Basic Principles of

Industrial Hygiene
HAMIDI SAIDIN
hamidi@mohr.gov.my

Introduction to Industrial Hygiene

What is industrial hygiene?

occupational hygiene; health hygiene.

to prevent the occurrence of occupational diseases

and injuries in industries.

Hazards- Anticipate,Recognize, Evaluate & Control

sciences and arts: physics,chemistry, human

anatomy, mathematics and physiology; creativity,
curiosity and communication skills

History of industrial hygiene

Hippocrates

4th century BC

Pliny the Elder

1st century AD

Galen

2nd century AD

He recognised and

He described exposure

This Greek physician

recorded the

to zinc and sulphur

recognised the hazards

problem of lead

among labourers in the

of copper mining as

poisoning among

Natural History series.

the miners were

miners.

Besides that, he also

exposed to acid mist.

devised a protective
mask for miners made
from an animal bladder

History of industrial hygiene

Ulrich Ellenbog
1473

George Bauer
(Georgius Agricola)
1556
This mining town physician in Joachimcal, a place where

He published a pamphlet
about occupational
diseases and illnesses
among gold miners. He
discussed toxic fumes
and vapours, and
described ways of coping
with the hazards.

silver mining was one of the primary occupations, wrote a

12-series volume set named De Re Metalicca (Latin for On
the Nature of Metals).
The book covered mining geology, environmental
contamination, management technique, mine ventilation,
ergonomics and illnesses suffered by miners. The book
described the injuries and sicknesses of the miners, and it
also discussed treatments and preventive measures for

History of industrial hygiene

Theophrastus Bombastus von
Hohemheim (Paracelsus)

Bernardino Ramazzini

1567
In Miners

Sickness and other Diseases

1700
He is known as the Father of

of Miners, Paracelsus described the

Industrial Hygiene. He wrote a book

differences of the employees conditions

titled De Morbis Artificum (Diseases

between chronic and acute

of Employees). He is the first person

poisoning. He also described the physical

to make a connection between

and behavioral effects of mercury

occupations and diseases by urging

exposure.

physicians to include important

He uttered the phrase All substance are

questions such as Of what trade are

poisons; there is none which is not

you?

History of industrial hygiene

Sir George Baker
Late 1770s
He correctly found
the link Devonshire
Colic to lead
poisoning in cider,
the traditional drink
of Devonians.

Percival Pott
1833

British Government
English Factory Act
Early 1990s

He is the first to link

The Act focused on

cancer to chemical

compensation rather

exposure. He observed

than safety practices. It

the development of

led to improvements in

scrotal cancer in London

safety as the Act also

chimney sweepers. He

gave employers

found out that the cancer

financial incentives to

was caused by the soot

prevent accidents.

History of industrial hygiene

Alice Hamilton
Early 1990s
This American physician emphasised on
employees welfare. She identified hazards and
illnesses and recommended prevention
measures. She also raised public
consciousness about employee safety. Her
work can be found in these two publications:
Industrial Poisons in the United States (1925)
and Exploring the Dangerous Trades (1943).

2016

The Importance of Occupational

Hygiene
The World Health Organisation estimates
that globally there are:

2,000,000 work-related deaths per year.

386,000 deaths each year from exposure to

airborne particulates.

152,000 deaths per year from carcinogens in

the workplace.

37% of Lower Back Pain is attributed to

occupation.

Development of industrial hygiene in

Malaysia

Definition of Industrial
Hygiene

According to OSHA (1998), industrial hygiene

is defined as the science and art devoted to
the anticipation, recognition, evaluation and
control of environmental factors or stresses.

Industrial Hygienist?

Industrial hygienist is a person having

college or university degree(s) in engineering,
chemistry, physics, medicine, or related
physical and biological sciences, who has also
received specialized training in recognition,
evaluation, and control of workplace stressor
and therefore achieved competence in
industrial hygiene.

