Industrial Hygienist

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM) provides the infrastructure and support that enables the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to perform its mission. OASAM provides leadership and support for information technology, human resources management, procurement, business operations, safety and health, space management, civil rights, emergency management, security, budget, and performance.

• Serve as the Department's technical expert and advisor on industrial hygiene and occupational health programs.
• Lead complex industrial hygiene assessments and investigations involving chemical, physical, biological, and environmental workplace hazards.
• Develop, interpret, and implement occupational safety and health policies, procedures, standards, and guidance affecting Department-wide operations.
• Analyze occupational injury, illness, exposure, and workers' compensation data to evaluate program effectiveness and recommend corrective actions.
• Provide industrial hygiene and hazardous materials expertise for emergency management activities, facility projects, and incident response operations.
• Represent the organization and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to advance occupational health, safety, and industrial hygiene program objectives.

You must meet the Individual Occupational Requirements and the Specialized Experience to qualify for Industrial Hygienist, as described below.

Applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

• A bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree in industrial hygiene, occupational health sciences, occupational and environmental health, toxicology, safety sciences, or related science; or
• A bachelor's degree in a branch of engineering, physical science, or life science that included 12 semester hours in chemistry, including organic chemistry, and 18 additional semester hours of courses in any combination of chemistry, physics, engineering, health physics, environmental health, biostatistics, biology, physiology, toxicology, epidemiology, or industrial hygiene; or
• Certification from the Board for Global EHS Credentialing (formerly American Board of Industrial Hygiene(external link) (ABIH)).

Courses in the history or teaching of chemistry are not acceptable.

Evaluation of Education: All science or engineering courses offered in fulfillment of the above requirements must be acceptable for credit toward the completion of a standard 4-year professional curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in science or engineering at an accredited college or university.

Evaluation of Experience: Qualifying experience involves the recognition, evaluation, corrective actions, and elimination of environmental conditions in the workplace that causes sickness, impaired health, or illness. This experience must demonstrate a professional knowledge of the theory and application of the principles of industrial hygiene and closely related sciences such as physics and engineering controls.

Such work must have involved experience in all of the following areas: the acquisition of quantitative and qualitative data, and the measurement of exposures for a variety of chemical, physical, and biological stresses; the analysis of the data acquired and the prediction of probable effects of exposures on the health and well-being of workers; and the selection and recommendation of appropriate controls, including management, medical, engineering, education or training, and personal protective equipment.

Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the duties of the position successfully, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. For this position, the next lowest grade is the GS-12. Qualifying specialized experience for this position include all of the following:

• Experience working with OSHA policies, regulations, directives, and program objectives, with demonstrated ability to effectively lead and direct staff and provide guidance to personnel.
• Experience in training workers, supervisors, managers, safety and occupational health professionals, and employee representatives on industrial hygiene topics and OSHA inspection protocols.
• Experience conducting inspections, ensuring compliance with established standards, and evaluating work-related and ergonomic hazards, as well as assessing industrial hygiene matters such as mold, chemicals, noise, etc. in accordance with OSHA requirements.
• Experience utilizing strong analytical skills and sound judgment to identify issues, evaluate complex problems, and develop effective recommendations and solutions, and experience in applying techniques to assist staff in delivering critical safety and health guidance to organizational leadership and stakeholders.

Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.

If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.