Definition of industrial hygiene - What it is, Meaning and Concept

industrial hygiene is the set of procedures aimed at controlling environmental factors that may affect health in the workplace.Health is understood as complete physical, mental and social well-being .

Industrial hygiene, therefore, must identify, evaluate and, if necessary, eliminate the biological, physical and chemical agents found within a company or industry and that can cause illnesses to workers.

Specifically, we can establish that all industrial hygiene practices are in charge of three different kinds of situations: the first studies undertaken within the work environment to assess what is exposure to risks, control and monitoring monitoring, and the final evaluation for what are the various epidemiological studies.

This issue is particularly important in those productive sectors that involve the handling of pollutants.For example: a company dedicated to dyeing pants must take special precautions with the chemicals used in their daily processes.Workers, on the other hand, must have adequate protection in their clothing.

In this sense, we have to state that it is essential, therefore, the work of the industrial hygienist because it will be responsible for identifying the different risks to which a person is exposed in their field of work, anticipate possible risks at the time to advise on how to avoid them, evaluate the various work methods, participate in the analysis of occupational risk or educate and educate individuals about the risks.

Companies have take samples and periodical measurements to verify the level of pollutants in the environment.It therefore requires the services of a laboratory capable of assessing the results obtained to ensure that the industrial environment is not harmful to health.

In its broadest sense, industrial hygiene also includes the study of sound levels or the lighting of buildings , among other issues.The exposure of very intense sounds or lack of luminosity to work they can affect the ear and eyes of the worker.Health, therefore, also depends on these factors.

We must underline that there is also the Spanish Association of Industrial Hygiene (AEHI) whose main objectives are to significantly improve the different workplaces through the elimination or reduction of the risks to which employees are exposed in regard to their exposure to certain chemical or biological agents, among others.

In this way, to achieve the aforementioned purpose and many more, this entity carries out a whole series of actions such as, for example, the organization of events on the subject, to ensure that it becomes a center for the exchange of information and opinions on industrial hygiene.

It should be noted that the essence of industrial hygiene is preventive , since its main objective is to guarantee the well-being of employment by preventing illness.