Exciting Career Option for Students with Interest in the Sciences

By Kristin Osterkamp, CIH, CSP, Divisional Industrial Hygienist and Site Safety Supervisor, Delphi; 2005 AIHA Future Leaders Institute Graduate; and member of the AIHA Career and Employment Services Committee.

Do you excel in science and math? Are you interested in public health? Are you concerned with emerging issues brought about by events like September 11, 2001? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should consider industrial hygiene as a career. When the nation is rocked by disasters like the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center, or anthrax contamination on Capitol Hill, members of a largely unrecognized profession are there to help safeguard the public. Most of our work doesn't make the headlines, but one thing is certain: The job is exciting and full of variety.

Industrial hygienists are scientists and engineers committed to protecting the health and safety of people in the workplace and the community. We are on the job every day in all types of workplaces, including factories, laboratories, academia, construction sites, offices, public utilities, government, labor unions, hospitals, hazardous waste companies, insurance companies, consulting and chemical companies.

Think of industrial hygienists as workplace detectives. They investigate potential hazards and create solutions to protect the health and safety of workers and the public. Practicing industrial hygiene is also an art that involves judgment, creativity, and human interaction. We communicate with management and workers every day to make sure everyone is safe and productive. When we find and fix the cause of a health problem, or prevent a problem from occurring in the first place, that's what it's all about.

Industrial hygienists may have responsibilities associated with employee exposure assessment, hazard evaluation and control related to the following areas:

• Measuring or collecting samples associated with human exposures to toxins (e.g., solvents, asbestos, lead, hexavalent chromium, etc.) and employee noise exposure levels.
• Indoor air quality (sick building syndrome, mold, lighting assessments)
• Emergency response planning and community right-to-know
• Occupational disease prevention (asbestosis, tuberculosis, silicosis)
• Cumulative trauma disorders (repetitive stress injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome)
• Radiation (electromagnetic fields, microwaves, lasers, radon gas)
• Reproductive health hazards in the workplace
• Setting exposure limits for chemical and physical agents
• Assessing and controlling noise levels in the workplace and surrounding community
• Laboratory health and safety—protecting workers involved in research and development.
• Confined spaces—establishing procedures to safely enter closed spaces not designed for human occupancy, such as storage tanks.
• Ventilation—assuring process emissions are being exhausted in order to reduce or eliminate employee exposures.

The Federal Government's Role
Industrial hygienists have played an important role in shaping and implementing government policy concerning worker health and safety. In 1970, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which formed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor, is responsible for setting and enforcing health and safety standards across the country. Today, the industrial hygienist's role is oftentimes more proactive, instead of correcting problems after they occur.

Preparing for a Career in Industrial Hygiene
Although more schools are beginning to offer undergraduate programs in industrial hygiene, currently few schools have an industrial hygiene major. Industrial hygienists generally prepare for their careers by pursuing an undergraduate degree in one of the sciences, such as engineering, chemistry, biology, etc. Many then continue on to attain a master's or doctoral degree in industrial hygiene.

Where Can I Find Out More?
The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) recognizes the value of recruiting talented new individuals and mentoring them to achieve leadership qualities required in the industrial hygiene profession. They also cosponsor the annual American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce). At the annual AIHce, students can learn details about scholarships available from the American Industrial Hygiene Foundation (AIHF) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), learn about available internship opportunities, meet with other industrial hygienists and submit their résumé to future employers.

Student Recruitment CD-Rom
To introduce students to the many opportunities available in the industrial hygiene field, AIHA is offering a free CD-ROM with a 10-minute video, companion PowerPoint presentation, and information-packed fact sheets on the profession. Copies are available on request to any student who wishes to learn more about the field or to any educator or counselor who wishes to share information about industrial hygiene careers with his or her students.

The resources available on the CD are also available for download through the AIHA website.

Web Resources
In addition to the resources mentioned above, the AIHA website provides a wealth of other information for students. Simply go to www.aiha.org and click on Students/Young Members on the left hand side to learn about industrial hygiene degrees and career information and stay current with the activities of the Student Activities Working Group.

To learn more about this challenging and rewarding industrial hygiene profession, contact the AIHA at www.aiha.org or 703-849-8888. You may also send questions by email to Infonet@aiha.org.