The primary purpose of this position is to provide recognition, evaluation, and control of those workplace environmental conditions or stresses arising in or from the workplace, which may cause sickness, impaired health, significant discomfort, or inefficiency. Industrial hygienists in the VA perform a variety of functions related to the identification, evaluation, and control of occupational health hazards and to the promotion of healthy and safe working conditions.

Duties

Duties include but are not limited to: Be a good steward of the environment by complying with all federal, state, and local environmental laws and other requirements, preventing pollution, minimizing waste, conserving cultural and natural resources and continually improving environmental programs. Participate in the review of plans for new or modified facilities, processes, and materials for the evaluation of the adequacy of health hazard controls. Areas of responsibility include sound pressure (noise), ventilation, lighting, airborne contaminants, hazardous materials, temperature or pressure extremes, biological hazards, and ergonomics. Apply appropriate sampling techniques and procedures and may oversee the work of contractors engaged to perform specific monitoring. Conduct education and training for staff and other personnel on specific industrial hygiene program requirements including asbestos, ergonomics, confined space, respirators, and hazard communication. Advise top leadership, supervisors, managers, and safety committees of appropriate measures to control or eliminate potential health hazards and participate as the expert advisor on Industrial Hygiene matters on various committees. Review and update all Industrial Hygiene related Medical Center policies and create any new related Industrial Hygiene policies based on Federal and State compliance requirements. Compose correspondence in response to all inquiries, deficiencies, or action plans regarding matters pertaining to the Industrial Hygiene programs in a Health Care Delivery System. Where hazardous exposures are discovered, analyze findings, and recommend, devise, and/or work with engineers to develop corrective/control measures, such as changes in work procedures, systems, materials and/or the use of personal protective equipment. Serve as Environmental Compliance/Hazardous Materials Officer/Chemical Hygiene Officer responsible for the initiation, development, administration, coordination and auditing all aspects of Federal, State and municipal environmental protection, air quality, environmental health, emergency response. As Chemical Hygiene Officer, is responsible for the identification, development, and coordination and auditing of the requirement of the OSHA Laboratory Standard, which mandates the appointment of a qualified Chemical Hygiene Officer meeting significant educational and training background requirements. Partner with the Safety Officer to work with Service Safety Coordinators to help ensure service compliance with Industrial Hygiene requirements and regulations. Support the development of facility industrial hygiene policies, programs, and procedural documentation. Manage the following Industrial Hygiene Programs: respirator program, ventilation program, asbestos program, ergonomics program, heat stress program, indoor air quality program, ergonomics, hazardous communication program, OSHA Lead program, mercury program, formaldehyde program, assists with the medical surveillance program, hearing conservation program, laser safety program, and permit-required confined space entry program. Conduct in-depth surveys and evaluations of working conditions/environments to determine the nature and magnitude of hazardous exposures and the effectiveness of existing control measures. Serve as the Biohazards Officer responsible for initiating, developing, administering and auditing compliance with both protocols and guidelines established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Diseases Control (CDC), The Joint Commission (TJC), College of American Pathologists (CAP), National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Ensure compliance with VHA, OSHA, NFPA, TJC, Life Safety Code, ASHRAE, and NRC Standards for the Health Care Delivery System and documents inspections and conducts follow-up to verify abatement of noted health hazards. Serve as assistant radiation safety officer for an organization and conduct periodic radiation evaluations, both in non-ionizing and ionizing radiation. Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility. Position Description Title/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PD069300 Relocation/Recruitment Incentive - May be authorized. Physical Requirements: Investigations and surveys involve moderate physical exertion, including carrying equipment, climbing, standing, walking, and bending, as well as use of personal protective devices and occasional work in confined spaces.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Individual Occupational Requirements:Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirements described below are fully qualified for the specified entry grade and must also meet the specialized experience and/or education 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). Please Note: 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 basic entry qualification requirements, applicants must also have specialized experience relevant to this position. GS-12 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-11 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: Plan and conduct surveys, investigations, and evaluation of work operations throughout a facility that involve potentially hazardous environmental conditions. Utilize specialized sampling and monitoring equipment to analyze work environments for employee occupational health hazard exposures. Assess the health risks of identified workplace hazards, determining the nature and severity of the hazards present, and corrective measures and controls necessary to lower or eliminate worker exposure to the hazards. Recommend and communicate to senior management the requirements for modifying or controlling conditions in the workplace to eliminate exposure hazards which may result in traumatic injury or damage to property. Develop policies, programs and procedures designed to improve the overall occupational safety and health conditions in a workplace and comply with Federal, State, and local requirements. 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.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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 New Orleans VA Medical Center 2400 Canal Street New Orleans, LA 70119 US
• Name: Kathy Carroll
• Phone: 813-503-7921
• Email: [email protected]