Factors or stresses :
Chemical agents
Dust, mists, vapours, gases, fumes.
Physical agents
Ionising, non-ionising radiation, noise,
vibrations and temperature extremes.
Biological agents
Insects, molds, yeast, fungi, bacteria,
viruses.
Ergonomic agents
Monotony, fatique and repetative motion

Scope of Industrial Hygiene

Anticipatio
n/Recognit
ion

Commitment

Evaluatio
n

Identification

Planning
Design

Hazard

Training

Exposure
Asessment

Monitoring
Studies

Control

Elimination
Substitution
Engineering
Administration
Personal
protective

What is Industrial Hygiene

Work Activity

Exposure

Occupational
Hygiene
Occupational
Health

Disease

Occupational
Medicine

Industrial Hygiene Duties

Occupational Physician

Utilize the exposure evaluation and workplace

assessments;

Identify the possible impact on the employee;

and

Provide proper diagnosis and treatment.

Industrial Hygiene Profession

Registered Competent Person

Assessor

Hygiene Technician

IAQ Competent Person

Noise Monitoring Competent Person

Mineral Dust Competent Person

Lead Competent Person

Responsibilities of an Industrial
Hygiene
1)
2)

3)
4)

Examination of the industrial

environment;
Interpretation of gathered data from
studies made in the industrial
environment;
Preparation and proper implementation
of control measures;
Creation of regulatory standards for
work conditions;

Responsibilities of an Industrial
Hygiene
5)

6)

7)
8)

Presentation of competent and meaningful

testimony when called upon to do so by
boards, commissions, agencies, courts, or
investigative bodies;
Performance of epidemiological studies to
uncover the presence of occupation-related
diseases;
Education of the working community in the
field of industrial hygiene; and
Preparation of adequate warnings and
precautions where dangers exist.

Applied science and application of

IH
Diciplines
Physics,
mathematics,
human anatomy,
and physiology

Application in IH
Hazard evaluation of noise,
illumination, lasers, non- ionising
radiation, ionising radiation, and
ergonomics.

Chemistry, anatomy Toxic chemical exposure evaluation of

and physiology,
carcinogenic hazard assessments and
toxicology
reproductive hazard assessments.
Toxic chemical exposure evaluation of
carcinogenic hazard assessments and
reproductive hazard assessments.

Applied science and application of

IH
Diciplines
Statistics,
epidemiology,
physics, chemistry,
anatomy and
physiology,
toxicology, language
skills

Application in IH
Measuring exposures to chemical and
physical agents. Interpreting
laboratory analytical reports.
Using direct-reading instruments.

Language skills

Interaction with employees,

management, and clients; report
writing; preparing manuscripts of
original research studies for
publication; and design and delivery of
employee education programmes.

Industrial Hygiene Programme

Programme for the employees health protection and safety.

source of information for the physician or nurse relative to

the employees working conditions, including the possible
causes of, or factors contributing to, the employees
symptoms.

medical surveillance programme.

1)
2)
3)

Periodic hearing tests to detect noise-induced hearing

loss;
An examination of the respiratory system including a
chest x-ray; and
Lung capacity measurements to detect scarring of the
lungs due to asbestos exposure.

Basic elements of IH Programme

Elements

Examples

Anticipation/ recognition Watching

of health hazards
Asking questions
Observing work practices
Reviewing chemical inventories
Evaluation of health
hazards

Air sampling
Noise exposure
Ergonomic stress

Control of health
hazards

Determining appropriate and effective

control measures

Basic elements of IH Programme

Elements
Recordkeeping

Examples
Keeping accurate and complete industrial
hygiene records
Requiring regulation
Source of information for trending exposure

Employee training

Hazard communication programme

New employee orientation
Industrial hygiene responding to specific
questions
Evaluating new materials proposed for use in
a process

Periodic programme
Changes in regulatory requirements
reviews, changes, and New information about the toxic properties
updates
of a chemical or
physical agent
Changes in a process