Occ. Code 7840300
SENIOR INDUSTRIAL HYGIENIST, GRADE 20
New York State Department of Civil Service
Classification Standard
NATURE OF WORK
Senior Industrial Hygienists conduct occupational health inspections of office buildings or facilities operated by the State of New York or any of its political subdivisions or by private sector companies to determine, or advise on, compliance with applicable State and Federal health standards, Industrial hygiene inspections or consultations are conducted in the field to identify and evaluate health standards violations and/or, occupational health hazards of a complex nature, particularly those associated with exposure to toxic or explosive chemicals and substances in the form of dusts, fibers, fumes, mists, vapors and gases as well as other hazards such as noise and vibrations, extremes of temperature and humidity, light of various types, and other physical energies including electromagnetic emissions.
Positions in this class are found primarily in the Division of Safety and Health in the Labor Department.
CLASSIFICATION CRITERIA AND DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
Senior Industrial Hygienists function at the journey level in the Department's occupational health programs. Their duties require a knowledge of the principles and practices of industrial hygiene such as is gained in undergraduate or graduate courses of study in this field or in comparable work experience. Incumbents work with wide latitude in carrying out inspections and providing consultative services.
Senior Industrial Hygienists in the Labor Department support either the Department's legally mandated responsibilities in administering a program for protecting the occupational safety and health of public employees in the State or its contractual agreement with the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to provide advisory service to private employers subject to the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act. Positions concerned with the public sector perform either enforcement or consultative duties, while positions concerned with the private sector are responsible for consultative services only. In carrying out these activities, incumbents inspect work sites, study work operations and processes, interpret results of field tests and laboratory analysis, confer with management officials on findings, issue orders or recommendations for compliance, prepare reports of inspection findings, make follow-up visits to determine actions taken by employers to correct health standard violations and keep abreast of new developments in industrial hygiene technology.
Associate industrial Hygienists are responsible for technical supervision and training of lower level industrial hygiene staff and for handling the more complex health inspections and consultations, such as those involving biological hazards.
Safety and Health Inspectors conduct safety inspections or consultations of work sites to assure conformance with New York State or Federal occupational safety and health standards. They are primarily concerned with assuring a safe physical environment for employees and the public at such sites as ski tows, amusement facilities, places of public assembly, state and municipal office buildings, mines and quarries and at sites utilizing window cleaning scaffolding and equipment.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES, TASKS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Inspects publicly and privately owned and operated work sites to evaluate materials, work processes and by-products to determine the presence and degree of attendant health hazards and violations of same.
§ Studies and familiarizes self with the nature of the work, materials, processes and equipment used, and products and by-products that may affect the occupational health of employees at the facility being inspected.
§ Confers with management officials and when appropriate, employee representatives, concerning the nature and purpose of the inspection/consultation and procedures to be followed.
§ Interprets standards for the employer.
§ As necessary queries employees to obtain relevant information concerning the work environment.
Makes appropriate measurements to identify and quantify hazards that are potentially harmful to the health of workers.
§ Prepares and calibrates instruments such as velometers, sound level meters, noise dosimeters, etc.
§ Uses ventilation in testing equipment to evaluate adequacy of ventilation and/or exhaust equipment.
§ Uses direct reading industrial hygiene instruments or uses sampling equipment to obtain samples for laboratory analysis.
§ Packs and forwards collected samples to laboratory.
§ Makes dust counts when necessary.
Uses such industrial hygiene principles as listed below in preparing recommendations to employers for the abatement of job health hazards noted during on-site consultations.
§ Segregation, isolation or alteration of a process or work operation to eliminate or reduce exposure.
§ Substitution of a less harmful material.
§ Ventilation and air cleaning to provide an atmosphere safe for human contact.
§ Wet methods to reduce emission of dust to the atmosphere such as in mining and quarrying.
§ Good housekeeping, including cleanliness of the work place and proper waste disposal.
§ Personal protective devices such as special clothing, eye and respiratory equipment.
§ Use of time, distance, shielding and monitoring with instrumentation in safeguarding workers exposed to various electromagnetic emissions.
Meets with management and when necessary, employee representatives upon completion of walk through of the premises where no laboratory support is requested or upon receipt of the results of laboratory analyses.
§ Interprets results of field tests and laboratory analysis of samples taken during on-site inspections or consultations.
§ Cites applicable health standards being violated.
§ Issues orders or recommendations for compliance.
§ Establishes reasonable periods for abatement of hazards and compliance with violated standards.
