Occupational Hygiene

Occupational hygienists (or “industrial hygienists” in the USA) are involved with the recognition, evaluation and control of workplace health risks. Although hygienists are quite rare animals, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation included them in a series on “Ace Day Jobs”, where you can get a flavour of what the day to day work involves.  Here’s the link and here’s a link to the video of a hygienist describing it. As it’s from Australia, the article mentions the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists.  In the UK, the relevant organisation is the BOHS, the British Occupational Hygiene Society, which is open not only to professional hygienists, but to anybody with an interest in the subject.  It’s worth looking at their website if you’re considering a career in occupational hygiene, because they not only describe the possible routes into the profession, but also run a couple of bursary schemes. For people from other countries, you can look at the website of the IOHA,  the International Occupational Hygiene Association, and see if there is a further link to your country.