There are two primary professional designations for industrial hygienists in North America. Last week, we looked at the Canadian designation, the Registered Occupational Hygienist (ROH). Now let's look at the U.S. counterpart, the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH).

What Do CIHs Do?

The field of industrial hygiene is devoted to the recognition, evaluation and control of workplace hazards that can cause injury, illness or discomfort. Such hazards include chemicals, noise, heat, radiation, etc. The CIH monitors workers' exposure and suggests changes to reduce risks.

A CIH's other duties may include air sampling, documenting investigations, fit testing respirators, consulting with physicians about occupational health effects and testifying at hearings.

Certification Requirements

To pursue a career as an industrial hygienist, individuals must receive a Bachelor's Degree in a course of study that includes topics such as ergonomics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, physiology and engineering. Hygienists must also have several years of experience before they can take the CIH certification exam. This exam in administered by the governing body, the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH). The examination is similar to the one taken by applicants pursuing the ROH certification (see Part 1 of this series).

All CIH examination applicants must:

Once certified, CIHs must accumulate 40 points every five years to maintain their certification and knowledge. The points can be accumulated by active practice, technical committee work, meetings, teaching and attending courses. CIHs must also pay annual renewal fees to maintain their designation.

Conclusion

Becoming an industrial hygienist is a challenging career endeavor, and one that allows you to make a big difference in occupational safety and health. You can get more information from the American Board of Industrial Hygiene website.

INTERNATIONAL RSI AWARENESS DAY

RSI prevention advice is worth repeating.

The RSI Hazards of Frequent Driving

By Catherine Jones

February 29 is International RSI (Repetitive Strain Injuries) Awareness Day, which is held on the last day of February every year because it's the only calendar day that does not necessarily repeat annually.

As safety professionals know, RSIs, also known as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), affect people in all workplaces and the risks of developing MSDs are all around us, even in our car.

Here's some timely advice from the IAPA (Industrial Accident Prevention Association) to share with your workers on RSIs and driving.

Ergonomics Behind the Wheel

Typical problems from frequent driving include neck, back and shoulder pain; cramps; poor circulation in the legs and buttocks; and a long-term potential for degeneration of spinal discs and disc herniation.

The first step is to preventing pain and injury is recognizing the risk factors in your daily activities. The main risk factors for developing an MSD include:

To identify whether you are at risk, the IAPA suggests you ask yourself these questions:

Individuals at the highest risk for developing a driving related MSD include truck drivers, paramedics, heavy equipment operators, taxi and limousine drivers, bus drivers, forklift operators, farmers, delivery/courier people, traveling sales people, weekly cottage-goers, and commuters.

6 Ways to Minimize Risk of MSDs:

Share with your workers these 6 tips to help them minimize the risk of developing MSDs:

How Employers Can Help

Two thing employers can do to help employees:

Source: Industrial Accident Prevention Association

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