Health Careers
Industrial Hygienist
Professional Activities
Industrial hygienists anticipate, recognize, evaluate and control hazardous conditions in occupational environments, which assist employers in developing plans and implementing systems to make the workplace a safe and healthful environment.
Activities in this discipline typically include program management in industrial, healthcare, and government settings. Emphasis is often on planning, process design, and evaluating hazards such as noise levels, confined space entry, chemical safety, ergonomics, eye safety, respiratory protection, indoor air quality, hazardous material/waste, lead based paint, asbestos, manufacturing practices, construction safety, and compliance with other Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Standards.
Industrial Hygienists are employed by state and local governments, large corporations and businesses, private industry, insurance carriers and the military. In rural Alaska, Industrial Hygienists generally work in the regional hubs and larger communities or may have positions that combine their IH duties with those of a Safety Officer.
Educational Requirements
- Graduation from high school with a strong college preparatory background especially in the sciences.
- Completion of a four-year Bachelor’s degree in industrial hygiene, chemistry, occupational safety and health, physics, biology, or engineering.
- Many industrial hygienists also complete a Master’s degree in one of the above listed sciences. To be a “Certified Industrial Hygienist,” one must apply for and pass an exam after completing five years of practical experience in the field of industrial hygiene. The exam is administered by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene.
Academic Programs
There are no programs in Alaska, but there are programs available at the University of Washington and Montana Tech.
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
University of Washington
School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Box 357234
Seattle, WA 98195-7234
Phone: (206) 543-6991
Fax: (206) 616-0477
Email:
Web site: http://depts.washington.edu/envhlth/
Montana Tech of The University of Montana
1300 West Park Street
Butte, MT 59701
Phone: (800) 445-TECH
Web site: http://www.mtech.edu/gradschl/programs/ih_campus.html
Contacts
State Contacts:
(AIHA) American Industrial Hygiene Association-Midnight Sun Section
Contact: Tony Barnard
Phone: (907) 339-6820
The Alaska Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers
PO Box 243752
Anchorage, AK 99524-3752
Website:http://alaska.asse.org/index.php
National Contacts:
American Industrial Hygiene Association
2700 Prosperity Ave., Suite 250
Fairfax, VA 22031
Phone: (703) 849-8888
Fax: (703) 207-3561
Email:
Web site: http://www.aiha.org
American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists
1330 Kemper Meadow Dr.
Cincinnati, OH 45240
Phone: (513) 742-2020
Fax: (513) 742-3355
Email:
Web site: http://www.acgih.org
American Society of Safety Engineers
1800 E Oakton St
Des Plaines, IL 60018
Phone: 847-699-2929
Fax: 847-768-3434
Email:
Website:http://www.asse.org/
National Safety Council
1121 Spring Lake Drive
Itasca, IL 60143-3201
Phone: (630) 285-1121
Fax: (630) 285-1315
Email:
Website: http://www.nsc.org/
This page was last updated by Janice Troyer on July 25, 2007
