Industrial hygiene deals with Control Techniques to reduce or eliminate ill-effects of environmental hazards like chemical, physical, biological and ergonomic hazards on human health. The control techniques are mostly Engineering Control Measures which try to measure, quantify, monitor, control and eliminate.
- Chemical hazards like dust, gas, fumes, acids, solvents, etc. and
- Physical hazards like temperature, pressure, noise vibration, radiation, etc.
- Biological hazards like bacteria, virus, fungus, insects, moulds, parasite, algae, protodones, mematotes, mycoplasma, cells lines, and other micro-organisms or genetically engineered organisms or cells that can cause disease and aspects of drinking water, cleanliness, waste and sewage disposal, food contamination, etc., and
- Ergonomic hazards like pain, illness or accidents due to wrong design, awkward position, improper lifting, man-machine (or job) non-alignment, etc. Application of engineering and biomechanical principles can eliminate such hazards.
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Thus branch of industrial hygiene needs primarily an engineering and biomechanical knowledge and expertise. Therefore, it is called “Hygiene Engineering” also.
Occupational health studies the mode, effects and consequence of environmental hazards or stress – chemical, physical, biological and ergonomic – on human health. The techniques are mostly medical and study
- Ill-effects or diseases on health, bodily disorder or maladjustment
- Medical remedies to remove occupational illness or disease and improve health
- Preventive measures to avoid disease and to maintain good health and
- Improvement of nutrition and general physical and mental health of the workers.
Industrial hygiene attempts to eliminate or minimize the exposure of environmental or work hazards on human or public health by engineering controls and good housekeeping and keeps the workplace environment clean, pollution-free and hygienic while occupational health deals with the effects of exposure that penetrates human health, give medicines to improve it and by pre-employment and periodical medical examinations, it strives to anticipate (early detection of) occupational disease and tries for continuous health care of the workers.
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Occupational Health, also known as Occupational Medicine, aims at identifying occupational diseases in the early stage. Industrial Hygiene is aimed at identifying and rectifying causes leading to occupational diseases. By the time an occupational disease is identified, it may be too late. Therefore prevention and control of factors leading to occupational illnesses and disease is the best option. Ultimately it increases the life span.
Even if no occupational disease has occurred, the hazards at workplaces reduce the life of exposed people from a few days to a few years. Therefore industrial hygiene practice is always useful and most desired to assess and make the workplace safe and to stop decreasing the precious life span.
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Distinction with public health:- Occupational health deals with man in relation to his work and working environment inside the workplace, both physically and mentally, whereas public health deals with man in relation to his environment in society, outside the workplace and where hazards such as air and water pollution, noise, nutrition, and infections may affect his health.
Work co-ordination between Industrial Hygienist, Safety Officer and Factory Medical Officer for the purpose of safety.
The work of Industrial Hygienist, Safety Officer or professional and Occupational Health Specialist or Factory Medical Officer is reciprocal and useful to each other.
Industrial hygienists can measure and report the hazard level (noise in dBA, gas vapor in ppm, or percentage, light in lux, oxygen level, air velocity, heat stress, etc.). He can carry out personal monitoring and report individual exposures. He can assess the need for biological monitoring and report to the Director.
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Safety Officer can study this report and suggest appropriate engineering and other controls.
If industrial hygiene -practices are implemented first, there will be less work for the occupational health specialist or doctor and fewer ill-effects on workers, the public and the environment.
The work of industrial hygienists is useful to health physicians (doctor) in drawing some conclusion and conversely, the diagnostic doubt of the physician can be scientifically replied by the hygienist.
Health specialists or Doctors can examine the worker for the effect of exposure, can carry out biological monitoring if necessary and suggest necessary medical measures.
Thus work of all three officers should be coordinated for the purpose of safety.
