IH Job @ Sandia Nat'l Labs (Albuquerque)

We at Sandia National Laboratories are currently seeking an entry-level
Industrial Hygienist. In recruiting for this position, we are asking
that you circulate this job description and application information to
any of your graduates that may be interested. This is a full-time,
technical staff position at our Albuquerque, NM location. The attached
file describes the position and provides instructions on accessing our
careers website to apply. In addition to applying at the careers
website, I ask that any interested persons also contact me directly via
email. I am also available by telephone at 505.845.8040 to answer any
questions. Thanks in advance. -Mike


Michael C. Oborny, CIH
Dept. 4127, MS-0792
Sandia National Labs
PO Box 5800
Albuquerque, NM 87185-1050

Tel: (505) 845-8040
Fax: (505) 844-0636
e-mail: mcoborn@sandia.gov

Nervous about job interview

"How would you like to come in for an interview?"

ahhh, the magic words a grad student wants to hear before graduation.

So - I have an interview tomorrow afternoon with Minnesota OSHA.  Like any responsible person, one researches the potential employer.  Sure - I'm already in the business.  Sure - everyone knows what OSHA does, right?  Nevertheless, I did.

Their website is fairly user-friendly.  Detail dense, but with a little looking around, it didn't seem hard to find what I wanted.

I'm looking forward to the opportunity to visit many different types of worksites.  Construction, meatpacking, chemical processing, paper mills, etc.  Then, I found the list of 2009 Fatalities and Serious Injury Investigation Summary.  It hit me.  What's the sure-fire guaranteed way to get a compliance inspector at your worksite?

1 - kill one of your employees
2 - injure a bunch all at once
3 - complaint

I never considered doing what compliance inspectors have to do: fatality investigations.  It's horrible enough 1,000 miles away listening to the news about the Big Branch Coal Mine in WV.  Can you imagine being the MSHA compliance officer who has to do the investigation after they open the mine?

I have never encountered a workplace fatality.  I've even managed to make it to this point in life without having many people I know die.  I've only had 2 friends die:  chronic medical problems and power tool accident(or suicide, depending on who you ask).  I've had 3 co-workers die:  motorcycle accident, drug o.d., and cancer(not related to our mutual job).  Suddenly I found an aspect to this job that is rather unsettling.

Of course, I'm nervous about having a job interview.  What questions should I ask them?  Should I ask

How do you cope with doing fatality investigations?

Do you ever run into employers who are verbally abusive when you do an unannounced inspection?

Do you like your job after 5 years?

What's the average time before someone leaves & why do they do it (other than money)?

What's the worst place you've ever had to do an inspection?

.

OHS prosecution in UK

Apparently we aren't the only ones who complain about the lack of prosecution for occupational safety failure.

The Guardian is pro-labor, left-leaning paper (left in the sense the the US uses it).

Cutting off the nose to save the penis

what a title! Definitely not the ordinary work hazard. One expects reproductive hazards from radiation or chemical exposure. I never would have thought of bicycle riding. NIOSH bicycle saddles and reproductive health prolonged riding with certain types of bicycle saddles (the seat) results in higher pressure to the urogenital area (crotch) for male cyclists, reducing male reproductive function. These studies focused on police departments with a bicycle patrol as part of the force. Changing the style of seat for 6 months improved the man's function. The title is from the "nose-less" bicycle seats which were studied.

War on Science

Slate.com declared the War on Science to be over. Meanwhile the Columbia Journalism Review reported: CNN, the Cable News Network, announced yesterday that it will cut its entire science, technology, and environment news staff, including Miles O'Brien, its chief technology and environment correspondent, as well as six executive producers. Mediabistro’s TVNewser broke the story. “We want to integrate environmental, science and technology reporting into the general editorial structure rather than have a stand alone unit,” ... "integrate" generally doesn't mean "eliminate and leave the rest hanging". Let's just eliminate the advertising department, Joe, and let the Marketing and Sales fellows cover it as an integrated unit, but only after we fire all of the advertising guys. "integrate" should be 'reorganize and then cut jobs'. The War on Science will be over when I'm long dead and gone, if ever. The ever-increasing number of parents who reject modern medicine in toto ... ... who seek to embrace 'natural' or 'homeopathic' or 'alternative' medicine while blissfully living encapsulated from disease in a society built on what they reject ... ... who refuse to acknowledge the potential for "science" to be able to explain better than the Bible ... ... Those who refuse to acknolwedge the potential for "science" to support religion** ... ... all of this simply reinforces an undeclared and often unacknowledged War on Science. ** Of the number of people I know who are devout scientists, a significant proprotion of them are concurrently devout theists.

10 Germiest Jobs

The magic list is supposedly: 1. Teacher/day-care worker 2. Cashier, bank employee 3. Tech support/computer repair 4. Doctor or nurse 5. Lab scientist 6. Police officer 7. Animal control officer 8. Janitor or plumber 9. Sanitation worker (AKA garbage man/woman) 10. Meat packer Hands down, I have absolutely no doubt about #1. Though the article thinks pest control workers climbing around in dark basements after rats should be added to the list. While I would not want the job, it would take one monster basement to be that 'germy'. The only biologically active thing in mine is the cat's litter box. The rats, not the basement, are going to be diseased.