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Career Details

19-5012.00 - Occupational Health and Safety Technicians


Collect data on work environments for analysis by occupational health and safety specialists. Implement and conduct evaluation of programs designed to limit chemical, physical, biological, and ergonomic risks to workers.


Key Facts
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Bright Outlook
Career Details
Green Job
Career Details
Current Employment
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Forecasted Employment
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Change in Employment
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Change in Employment %
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Tasks
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Tasks
The tasks listed below can be performed to prepare you for a career in this field.
Core
  • Maintain all required environmental records and documentation.
  • Supply, operate, or maintain personal protective equipment.
  • Prepare or calibrate equipment used to collect or analyze samples.
  • Test workplaces for environmental hazards, such as exposure to radiation, chemical or biological hazards, or excessive noise.
  • Prepare or review specifications or orders for the purchase of safety equipment, ensuring that proper features are present and that items conform to health and safety standards.
  • Examine credentials, licenses, or permits to ensure compliance with licensing requirements.
  • Educate the public about health issues or enforce health legislation to prevent disease, to promote health, or to help people understand health protection procedures and regulations.
  • Review records or reports concerning laboratory results, staffing, floor plans, fire inspections, or sanitation to gather information for the development or enforcement of safety activities.
  • Prepare documents to be used in legal proceedings, testifying in such proceedings when necessary.
  • Plan emergency response drills.
  • Maintain logbooks of daily activities, including areas visited or activities performed.
  • Help direct rescue or firefighting operations in the event of a fire or an explosion.
  • Confer with schools, state authorities, or community groups to develop health standards or programs.
  • Collect data regarding potential hazards from new equipment or products linked to green practices.
  • Test or balance newly installed HVAC systems to determine whether indoor air quality standards are met.
  • Train workers in safety procedures related to green jobs, such as the use of fall protection devices or maintenance of proper ventilation during wind turbine construction.
  • Verify availability or monitor use of safety equipment, such as hearing protection or respirators.
  • Evaluate situations or make determinations when a worker has refused to work on the grounds that danger or potential harm exists.
  • Recommend corrective measures to be applied based on results of environmental contaminant analyses.
  • Conduct worker studies to determine whether specific instances of disease or illness are job-related.
  • Inspect fire suppression systems or portable fire systems to ensure proper working order.
  • Provide consultation to organizations or agencies on the workplace application of safety principles, practices, or techniques.
Supplemental
  • Conduct interviews to obtain information or evidence regarding communicable diseases or violations of health or sanitation regulations.
  • Collect data related to ecological or human health risks at brownfield sites.
  • Examine practices at green building sites to determine whether adherence to green building standards alters risks to workers.
  • Perform tests to identify any potential hazards related to recycled products used at green building sites.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Knowledge
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Knowledge

The items listed below are organized into sections that contain knowledge useful for pursuing a career in this field. Each section also contains a "Percentage of Importance" statistic that shows how relevant an item is to the occupation.
 English Language
  • 79%
    Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
 Education and Training
  • 79%
    Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
 Public Safety and Security
  • 78%
    Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
 Customer and Personal Service
  • 78%
    Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
 Chemistry
  • 77%
    Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
 Law and Government
  • 77%
    Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
 Mathematics
  • 73%
    Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
 Engineering and Technology
  • 73%
    Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
 Mechanical
  • 70%
    Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
 Biology
  • 69%
    Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
 Clerical
  • 67%
    Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
 Computers and Electronics
  • 67%
    Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
 Administration and Management
  • 67%
    Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
 Building and Construction
  • 63%
    Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
 Physics
  • 63%
    Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
 Production and Processing
  • 63%
    Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
 Design
  • 61%
    Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
 Personnel and Human Resources
  • 61%
    Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
 Psychology
  • 58%
    Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
 Communications and Media
  • 55%
    Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
 Medicine and Dentistry
  • 52%
    Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
 Economics and Accounting
  • 50%
    Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Tools
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Tools
The tools listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Sampling equipment
  • Aerosol meters
  • Air quality dataloggers
  • Cascade impactors
  • Cyclone samplers
  • Diffusive air samplers
  • Dry-gas meters
  • Gilibrators
  • Impingers
  • Microbial samplers
  • Particle sensors
  • Particulate monitors
  • Personal sampling pumps
  • Thermal desorption tubes
 Light and wave generating and measuring equipment
  • Aerosol photometers
  • Infrared analyzers
  • Light meters
 Compressors
  • Air compressors
 Liquid and gas flow measuring and observing instruments
  • Air flow calibrators
  • Electronic bubble meters
  • Electronic pump calibrators
  • Mass flow meters
  • Rotameters
 Indicating and recording instruments
  • Airflow indicators
  • Particle counters
  • Radiation detectors
 Meteorological instruments
  • Anemometers
  • Thermoanemometers
 Gas analyzers and monitors
  • Carbon monoxide sensors
  • Electrochemical gas monitors
  • Gas detector tubes
  • Mercury vapor analyzers
  • Passive samplers
  • Radon monitors
  • Single gas monitors
  • Sorbent tubes
 Computer data input devices
  • Data acquisition equipment
  • Data loggers
 Cameras
  • Digital cameras
  • Digital video cameras
 Filters
  • Dust collectors
 Chemical evaluation instruments and supplies
  • Flame ionization detectors FID
  • Photoionization detectors PID
 Respiratory protection
  • Half-face respirators
  • Respirator hose masks
  • Self-contained breathing apparatus
 Lamps and lightbulbs
  • Inspection lamps
 Sound generating and measuring equipment
  • Octave band analyzers
  • Sound level meters
 Dosimetry equipment
  • Passive dosimeters
 Computers
  • Personal computers
 Spectroscopic equipment
  • Portable infrared spectrophotometers
  • Spectroscopes
  • X ray fluorescence XRF analyzers
 Power tools
  • Power blowers
 Safety apparel
  • Protective gloves
 Separators
  • Wet scrubbers
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Technology
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Technology
The technologies listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Data management and query software
  • Brady Lockout Pro
  • Database software
  • Microsoft AccessHOT
  • Remedy Interactive iMitigate
 Information exchange software
  • Email software
  • Microsoft OutlookHOT
  • Teleconferencing software
 Content authoring and editing software
  • Graphics software
  • Microsoft ExcelHOT
  • Microsoft PowerPointHOT
  • Microsoft WordHOT
  • Presentation software
  • Spreadsheet software
  • Word processing software
 Industry specific software
  • Industrial Scientific iNET
  • QuestSuite Professional
  • Statistical analysis software
  • TapRooT
 Business function specific software
  • Microsoft OfficeHOT
  • Microsoft SharePointHOT
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Certifications
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Certifications
FastForward at Virginia's Community Colleges is a short-term training program for high-demand industries, like healthcare, information technology, and skilled trades and infrastructure, helping Virginians get the jobs and salaries they need. Our goal is to get you trained, help you earn your certification, and get you into a career that can support you and your family. Explore the latest training program offerings by visiting FastForward
The certifications listed below are useful to pursue if you are interested in a career in this field.
No specific certifications are listed for this career
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Licensing
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Licensing
The licensing information below is organized into sections and is useful for pursuing if you are interested in a career in this field.
No specific licensing information is listed for this occupation in the area you have selected.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Related Programs
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Programs related to this career, offered by participating institution(s), are listed below.

Clicking on the Degree programs in the list below will take you away from the Careers page.
INSTITUTION
PROGRAMS
Appalachian College of Pharmacy
Old Dominion University