when disaster strikes:

A FIELD GUIDE FOR CLEAN-UP OF FLOODED HOMES

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a major flaw in our nation’s emergency response system was discovered. Most emergency plans did not incorporate help for pets. Many Katrina evacuees were forced to leave their pets behind while many others risked their lives by staying behind to remain with their pets. As a result, both human and animal lives were needlessly lost. Pets are the number one reason people return to their homes before local authorities have declared it safe to do so.

Family Emergency Plan

Make sure your family has a plan in case of an emergency. Before an emergency happens, sit down together and decide how you will get in contact with each other, where you will go and what you will do in an emergency.

According to the the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the misuse of the portable power sources killed at least five people and sickened dozens more after Hurricane Katrina.

The Associated Press reported on October 13, 2005, that many people relied on portable generators after the hurricane knocked out most of the power in the Gulf Region. And that was deadly for those who did not use their generator properly.