Industrial Hygiene

Industrial Hygiene Program Mission:

Provide support to the Warfighter, conserve resources, enhance readiness, and preserve health by anticipating, recognizing, evaluating, and controlling occupational health hazards where military and civilian personnel work and serve.

Industrial Hygiene Program Objectives:

• Ensure regulatory compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and DA regulations pertaining to occupational health.
• Accurately identify, characterize, and assess potential workplace health hazards.
• Recommend appropriate engineering and administrative controls and/or personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent occupational related illnesses, injuries, or deaths to Soldiers and civilian workers.
• Recommend personnel for exposure-based medical surveillance.
• Integrate established IH principles, concepts, and functions in support of related programs, such as safety, occupational medicine, hearing, vision conservation and readiness, respiratory protection, indoor air quality (IAQ), asbestos control, lead abatement, and environmental compliance.

Programs & Services

• Health Hazard Inventory: Maintenance of the DoD database of health hazards for Fort Polk.
• Health Hazard Assessments: Survey and inspection of work sites and associated hazards.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Assessments and Evaluations: Inspection of PPE on–hand and recommendations for appropriate PPE for the job.
• Work–Related Risk Assessment: Assistance with job hazard analysis and risk assessment coding.
• Respiratory Protection Program: Consultative services including respirator needs assessment and respirator selection.
• Vision Conservation Program: Evaluation of eye hazardous areas and eye protection equipment.
• Hearing Conservation Program: Identification of noise hazardous areas, noise level dosimetry, and evaluation of hearing protective equipment.
• Indoor Air Quality Evaluations: Evaluation of problems associated with building HVAC systems and related illnesses.
• Design Review: OSH review of plans and specifications for construction, renovation, and contracting operations.
• Confined Space Entry Program: Consultative services for work in confined spaces.
• Asbestos and Lead Hazards: Hazard inspection, risk assessment, management planning assistance, and sampling.
• Hazard Abatement Planning: Assistance with planning for abatement of recognized occupational or environmental hazards.
• Education and Training: Formal and informal training and assistance with supervisory training for all Occupational and Safety and Health related subjects.