Paul R. Fell, 54, NEHA member and historian of the Florida Environmental Health Association (FEHA), passed away on Sunday, June 18, 2006. For 26 years, he was a dedicated member of FEHA and also dedicated many years of service to the city of Bunnell, Florida.
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Fell started his career with the Florida Department of Health in June 1977 as an environmental health specialist for the Highlands County Health Department. In 1983 he accepted a position as environmental health director for the Flagler County Health Department and in 1991 transferred to the Volusia County Health Department, where he helped implement the new Biomedical Waste Inspection Program.
He worked in Volusia County for over 13 years, mostly coordinating the biomedical waste program countywide, but also working in the Public Drinking Water and Group Care programs during his tenure. Fell was instrumental in working on the development of the first state and national rules addressing the potential public health threats from the body-piercing and body art industry. He was recognized as a national expert of the body-piercing program, serving on a national committee and speaking at numerous conferences on this topic.
In addition, he served on the FEHA Board of Directors for several years, with stints as vice president and president in the mid-1980s. He served as FEHA's historian from the creation of that position, at his urging, in the early 1990s. In his role as historian, he amassed an impressive collection of memorabilia on environmental and public health in Florida.
(Adapted, with permission, from the Florida Journal of Environmental Health, summer 2006.)
