Industrial hygiene is a field of science which is devoted to the recognition, anticipation, control, evaluation and prevention of those environmental stresses or factors that arise from or in the workplace and may cause sickness, hazards to the well being and health or significant distress among workers or citizens of the society. Industrial hygienist s are engineers and scientists who work for the safety and health of the people in the community. Basically, industrial hygienist responsibilities involve evaluating the health hazards that may exist in government organizations, industry, environment or the community and make recommendations with an aim to keep the employees safe from the potential health hazard factors. These professionals use their specialized knowledge and training to invent new techniques to reduce the impact of the unhygienic elements in the industry.
Usually, they review reports and carry out research to identify if illness or disease is related to work. If their study finds that the source of illness is in the work environment, they consult the management and other health professionals to eliminate or neutralize potentially hazardous substances from the work environment. Some common tasks of these experts include collecting samples of highly toxic substances, calibrating and preparing equipment required for collecting samples, reviewing accident reports, evaluating and analyzing samples in the laboratory, drafting reports about the findings related to industrial health problems, documenting results of their research, implementing cost effective analysis to rationalize changes in the process or the purchasing of safety equipment, recommending most beneficial safety techniques, etc.
Typical Duties and Responsibilities
Key role of an industrial hygienist is to safeguard the work environment as well as the community by using certain techniques and eliminating the potential toxic substances that causes harm. Their goal is to keep the work environment safe and healthy so that the employees, their families and the society will live free from impairment due to the toxic substances arising from various industries. They play a significant role in ensuring that local, state and federal regulations and laws are followed while performing their duties. Some of their key responsibilities involve:
Community Health Issues and Industrial Hygienist
Industrial hygienist s work to resolve the health and safety concerns our society is facing. This may include:
Educational Qualifications and Skills
To become an industrial hygienist , a candidate must be a graduate in disciplines of industrial hygiene, chemistry, engineering, physics or a bachelor's degree closely related to physical or biological science from an accredited university or college. A graduation degree with combination of the required skills, knowledge, experience and abilities is enough for a person to enter and set up a career in the field of industrial hygiene.
Skills, Knowledge and Abilities
To build a growing career in the industrial hygiene disciplines, a candidate needs to have certain skills and knowledge:
Industrial hygienist responsibilities cover all the facets of industrial hygiene and safety of employees, their families as well as the surrounding people.