§ Provides technical advice to employers regarding the design and installation of hazard control systems.
Recommends, after consultation with supervisor, abatement measures for control of health hazards for which no applicable standard is available.
Takes appropriate measures to protect employees in imminent danger situations.
§ Informs the affected employees and employers of the danger.
§ Informs employer that appropriate measures must be taken immediately to protect the employees.
§ Notifies supervisor if employer fails to take remedial action immediately in imminent danger situations.
Prepares narrative reports of on-site inspections or consultations to include citations of applicable health standards violated, orders or corrective recommendations issued and dates by which compliance is expected.
May assist in the conduct of special studies to evaluate requests for variances from applicable health standards as applied for by employers in the public sector.
Makes follow-up visits to determine actions taken by employers to abate hazards and comply with orders/recommendations.
§ When appropriate recommends to supervisor additional enforcement actions to be taken when compliance with recommendations is not achieved.
When required, assists in preparing material for informal hearings, formal appeal proceedings and litigation and provides testimony.
Maintains close contact with other Divisional industrial hygiene personnel to exchange technical information and takes appropriate measures to keep abreast of new developments in industrial hygiene technology.
RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS
The tasks and activities performed by Senior Industrial Hygienists may require frequent face-to-face communication with employers, employees and union officials in conducting investigations or consultations to determine compliance with health standards, interpreting results of field tests and laboratory analysis and recommending or ordering particular actions to abate health hazards. In such relationships incumbents may encounter uncooperative attitudes, requiring the exercise of tact, in order that the investigation or consultation proceed smoothly.
Written reports prepared cover investigations and consultations and contain supporting information in the event that violations are found.
NATURE OF SUPERVISION
Senior Industrial Hygienists are journey level positions and do not have regular supervisory responsibility. They may participate in the on-the-job training of new hygienists by demonstrating various consultative or inspective processes or by explaining industrial hygiene principles.
Within the Department of Labor Senior Industrial Hygienists receive technical supervision from Associate Industrial Hygienists and administrative supervision from Supervising Safety and Health Inspectors located in District offices.
MACHINES, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT USED
Senior Industrial Hygienists use air sampling equipment such as pumps, personal sampling pumps and chargers, high volume samplers, cyclone assemblies, impingers, calibration devices and balances. They also use sound level meters and analyzers, noise dosimeters, high and low pumps, direct reading colormetric tubes, physical energy monitoring equipment, anemometers, rotating vane and ventilation smoke tube kits.
JOB REQUIREMENTS
§ Good knowledge of industrial hygiene principles.
§ Good knowledge of the scope and application of relevant codes, laws, rules and regulations of the Department of Labor which relate to occupational safety and health.
§ Good knowledge of the scope and application of relevant Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards.
§ Good knowledge of techniques for making industrial hygiene inspections or consultations.
§ Good knowledge of organic and inorganic chemistry.
§ A good understanding of the operations of the work environment.
§ Ability to prepare, calibrate and operate various measuring instruments used in the industrial hygiene field.
§ Ability to interpret and evaluate chemical analyses.
§ Ability to identify unsafe health conditions and practices in a work environment.
§ Ability to read and interpret appropriate laws, rules and regulations.
§ Ability to establish rapport in communicating in a persuasive manner to secure compliance.
§ Ability to organize and prepare clear, concise and detailed reports. Ability to independently initiate action where imminent dangers exist.
§ Ability to recommend reasonable and effective abatements to occupational health hazards.
§ Ability to perform mathematical computations.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Successful completion of one year as an Industrial Hygienist Trainee 2
OR
open competitive candidates must possess a Bachelor's Degree which includes at least 30 credit hours in any combination of the following fields: chemistry, physics, engineering, health physics, environmental health, biology, toxicology, biological chemistry, industrial hygiene, physiology, epidemiology or safety* and two years of specialized experience or a Bachelor's Degree in industrial hygiene and one year of specialized experience or a Master's Degree in industrial hygiene, environmental health science or public health with a concentration in industrial hygiene.
*Eight of these credit hours must have been chemistry.
Reviewed: 5/04
NOTE: Classification Standards illustrate the nature, extent and scope of duties and responsibilities of the classes they describe. Standards cannot and do not include all of the work that might be appropriately performed by a class. The minimum qualifications above are those which were required for appointment at the time the Classification Standard was written. Please contact the Division of Staffing Services for current information on minimum qualification requirements for appointment or examination.