OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY SPECIALIST

Job Definition:

Job Description:

• Review, evaluate, and analyze work environments and design programs and procedures to control, eliminate, and prevent disease or injury caused by chemical, physical, and biological agents or ergonomic factors. May conduct inspections and enforce adherence to laws and regulations governing the health and safety of individuals. May be employed in the public or private sector.

Duties and Tasks:

• 1) Collaborate with engineers and physicians to institute control and remedial measures for hazardous and potentially hazardous conditions or equipment.
• 2) Collect samples of dust, gases, vapors, and other potentially toxic materials for analysis.
• 3) Collect samples of hazardous materials, or arrange for sample collection.
• 4) Conduct audits at hazardous waste sites or industrial sites, and participate in hazardous waste site investigations.
• 5) Conduct safety training and education programs, and demonstrate the use of safety equipment.
• 6) Coordinate “right-to-know” programs regarding hazardous chemicals and other substances.
• 7) Develop and maintain hygiene programs such as noise surveys, continuous atmosphere monitoring, ventilation surveys, and asbestos management plans.
• 8) Develop and maintain medical monitoring programs for employees.
• 9) Inspect and evaluate workplace environments, equipment, and practices, in order to ensure compliance with safety standards and government regulations.
• 10) Inspect specified areas to ensure the presence of fire prevention equipment, safety equipment, and first-aid supplies.
• 11) Investigate accidents to identify causes and to determine how such accidents might be prevented in the future.
• 12) Investigate health-related complaints, and inspect facilities to ensure that they comply with public health legislation and regulations.
• 13) Investigate the adequacy of ventilation, exhaust equipment, lighting, and other conditions that could affect employee health, comfort, or performance.
• 14) Maintain and update emergency response plans and procedures.
• 15) Maintain inventories of hazardous materials and hazardous wastes, using waste tracking systems to ensure that materials are handled properly.
• 16) Order suspension of activities that pose threats to workers’ health and safety.
• 17) Perform laboratory analyses and physical inspections of samples in order to detect disease or to assess purity or cleanliness.
• 18) Prepare hazardous, radioactive, and mixed waste samples for transportation and storage by treating, compacting, packaging, and labeling them.
• 19) Provide new-employee health and safety orientations, and develop materials for these presentations.
• 20) Recommend measures to help protect workers from potentially hazardous work methods, processes, or materials.

Activities:

• 1) Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• 2) Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• 3) Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• 4) Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• 5) Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• 6) Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
• 7) Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• 8) Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
• 9) Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• 10) Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
• 11) Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• 12) Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
• 13) Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.

Abilities:

• 1) Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• 2) Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• 3) Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• 4) Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• 5) Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• 6) Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 7) Number Facility — The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
• 8) Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• 9) Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• 10) Memorization — The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
• 11) Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Knowledge

• 1) Public Safety and Security — Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• 2) Chemistry — Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• 3) Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• 4) Law and Government — Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• 5) Physics — Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.