Hot Topics

The JETS Pre-Engineering Times Hot Topics column highlights current research related to the featured engineering discipline each month. JETS wants you to know the new field advances being made through the exciting discoveries of research.

This month's hot topic focuses on the many career choices found in industrial hygiene engineering and comes from Dianna Havner Bryant, CIH, CSP at Central Missouri State University.

I am an Industrial Hygienist because solving mysteries is both exciting and challenging. Each workplace or environmental health and safety problem requires an investigation that is based upon science. Industrial hygienists must know how the human body functions and how the body reacts to materials that are inhaled, ingested, or absorbed. We must also know how materials migrate through the environment and eventually come in contact with humans. We must be able to design protective controls that minimize human exposures to safe levels. We must also understand how to communicate health and safety information to workers so they can adopt safer work practices. Putting together the pieces of a health and safety puzzle gives me a chance to protect workers, their families, and the environment.

I am an Industrial Hygienist because I get to work with people every day. In order to develop practical solutions to health and safety problems, I must interview workers to determine how they do their jobs. After understanding the requirements of their work, I can then create protective methods of separating the workers from the hazards. Designing interventions to prevent harm is the best service I can provide to workers and the community. Ethical conduct is essential to maintaining the professional reputation that Industrial Hygienists have for evaluating and reporting hazards thoroughly and honestly.

I am an Industrial Hygienist because prevention of illness and injury for workers is more important than treatment after the exposure. Having the knowledge to recognize biological, chemical, and physical hazards allows me to recommend changes in how products are manufactured. Sometimes changing the ingredients in a process will make workers safer. In some cases, we must change how the worker interacts with the process to improve safety. Each investigation provides opportunities to improve the workplace resulting in healthier workers.

I am an Industrial Hygienist because I get to use my knowledge of biology to read and understand medical literature and medical test results. These medical tests may be part of a regulatory requirement to protect worker health or might be toxicological experimental data that will be used to develop guidelines for safe human exposures. Application of ecological principles during assessment of hazardous waste disposal alternatives and management of environmental stewardship projects requires knowledge of animal physiology and habitats.

I am an Industrial Hygienist because the chemistry I studied is critically important to understanding the properties and toxicity of raw materials, intermediates, and waste products from manufacturing processes and industrial activities. This understanding is tested daily when I make decisions on exposure protection that is the last line of protection for workers. During emergency events my recommendations will be vital to the correct command decisions that authorities will make to protect emergency responders and the community. The emergency plans developed and reviewed by Industrial Hygienists are produced through an informed and deliberate process that involves outside experts, community representatives and emergency response personnel.

I am an Industrial Hygienist because physics means more to me than obscure calculations. I use physics to solve harmful exposure situations. Physical agents like ultraviolet light, ionizing radiation, and sound energy can be harmful or helpful depending on the intensity of the energy and the implementation of appropriate protective measures.

I am an Industrial Hygienist because a broad knowledge of math and science is needed to conduct risk assessments and environmental investigations. Technical skills are required to operate equipment, manipulate data, and interpret results. It is exciting to be on the cutting edge of new technical developments and knowledgeable about current research in the field.

I am an Industrial Hygienist because every day presents unique challenges to discover previously unknown or misunderstood factors that influence the health and performance of people. Modern technologies and inventions can introduce new chemicals and energies that may pose a hazard to human health and the environment. For every new concern (nanoparticles, microwave radiation, anthrax, infrasound, mold, bird flu, or neurotoxic chemical weapon) exposure assessments must be conducted and protection implemented. Industrial Hygienists are the experts at assessing and controlling these emerging concerns.

I am an Industrial Hygienist because my workplace changes with new responsibilities and new information. Staying informed, educated, and skilled occurs when I attend workshops and conferences in person or on the web. Remaining competent in my field requires learning every day and sharing what I learn with others. Being an active member of a professional society provides me with access to experts, state of the art information, and challenges me to be a leader in my discipline. Being an Industrial Hygienist is more than a job, it is a lifestyle, because I belong to a community of professionals dedicated to protecting lives.

Dianna Havner Bryant, CIH, CSP is an Associate Professor of Industrial Hygiene at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Missouri. She is the Program Coordinator for the BS in Crisis and Disaster Management and the Executive Director for the Institute for Rural Emergency Management in the Department of Safety Sciences. Visit Central Missouri State University at: http://www.cmsu.edu/index.xml