Society of Environmental and Occupational Health
Society of Environment and Occupational Health
Protecting Environment and Promoting Occupational Health, Safety and Wellness
Society of Environment and Occupational Health
Protecting Environment and Promoting Occupational Health, Safety and Wellness
Industrial Hygiene
Industrial Hygiene is the application of scientific principles in the workplace to prevent the development
of occupational disease or injury.
It requires knowledge of chemistry, physics, anatomy, physiology & mathematics.
Thus, It can be defined as the science or art devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of those environmental factors or stresses, arising in or from the workplace, that may cause sickness, impairment of health and wellbeing, or significant discomfort and inefficiency among workers.
The following names are always notable for the beginning of recognition and some measures in the history of its development.
- Hippocrates, for lead toxicity in the mining industry
- Pliny the Elder, for health risks of working with zinc and sulfur, he devised a face mask made from an animal bladder
- Galen, for recognizing hazardous exposures of copper miners to acid mists
- Agricola, for identifying the health problems of miners such as silicosis
- Bernardo Ramazzini, the father of occupational medicine was the first to state that occupational diseases should be studied in the work environment rather than in hospital wards
- Ulrich Ellenborg , for studying occupational diseases and injuries among gold miners
- Percival Pott, for effects of soot on chimney sweeps such as scrotal cancer
OBJECTIVES -
- To provide a firm scientific basis for the recognition of health hazards that are associated with occupations
- Use basic scientific and engineering principles to anticipate and identify potential hazards in the work place
- To provide the background for interpreting toxicology literature, health data and incorporate these into the management of occupational health hazards and diseases
- To apply principles of engineering in the design of appropriate controls for workplace hazards, with a major emphasis on noise and general and local exhaust ventilation
- To select, evaluate, and manage the use of appropriate types of personal protective equipment for control of worker exposures
- To communicate to labor, management, and the community, both verbally and in writing, the nature, risks, and remediation of workplace and environmental hazards
- To have compliance with applicable government regulations and standards pertaining to occupational safety and health
IMPORTANT FIELDS OF STUDY IN INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE –
- Toxicology
- Airborne hazards
- Noise exposure
- Indoor air quality
- Sampling
- Thermal stress
- Illumination
- Occupational health standards
- Personal protective equipment
- Biohazards
- Chemicals
- Ventilation
- Radiation
- Vibration