| |
 |
|
Hygiene refers to practices associated with
ensuring good health and cleanliness. In broader call, scientific
terms hygiene is the maintenance of health and healthy living.
Hygiene ranges from personal hygiene, through domestic up
to occupational hygiene and public health.
Occupational Hygiene is both a technical field of study
and a profession.
The term Occupational Hygiene is synonymous
with Industrial Hygiene (used in the US, Latin America,
and other countries that received initial technical support
or training from US sources). Environmental Hygiene involves
similar issues to Occupational Hygiene, but in a non-workforce
context.
The International Occupational Hygiene Association
defines Occupational Hygiene as the discipline of anticipating,
recognising, evaluating and controlling health hazards in
the working environment with the objective of protecting
worker health and well-being and safeguarding the community
at large.
|
The American Industrial Hygiene Association has
described Industrial Hygiene as that science and art devoted to
the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, prevention, and control
of those environmental factors or stresses arising in or from the
workplace which may cause sickness, impaired health and well being,
or significant discomfort among workers or among citizens of the
community.
The Occupational Hygienist may be involved with the assessment and
control of chemical, physical or biological hazards in the workplace
that could cause disease or discomfort. Physical hazards may include
noise, temperature extremes, illumination extremes, ionizing or
non-ionizing radiation, ergonomics. Indoor air quality (IAQ) and
safety may also receive the attention of the Occupational Hygienist.
As part of this activity, the Occupational Hygienist may be called
upon to communicate effectively regarding hazard, risk, and appropriate
protective procedures; to evaluate and occasionally to design ventilation
systems; and to manage people and programs for the preservation
of health and well-being of those who enter the workplace.
|
|