Industrial Hygiene (IH)

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SCIENCES-

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE PROGRAM AREA

Occupational Health Sciences – Industrial Hygiene (OHS-IH) underpins several of the disciplines comprising the Environmental Health Sciences. When applied to occupational health, OHS-IH falls within the domain of Industrial Hygiene (IH). By tradition, the field of IH applies knowledge and principles drawn from the physical and life sciences, engineering, statistics, psychology, and program management to the protection of workers (and the general public) from chemical, biological, and physical agents of disease. Considering IH in the broader context of OHS-IH the contributions IH professionals are making in modern global society (within and beyond the boundaries of the workplace), and our evolving understanding of health risks as a function of time/life-stage, we have adopted the hybrid term OHS-IH to describe our academic program.

The Industrial Hygiene track provides additional expertise to the Environmental Health Sciences Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Sciences (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees.

Required and Elective Courses:

We are recruiting highly motivated students with undergraduate backgrounds in the natural sciences:

• Biology and/or physiology
• General Chemistry
• Organic Chemistry
• Physics
• Calculus

The IH Program is a key component of the University of Michigan’s approach to occupational and environmental diseases, industrial hygiene, exposure assessment, control technology, ergonomics, occupational health law, physical hazards, and other topics relevant to IH training.

What do Industrial Hygienists Do?

IH professionals are concerned with the myriad aspects of evaluating, mitigating, and managing workplace hazards, including toxic gases and vapors, dusts, (bio-)aerosols, mold, engineered nanomaterials, pathogens, noise, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, ergonomic stresses and safety hazards.

As we move toward a more holistic view of human health and well-being (i.e., Total Worker Health), the roles of IH professionals are expanding to include health promotion, wellness, and emotional and mental health issues associated with increased workloads and associated job stress.

Increasingly, responsibility for environmental issues outside of the workplace, such as hazardous waste, residential indoor air quality, ambient air and water pollution, and ecological balance are also falling within the domain of the practicing Industrial Hygienist.

Among the activities in which IH professionals may be engaged are the following:

• Measurement of contaminant levels in the air, on surfaces, and in biological fluids
• Design of exposure assessment strategies (e.g., for estimating health risks)
• Statistical analysis of data sets to inform decision-making
• Management of occupational and environmental health programs
• Training of workers about hazards and safe practices
• Promotion of healthy working conditions
• Demonstration of compliance with regulations and guidelines limiting harmful exposures
• Research on the relationships between exposure and health effects
• Development and implementation of new monitoring technologies and methodologies
• Provision of service to the public and/or professional societies (e.g., AIHA)
• Maintenance of ethical practices in all aspects of their professional activities
• Engagement in lifelong learning

IH professionals are employed by numerous private and public sector organizations include large (often multi-national) corporations; insurance companies and environmental consulting firms