Future of “Industrial” Hygiene

The Future of “Industrial” Hygiene

Looking back to the 1970 passage of the OSHA law, the central projects of “industrial” hygiene were: getting compliance with the 1968 TLV's for air contaminants and noise in traditional occupations, centered on manufacturing and mining; and, setting full standards under section 6(b) of the OSHA law. The law largely transformed the discipline by requiring employers to comply by engineering controls with previously advisory limits applied by ineffective state agencies. The first project is largely complete for air contaminants – few PEL violations are found, and these are largely for a few agents in mining, construction and service sector jobs. Noise remains out of compliance. The 6(b) project has stalled, leaving workers in many sectors exposed to levels of chemicals known to cause disease but in compliance with PEL's. The flight of manufacturing off shore and the destruction of traditional employment have wounded the discipline. The future health of the discipline lies in: expanding the reach into sectors with jobs that are here to stay – becoming “occupational” rather than “industrial”; reviving the 6(b) process to bring exposure limits into the last quarter of 20th century, and eventually the 21st; applying the principles of industrial hygiene to microbial agents; defining the role of industrial hygienists in ergonomics and other aspects of total occupational exposure assessment and control. These are feasible goals.