Environmental Testing

Industrial Hygiene

Industrial hygiene is the science of protecting and enhancing the health and safety of people at work and in their communities. Health and safety hazards cover a wide range of chemical, physical, biological and ergonomic stressors. Those dedicated to anticipating, recognizing, evaluating and controlling those hazards are known as Industrial Hygienists. They are professionals dedicated to the well-being of people – at work, at home and in the community.

Today, there are other terms that essentially mean the same thing as industrial hygiene, e.g., Occupational Hygiene, Occupational Health and Environmental Health & Safety (EHS).

Since the term Industrial Hygienist has not been restricted by law, anyone, regardless of knowledge and competency, can call themselves an “Industrial Hygienist”. To aid employers and the public, a voluntary professional certification program was established in 1960. The American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) was established as an independent corporation with the sole purpose of providing a certification program to ensure a minimum level of knowledge and skills in industrial hygiene. The ABIH program has since become the world’s largest, premier certification program for Industrial Hygienists. Certification is a professional milestone, providing a 3rd party, independent indicator of achievement.

An Industrial Hygienist can implement a Workplace Exposure Assessment Program in order to evaluate potential personal exposures to hazardous substances. The program consists of a variety of activities implemented to evaluate a person’s exposure, including observation of job routine, evaluation of work place control measures, and environmental sampling. Several types of sampling are performed by Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) depending on the nature of the chemical hazard, the frequency of chemical use, and the way the chemical is handled.

Chemical exposure monitoring is often initiated by a Workplace Exposure Assessment Program. Some of the typical chemicals, which are monitored by Criterion’s Industrial Hygienists, include:

• Asbestos
• Formaldehyde
• Airborne dust (total, respirable, inhalable, thoracic, pm 10 and pm 2.5
• Solvent based materials
• Chemical carcinogens or extremely toxic substances
• Metals including lead, arsenic, mercury, berglum and chromium (t3, t6)

Criterion’s Industrial Hygienists have the skills needed to protect the health and safety of workers through the control of workplace environmental factors.

At Criterion we listen carefully to our clients concerns, inform them about regulatory requirements, and our past experiences with those issues.  Together with the client, we develop a plan for services.  Our staff will review historic worker exposure monitoring records and walk through the facility to observe current work practices.  We will develop exposure monitoring strategies, such as chemical air sampling or noise monitoring.  We also work with our clients to develop effective, yet workable, exposure control strategies, including training of workers.  Finally, we will report our findings in a professional, comprehensive, yet understandable fashion. We will support our clients to help resolve any regulatory or litigation issues.

Our services include:

• Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and Certified Safety Professional  (CSP) Services
• Worker exposure monitoring: chemical air contaminants, indoor air quality (IAQ), noise, heat & radiation
• Worker exposure control strategies
• Ventilation evaluation
• Evaluation of personal protective equipment (PPE), including respirators, with training and quantitative fit testing (QNFT)
• Industrial hygiene program audits
• Hazardous materials management
• Regulatory issues: OSHA, MSHA, EPA
• Workers compensation issues
• Litigation Support – Expert Witness (existing clients only)