Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, industrial hygienists had been hard at work all across the world applying their training and understanding to see that the greater health of local and larger populations was being appropriately maintained. However, when COVID did make its debut— and throughout the years of uncertainty and toil— the role of the industrial hygienist became much more commonplace.
Despite this, many people are still unfamiliar with the term, let alone the specifics of what such a role entails. The following contains a brief summary of the career and how industrial hygienists help to keep workplaces safe.
What is Industrial Hygiene?
Of all the important factors that need to be considered in business, the health and safety of the employee is high on the list. While this was certainly not always the case over the course of history, the strides that have been made in the last century— and especially the last few decades due to the greater availability of information and technology— have set great new standards of wellness in business.
The assurance and ability of operating a company while upholding basic human rights as a starting place for the standards of employee safety is now required by law. Sadly, despite such laws being in place, the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 5,250 workers died from injuries sustained in the workplace in 2018; 2.8 million incidents of nonfatal injury or illness occurred. The effort to lessen and control these statistics is where the role of the industrial hygienist comes in.
The job of Industrial hygienists is of identifying, considering, and working to control the presence of hazards in workplaces that may result in the illness or injury of employees. Through the monitorization, analysis, and implementation of solutions industrial hygienists strive to enforce and maintain standards and procedures which uphold safe, healthy work environments.
There is a variety of categories of injury and illness that the industrial hygienists look for:
- Nonfatal illnesses— things like blood-borne illnesses like hepatitis
- Skin diseases— like eczema, rashes, blisters that are common and may come in contact with hazardous chemicals or food in the service industry.
- Respiratory conditions— like bronchitis and asbestos which are common among mining industries.
- Hearing loss— which can occur in environments like airports or construction sites.
- Poisoning— where the ingestion of toxic chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, and cleaning agents is common amongst farming operations.
- Stress injuries— repetitive movements that inflame specific body parts when required of employees in environments like assembly lines.
It is important to see that workplace environments are well kept, not just for the obvious reason that it is the ethical thing to do for the safety of employees, but also because doing so makes fiscal sense. Industrial hygiene is beneficial to employers, individuals, and those teams.
When people miss work because of illnesses or injury, other people are affected by losses of overall productivity, lowered morale (from others having to work harder to make up for the absent body), and lost profits. The good news is that industrial hygienists are available to encourage the minimization of such frustration and losses.
Keeping People Safe
Industrial hygienists are specifically trained to be the type of people who can recognize, diagnose, and advise businesses and employees on how to maintain a safe work environment. Their skill set prepares them to evaluate a variety of environments, situations, and operating procedures which even enables them to anticipate where and why an accident may occur needlessly.
Being well versed in a plethora of environmental and physical hazards allows them to understand the short term and long term consequences which can be born out of negligence, oversight, or just accidents. As such, industrial hygienists are the workers who are also responsible for assisting organizations on the proper implementation and maintenance of standards as set by state, federal, or local safety regulations.
Where business owners or managers may lack a depth of insight or training, these professionals can step in to bring those leaders up to speed. The following is a list of some major components that industrial hygienists are trained to look out for which may be causes of harm to humans.
Loud Noise
The long term exposure to certain decibels of noise results in hearing loss— sometimes even permanent. Advising on how to minimize noise levels in an environment while combining this with the use of proper protective gear are primary steps.
Chemicals
There are thousands of chemical compounds used in modern society, and while some of those are normal, that does not mean that they are not harmful when misused. Chemicals come in different forms, solids, liquids, and gases, each with their own level of toxicity. The ingestion of these substances is what needs to be looked out for. Precautions and procedures like good ventilation, hand washing, and well-kept equipment are good steps to take.
Extreme Temperatures
It is rare in our modern, technologically developed society that people are adversely affected by extreme weather temperatures, but it still happens. High temperatures can cause exhaustion and heat strokes; Low temperatures bring the threats of things like hypothermia and frostbite.
Again, the advising of how to best protect employees and lessen exposure does much to keep people safe no matter the work conditions.
