Occupational Hygiene

Occupational Hygiene is the art and science of protecting worker's health and well-being by anticipating and recognising sources of danger to their health, evaluating the severity and likelihood of that injury, and advising on the control of those health risks and the protection of workers.

Professional occupational hygienists are trained to deal with physical (hot and cold working conditions, non-ionizing radiation, lighting, noise & vibration), chemical (asbestos, dusts, gases, vapours and fumes), biological (bacteria, viruses), repetitive tasks & psycho-social hazards.

The aim is to understand workplace health risks and communicate advice on what needs to be done to prevent serious illnesses like cancer, asthma, skin diseases and deafness. 

Often the risk from health hazards present in the workplace is not readily apparent, recognised or understood. They can cause serious ill-health over the longer term from repeated relatively low levels of exposure if appropriate controls have not been applied.

Environmental Health

Environmental Health is the science of understanding the interaction between man and his environment as it affects his physical and mental health as well as social well-being. Environmental health practitioners are particularly concerned with aspects of the environment that can present a risk to health, such as poor housing, food safety, infectious  and non-infectious diseases, occupational health and safety, air and water quality, noise and environment issues generally.