Health Hazards Ergonomics/human factors, physical stressors, biological stressors, chemical stressors;
Work Environments Indoor air, industrial processes;
Program Management Principles Investigation methods, ethics, risk communication, guidelines and standards, data management and integration, emergency response;
Evaluation Practices Instrumentation, sampling methods/techniques, analytical chemistry;
Hazard Controls Engineering, PPE, administrative; and
Community Stressors Air pollution, hazardous waste.
The above definitions/descriptions, along with the learnings of many years of diverse experience, help support certain generalizations applicable to the profession of Industrial Hygiene:
IH is science‐based and diverse in nature; IH practitioners must therefore be technically aware across a broad range of disciplines including chemical, physical, biological, and other emerging or special scientific categories.
the process of anticipation, recognition, evaluation, prevention, and control, the fundamental of the practice of IH, is not specific to any single environment or issue; the process can be successful in virtually any form of problem solving.
the practice of IH usually includes at least some emphasis in each of the major areas of Health, Safety and Environmental specialty.
the core mission of IH is not limited to the welfare of a facility' workers or those in the immediate neighborhood; rather it should play a role in improving the health of all peoples and environments affected by commercial activities.
the HSE objectives of IH are not just achieved via the traditional facility‐based approach, but also through strategies linked to product life cycles, transportation or other paradigms.
while the IH profession is not driven by regulation, IH practitioners clearly strive to have a working knowledge of all regulations, laws, and standards applicable to the scope of their current and anticipated work.
The profession of IH, as summarized above, clearly leaves opportunity for practitioners from different backgrounds with different areas of specialization. For example, some IHs ultimately focus on certain stages of the process (i.e. control versus recognition), some on specific scientific rubrics (i.e. physical versus chemical hazards), and still others on management versus field work, and so on. Yet based on the general nature of IH practice and the common requirements to practice IH, certain generic competencies are very likely to be shared by most IH professionals. These competencies/abilities would include
1 a broad understanding of the scientific process, with specific expertise in one (and usually more) aspects of the health sciences.
2 a general understanding of HSE regulatory and standard setting processes, with more complete knowledge of certain specific regulations, laws and standards, and experience working with respective agencies/institutes.
3 HSE risk assessment skills; moreover, the learned ability to coalesce data and circumstances into potential risk, make comparisons to acceptable levels and suggest prudent action.
4 an ability to make responsible estimates when facts, data, and circumstances are not well known.
5 an appreciation for the interrelationships of health, safety, and environmental issues and the associated risks that follow.
4.1 Applicability of IH Competencies to PS Activities
Elsewhere in this chapter, it is described that PS has certain basic activities which are rooted in regulatory requirements:
hazard assessment.
hazard communication.
risk management.
product development.
These activities, moreover, define the minimum standard for any PS program to be compliant or effective. Let us examine each of these basic PS functions against the IH competencies we have defined which are typically exhibited by professional IHs:
1 Hazard Assessment: Virtually all of the IH competencies contribute to this activity, especially nos. 1, 3, 4, and 5. The “Evaluation” part of the basic IH process is indeed hazard assessment and includes the concepts of hazard measurement, exposure estimation, and control banding. For PS purposes, exposure assessments often need to be made for products used in poorly defined applications and across an entire life span through disposal. In other words, it is necessary to estimate and understand exposure potential in unseen workplaces and use scenarios. The training and experiences of an IH are second to none for performing this PS activity. Additionally, as the hazard assessment focus oscillates during a product life cycle from lab to pilot to manufacturing to sales to customers, the IH is the best suited to integrate all the pieces of the chain to minimize information gaps.
2 Hazard communication: Hazard communication comes in two varieties as a required step in the process of hazard assessment, or by communicating hazards which have been assessed by others. In the first case, an IH almost inescapably has competency in the hazard assessment process including the communication of results to appropriate parties in appropriate ways. In case no. 2, which represents a typical process of providing MSDSs for products to customers, the trained/experienced IH has the advantage of recognizing the quality of information contained in data sheets. Additionally, an IH can recognize when the information intended for customers' needs to be used in other stages of product development, that is, research or manufacturing. As with hazard assessment, IH competencies nos. 1, 3, 4, and 5 are all particularly relevant.
3 Risk Assessment/Risk Management (RA/RM): RA/RM is a two‐step process which first combines hazard assessment with relevant toxicology to create risk assessment, and then applies control recommendations to mitigate the risk. It is, in essence, the “Control” stage of the classic IH process. While RA/RM has often been considered the milieu of the toxicologist or the engineer (depending on the circumstances), the competencies of the IH are uniquely suited to this PS activity. In this case, all the listed IH competencies come to bear, especially no. 3 which is specific to RA/RM. The toxicological/health effects data required to do RA/RM can be learned or leveraged by the IH. Once again, a trained IH has the advantage of looking across the integrated life cycle of a product and recognize strengths versus gaps in the quality of the information and the completeness of the hazard/risk communications.
4 Product Development: During new product development activities, numerous specific regulatory notifications are required. These are primarily under the jurisdiction of the EPA TSCA in the United States, and similar hazardous substance control agencies in many countries. There are global shipping requirements for the export, transport, and import of hazardous materials. Additionally, there are hazardous material inventory reporting requirements to comply with.
All of these tasks involve both technical and logistical product information. A key IH competency here is no. 2, the ability to navigate a virtual regulatory gauntlet. The technical data required for this activity is generally contributed by research, manufacturing, IH, toxicology (especially renew chemical testing), and sales/marketing. Overall compliance of such an interdisciplinary effort is only achieved by a comprehensive PS regulatory management system. The trained IH, with technical, field, process, and multidisciplinary experience is a good choice to lead this effort.
