Industrial Hygienist

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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) 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. 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. In addition to meeting one of the Individual Occupational Requirements listed above, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-09 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-07 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. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include, but are not limited to: The incumbent performs various duties to assess work practices and environmental conditions for hazards to the health and safety of workers. The work is auxiliary to the Lead Industrial Hygienist. Duties include conducting studies, analyzing findings, and preparing various reports. Environmental conditions involve a variety of hazards (e.g. biological, chemical, physical, etc.). Assigned work sites may include industrial shops, production areas, laboratories, confined areas, patient care areas and outdoor work sites. Conducts surveys to identify and evaluate health hazards and potential health hazards. Surveys involve determining compliance with established occupational and environmental limits (ACGIH TL V, OSHA PEL, STEL, etc.), evaluating exposures and advising on control measures and changes in work procedures or schedules to comply with the established health requirements and to provide information for evaluation purposes. Conducting respirator fit testing where evaluation of health hazards or potential health hazards requires the use of this personal protective equipment. Conducts assessments of emergency eyewash and shower facilities and completes characterizations of confined spaces throughout the medical center. Performs sampling using standard methods and review of results to determine the nature and degree of toxic/hazardous material present in a variety of constituents (air, water, soil, etc.). Determines types of measurements to be made and methods to be used. Calibrates and adapts various kinds of equipment such as air sampling pumps, moisture meters, direct reading instrumentation, screening devices, noise survey instruments, quantitative and qualitative fit testing equipment, etc. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-09 level. The applicant must possess 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master’s degree or master’s or equivalent graduate degree. Degree must be relevant to the position to be filled. Completion of graduate level education is qualifying if it provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered an academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-09 level. Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience. For example, an applicant with 6 months of appropriate experience equivalent to GS-7 (50 percent of the experience requirement for GS-9) and 27 semester hours of appropriate graduate education (50 percent of the education requirement for GS-9, in excess of that required for GS-7) would be qualified for a GS-9 position (assuming that there is no evidence that the attended college or university requires more than 18 semester hours as equivalent to a year of graduate study). (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) 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.
This Industrial Hygienist position is located in Facilities Management at the VA Boston Healthcare System. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week. This is an open and continuous job opportunity announcement. Certificates are issued on an unannounced periodic basis based on requests from management. Applications will be evaluated and referred for selection as vacancies occur within the organization. This announcement may close at any time once all positions are filled.