This Industrial Hygienist position is in the Safety and Emergency Management service at the White River Junction VA Medical Center, located at the White River Junction, Vermont location. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

Duties

The primary purpose of this position is to direct the Industrial Hygiene Program which includes but is not limited to the following programs: asbestos control and abatement, ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, hearing conservation, hazard communication, nitrous oxide, mercury, hazardous and infectious waste management, water testing and treatment, respirator program, and anti-neoplastic drugs. Duties include but are not limited to: Assess work practices and environmental conditions for hazards to the health and safety of workers. Conducts surveys to identify and evaluate health hazards and potential health hazards. Conducts studies of work operations and processes, examining work environments, analyzing findings, promulgating recommendations, and preparing various reports. Performs analysis to determine nature and degree of toxic materials present. 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., and presents specific conclusions and recommendations to appropriate management and health officials. Identifies and requisitions test equipment used in performing industrial hygiene tasks. Performs or arranges for proper calibration and maintenance of equipment. Reviews VA Publications, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) documents and regulations, the Federal Register, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations and Federal Drug Administration (FDA) reports, recall alerts/notifications to determine if any hazardous material supplies are in use that require removal. Performs on-site inspection of new construction to ensure compliance with all applicable codes and standards. Actively participates in and advises the facility Hazardous Materials and Waster Management Subcommittee and the Environment of Care Committee on matters related to industrial hygiene. Performs additional duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PD405-04510-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Notifications: This position is in the Competitive Service. This position is a AFGE Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/13/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Industrial Hygiene Series, 0690: Individual Occupational Requirements Basic Requirements The education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. 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 American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) Note: Transcripts and/or Certification must be uploaded. 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. In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements listed above, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-12 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience includes the Evaluation of Experience listed below and would typically include, but are not limited to: Managing and directing an industrial hygiene program including planning and initiating surveys of work operations to identify and quantify hazardous conditions, and personal contact with personnel to convey information and obtain corrective action; preparing technical written and oral detailed plans, survey reports, corrective action and follow-up reports; Working knowledge of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) criteria documents, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) standards, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) directives. Conducting studies, analyzing findings, and preparing various reports. Analysis of environmental conditions involving a variety of hazards (e.g. biological, chemical, physical, etc.). Inspecting and surveying industrial shops, production areas, laboratories, confined areas, patient care areas and/or outdoor work sites. Conducting surveys to identify and evaluate health hazards and potential health hazards. 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analytical ReasoningChemistryHazardous MaterialsHealth Risk AnalysisPlanning and Evaluating Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The performance of duties requires long period of walking, standing, crawling, kneeling and bending. Moderate lifting and carrying of equipment, use of personal protective devices, and work in hazardous and confined spaces is required. Use of all appendages, good vision and hearing are necessary. Emotional and mental stability are required. Work Environment: The Industrial Hygienist is frequently exposed to potentially hazardous conditions and materials such as noise. dust, asbestos, fumes, smoke, gases, solvents, flammables, explosives, etc. Also, incumbent is frequently exposed to equipment in operation and construction hazards. Temperatures encountered can be extremely hot or cold for periods of time. Per OSHA requirements, a beard is not permitted due to the usage of a respirator. Also the ability to operate a motor vehicle is necessary. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address White River Junction VA Medical Center 215 North Main St. White River Jct., VT 05009 US
• Name: Jessica Steed
• Phone: (802) 295-9363 X2021
• Email: [email protected]