Environmental health inspector

Are you concerned about the quality of the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the food you eat If so, you might become an environmental health inspector. 

Also called sanitarians, many environmental health inspectors work for local, state, and federal governments. They analyze air, water, and food to identify possible contaminants. They might inspect dairies, restaurants, hospitals, processing plants, and industries. When they find contaminants, they look for the source, stop the pollution, and require the polluter to clean it up. 

Environmental Health Inspector College degree plus licensing... 

Another option is to have the organization s environmental health and safety staff conduct inspections. In a smaller organization, these types of inspections may adequately address the ILCI frequency recommendations. In larger institutions, the safety staff may be limited to semiannual or even annual walk-throughs. A more practical use of safety staff for inspections may be to target certain operations or experiments. Or the safety staff could focus on a particular type of inspection, such as safety equipment and systems. Finally, they could perform "audits" to check the work of other inspectors or look specifically at previous problem areas. It is important for the safety staff to address noted deficiencies with appropriate reminders and/ or additional training. Punitive measures should be employed, but only for chronic offenders or deliberate problems that pose a serious potential hazard. 

HSE inspectors and local authority inspectors (Environmental Health Officers [EHO]) have the following general powers ... 

Local authority inspectors, the Environmental Health Officers, have similar powers to an HSE inspector but report to the local authority. They may seek advice from the HSE on particular matters. 

Enforcement of health and safety laws in particular areas of employment is undertaken by specialist inspectorates such as the Nuclear, Mines and Quarries, Railway, Agricultural and Explosives Inspectorates as well as Environmental Health Officers and Department of Energy Inspectors of Offshore Installations. Responsibility for the enforcement of fire matters is delegated to the Fire Authority and for offices and shops to the Local Authorities. 

In addition to fire safety legislation, health and safety at work legislation also covers the elimination or minimization of fire risks. As well as the particular and main general duties under the HSW Act, fire risks are also covered by specific rules, such as for dangerous substances and explosive atmospheres, work equipment, electricity and other hazards. Thus, environmental health officers or HSE inspectors may enforce health and safety standards for the assessment and removal or control of process-related fire risks, where it is necessary, for the protection of workers and others. 

The Health and Safety Executive is the executive and enforcement arm of the HSC. The HSC may direct its work except where it involves enforcement of the law in individual cases. Enforcement of the law in certain premises like offices and shops is the responsibility of local authority environmental health departments, whose officers have identical powers to HSE inspectors. 

The Regulations are enforced by HSE inspectors and local authority environmental health officers. 

Occupational health practitioners liaise with a wide range of enforcement officers, such as medical and nursing advisers of the Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS), HSE inspectors, environmental health officers, planning officers and staff of the local Health Authority. They also liaise with local medical practitioners, keeping them informed of any health-related matters as far as they affect patients who may be employed by the particular organisation. 

The HSE is the enforcement and advisory body to the HSC. For lo wer risk activities and premises such as offices, the powers of enforcement are delegated to local authorities environmental health departments, whose officers have the same po wers as HSE inspectors when carrying out these functions. 

FfSE inspectors and local authority inspectors (Environmental Health... 

National Association of the Chemical hidustry (ANIQ), 262 National Biochemicals Corporation, 239 National Capital Poison Center, 312-313, 318 National Chemical Corporation, 260 National Chemicals Inspectorate, 264 National Envhonmental Health Association (NEHA), 279 National Federation of Italian Chemical Manufacturers (FEDERCHIMICA), 261 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 279 National Gypsum Company, 240 National Health hiformation Center (NHIC), 286 National histitute for Environmental Studies (NIES), 283 National histitute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 286... 

KEMI. 2003. Human health risk assessment. Proposals for the use of assessment (uncertainty) factors. Application to risk assessment for plant protection products, industrial chemicals and biocidal products within the European Union. Report No. 1/03. Solna, Sweden Body for Competence and Methodology Development, the Swedish National Chemicals Inspectorate and Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden. 

Geering, J. J., Froidevaux, P., Schmitler, T., Buchillier, T. Valley, J. F. 2000. Mesures de plutonium et d americium dans Tenvironment. In Voelkle, H. Gobet, M. (eds) Environmental Radioactivity and Radiation Exposure in Switzerland. Swiss Inspectorate for Public Health, Amiual Report 1999, Section B7.2.1-8. 

The Swedish Work Environment Authority (SWEA) and the Swedish Chemicals Inspectorate (SCI) are, thus, two enforcement authorities that work with environmental issues, though in different respects. The Swedish Work Environment Authority focuses on factors that have an impact on the mental, social and physical health and well-being of employees, while the Swedish Chemicals Inspectorate focuses on factors that influence toxic levels in nature and thereby both directly and indirectly the health and well-being of human beings as well. While SWEA s activity is dominated by inspections of workplaces in public and private organisations, inspections play only a minor role in the activities of SCI. See Table 18.1 for further differences between the authorities. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHAct) is administered and enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Both OSH A and OSHAct were created in December 1970, the same month the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) was created. Unlike the US EPA, OSHA is essentially an enforcement organization and most of its employees are inspectors who perform thousands of workplace inspections per year it is a division of the Department of Labor. The OSHAct assures, as far as possible, that all working men or women have risk-free working environments and imposes on employers the obligation to provide employees with workplaces that are free from recognized health and safety hazards and to maintain compliance with specific OSHA standards. 

Inspections for compliance with GLP Principles may take place in any test facility generating health or environmental safety data for regulatory purposes. Inspectors may be required to audit data relating to the physical, chemical, toxicological or ecotoxicological properties of a substance or preparation. In some cases. Inspectors may need assistance from experts in particular disciplines. 

Air quality monitoring in Poland is performed by The State Inspeetorate for Environmental Proteetion SIEP (within the stmcture of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry) with its provincial (voivodship) branches VIEPs The State Sanitary Inspectorate SSI (subordinated to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare) with its provincial branches VSIs industrial plants or companies and research institutes, foundations, etc. 

In accordance with the Statute of the State Inspectorate for Environmental Protection (SIEP), the Chief Inspector of SIEP plays the co-coordinative role within the State Environmental Monitoring Programme. The State Sanitary Inspectorate (SSI) is responsible for air quality assessment from the viewpoint of health and hygiene requirements. The authority responsible for official data on national emissions into air is the Department of Environmental Protection in the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry (MoE). Air quality monitoring data are used at national, voivodship (provincial) and local levels. 

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