Industrial Hygienist

About the role

The Industrial Hygienist position is located in the Facilities Management Service of the VA Boston Healthcare System. This position is located in the Jamaica Plain, MA campus. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

Responsibilities

• Determines measurements to be made and methods to be used, calibrates and adapts various kinds of equipment, such as standard spectrophotometers, pH meters, and gas chromatographic apparatus.
• Conducts surveys to identify and evaluate health hazards and potential health hazards.
• Performs analysis using standard methods to determine nature and degree of toxic material present in a variety of materials, such as environmental samples, body fluids, and industrial products.
• Consults with and advises occupational health personnel on matters of epidemiology relative to health hazards in the work area.
• Regularly inspects the medical center to identify potential occupational health hazards and the need for further investigative studies and surveys.
• Presents specific conclusions and recommendations to appropriate management and health officials through data reports, presentations, and written reports.
• Receives and disposes of hazardous wastes and maintains appropriate records in accordance with existing EPA standards, state law and VA regulations.
• Evaluates exposures, and advises on control measures and changes in work procedures/schedules to comply with established health requirements.
• Reviews building surveys and historical sampling records to identify hazardous building materials in existing construction.
• Prepares comprehensive and legally sufficient written reports of all monitoring activities performed.
• Ensures proper documentation of employee exposures in medical records.
• Interprets results of studies for the work environment in terms of possible impairment to health, nature of health impairment, potential for medical center damages, etc.

Requirements

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until December 31, 2026. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be May 13, 2025 with subsequent cut off dates on the 1st of each month. Eligible applications received after the initial cut-off date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.

Qualifications

• To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
• Basic Requirement: 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 (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. For engineering degrees to be acceptable, the curriculum must be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) as a professional engineering curriculum.
• Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: demonstrates 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. (Must be well documented in resume).