What is Industrial Hygiene?
Industrial Hygiene is a scientific discipline that is related to maintaining the health, safety and well being of workers in different industries and workplaces. In this short guide we will answer the commonly asked question -what is Industrial hygiene? We will also understand what is industrial hygiene and safety.
Note that Industrial Hygiene should not be confused with other terms that contain the word hygiene, such as personal hygiene (for example brushing teeth or having a bath) or public hygiene (such as maintaining the streets clean of garbage).
Introduction to Industrial Hygiene
Industrial Hygiene principles are anticipating, recognizing, evaluating, and controlling workplace conditions that may cause workers’ injury or illness. It is also known as Occupational Hygiene. Both Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Hygiene are and mean the same thing.
Industrial hygienists use environmental monitoring and analytical methods, to determine the amount of worker exposure to different hazardous conditions and employ engineering controls, administrative controls, and other methods to control potential hazards that can adversely affect worker health, safety and well being.
Basics of Industrial Hygiene-the Industrial Hygiene Process
There are four steps in the Industrial Hygiene process. These are:
1. Anticipation of Hazards
In this stage the Industrial Hygienist anticipates that some industrial work processes may have certain workplace hazards that may cause harm to the worker’s health. Let us understand with the help of a simple example of Industrial Hygiene. So if a new process equipment involves operating a machine that has a high amount of noise, then the Industrial Hygienist/ Industrial Hygiene Professional anticipates the problem and then devises a way so that the noise produced by the machine will not adversely affect the worker.
2. Identification of Hazards
This stage is where the actual hazards get identified as possible causes that could adversely affect worker health and safety. In this case high decibel noise has been identified as a hazard.
3. Evaluation of Hazards.
At this stage the hazards have been identified as hazards and now we need to evaluate how big is their impact on worker’s health and safety. In the above Industrial Hygiene example, the actual amount of ambient noise in the workplace is measured and monitored.
4. Control of Hazards.
This is the last stage where all the hazards that have been evaluated to be of a serious type are controlled, either via Engineering Controls, or Administrative Controls (also known as work practice controls) or via the use of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). So in this industrial hygiene example, there are several ways to protect the worker from the excessive noise level. The machine can be mounted with a silencer (if available) or the worker can be accommodated in a sound proof cabin or he can wear ear muffs.
By now you must have understood what is industrial hygiene all about. In case you wish to know more, please take the free e-learning course online on Basics of Industrial Hygiene to know more.
Industrial Hygiene History
Industrial Hygiene is not a new subject, but has been studied since ancient times.The environment and its relation to worker health was studied by Hippocrates in the 4th century BC, when he observed lead toxicity in the mining industry.
In 1556 Agricola, the German scholar, wrote a book titled De Re Metallica, where he described the diseases of miners and prescribed suitable preventive measures. The book included ideas for mine ventilation, worker personal protection, listed some mining accidents, and also described diseases such as silicosis that affected mine workers.
In 1700 AD, Bernardo Ramazzini, an Italian, who is today known as the “father of industrial medicine,” wrote the first comprehensive book on industrial medicine, De Morbis Artificum Diatriba (The Diseases of Workmen). This book contained accurate descriptions of the occupational diseases of most of the workers of his time. Ramazzini was one of the first industrial hygiene experts who asserted that occupational diseases should be studied in the workplace to prevent them, rather than studying affected workers as patients in hospital wards.
In England in the 18th century, Percival Pott, was a major force in getting the British Parliament to pass the Chimney-Sweepers Act of 1788. after he noticed the ill effects of soot on chimney sweeps. These chimney sweeps often were young boys as they were small enough to crawl into chimney ducts and remove carbon soot from fireplace and kitchen chimneys. The soot affected their lungs adversely.
In the early 20th century in the U. S., Dr. Alice Hamilton, was a pioneer in the discipline of Industrial hygiene. She observed industrial conditions first hand and convinced mine owners, factory managers, and government officials that there was a direct correlation between worker exposure to toxins and their consequent ill health.
History of Industrial Hygiene Laws
In 1833 AD, the English Factory Acts were passed in the British parliament and this gave some legislative teeth to the discipline of Industrial Hygiene. The Acts, however, were intended to provide compensation for accidents rather than to control their causes. Later, various other European nations passed workers’ compensation acts, which stimulated the adoption of increased factory safety precautions and the establishment of medical services within industrial plants.
At about the same time, U.S. federal and state agencies began investigating health conditions in industry. In 1913, the New York Department of Labor and the Ohio Department of Health established the first state industrial hygiene programs. By 1948. most states in the continental United States passed similar laws.
OSHA and Industrial Hygiene
The U.S. Congress has passed three landmark pieces of legislation relating to safeguarding workers’ health: (1) the Metal and Nonmetallic Mines Safety Act of 1966, (2) the Federal Coal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1969, and (3) the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Act) that led to the formation of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA).
OSHA develops and sets mandatory occupational safety and health requirements applicable to industrial and similar workplaces in the U.S. OSHA depends on the inputs of several industrial Hygienists to evaluate jobs for potential health hazards. More than 40 percent of the OSHA inspectors are actually professional industrial hygienists.
More on OSHA rules and regulations here.
Who is an Industrial Hygienist? What does an Industrial Hygienist do?
A technical professional who has undergone appropriate training in the discipline of Industrial Hygiene is referred to as an Industrial Hygienist or an Industrial Hygiene Professional.
The Industrial Hygienist (Industrial Hygiene Professional) is employed by the owner of the industrial facility or similar workplace to protect the health and safety of workers who are employed there. The Industrial Hygiene professional does this by following the Industrial Hygiene process that consists of Anticipation, Identification, Evaluation and Control of workplace hazards as described above.
How to become a Certified Industrial Hygienist / Certified Industrial Hygiene Professional?
First you need to have a scientific or engineering education in any area. After that you must have some experience in industry or a laboratory or similar workplace where you can practice your technical, engineering or scientific skills. After that you can enroll in any Industrial Hygiene training program, where you will learn in detail about the Industrial Hygiene process. Then you need to take an exam that tests your knowledge and skills in the subject, after which you qualify as an Industrial Hygiene professional.
A good example is the Abhisam Certified Industrial Hygiene Professional course, that you can take online. This is one of the best online Industrial Hygiene programs out there.