Hygiene and Occupational Health Services

The profession that aims specifically at the prevention and control of hazards arising from work processes is occupational hygiene. The goals of occupational hygiene include the protection and promotion of workers' health, the protection of the environment and contribution to a safe and sustainable development.

The need for occupational hygiene in the protection of workers’ health cannot be overemphasized. Even when feasible, the diagnosis and the cure of an occupational disease will not prevent further occurrences if exposure to the unhealthy agent does not cease. So long as the unhealthy work environment remains unchanged, its potential to impair health remains. This area of health services is extremely important and often workers have no idea what is occurring behind the scenes.

Community Sanitation

Community sanitation means the work we do to keep our environment clean. We must live in a healthy, clean environment. There are some activities we need to do in order to live in a clean environment. We must sweep our surroundings and remove the dirty things by taking them away or burning them. We must also cut the bush around our houses, schools and offices. This will prevent snakes and dangerous insects from getting to us. We must wash our gutters regularly and remove dirt from them. As good citizens, we must not litter the environment with dirty things. When we live in clean surroundings, we will be healthy and happy.

 

Sanitation Workers perform a valuable service to their communities by collecting garbage and transporting it to proper waste disposal areas, such as dumps or landfills. To be successful as a Sanitation Worker you must display physical fitness and dexterity in order to perform the job effectively. You will also have knowledge of different waste types and follow protocols for dumping garbage correctly.

 

If you have interest in this area, you may want to pursue waste management or wastewater disposal. A waste management specialist is a trained professional who oversees every activity involved in a proper waste management system to allow for waste maximization and recycling. They help to minimize the effect of waste on human lives and look for ways to protect the environment. They carry out a waste audit of companies and visit field operations to check the different kinds of waste produced and their quantity. They also oversee different waste management and carry out recycling projects. If you are interested in wastewater disposal, these professionals are operators who must have a degree in Science or Engineering. Certification is also required typically through state agencies. These agencies often offer training courses and study materials that help students prepare for their certification examinations.

 

Occupational Health and Safety

The goal of a multidisciplinary occupational health and safety team is to design, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive health and safety program that will maintain and enhance health, improve safety, and increase productivity. Such programs often provide similar results for the families of workers, with resultant financial and other benefits for the corporation. Occupational health and safety professionals include occupational and environmental health nurses, occupational medicine physicians, industrial hygienists, safety professionals, and occupational health psychologists. Other related members of the multidisciplinary team are ergonomists, toxicologists, epidemiologists, human resource specialists, and industrial/organizational psychologists.

Occupational health and safety professionals are persons who have been accredited through appropriate procedures to practice a profession related to occupational health or who provide occupational health services according to the provision of relevant regulations.

Occupational health and safety specialists typically need a bachelor's degree in occupational health and safety or a related scientific or technical field, such as engineering, biology, or chemistry. For some positions, a master's degree in industrial hygiene, health physics, or a related subject is required. Bachelor's degrees in occupational safety take approximately four years to complete and are a great option if you know you want to grow your knowledge a step above an associate degree.