Institute for the Certification of Industrial Hygienists www.icfp.it
Since the creation of AIDII, the lack of a university profile effectively matching the vocational training demand, which prevention and protection require in the field of industrial health, has brought to the fore the need to codify, qualify and assess the professionalism of whoever operates in this field. This is the reason why, in 1986, AIDII decided to found the Institute for the Certification of Industrial Hygienists (ICII - Istituto per la Certificazione degli Igienisti Industriali), taking inspiration from equivalent experiences carried out in the United States and in Great Britain.
The goal of the certification issued by ICII is to verify the capacity of “taking on the responsibility of identifying, assessing and controlling environmental factors of a chemical, physical and biological nature deriving from industrial activity, present inside and outside work environments, which may alter the state of health and wellbeing of workers and of the population, with a view to prevention and possible regeneration”, as established by the World Health Organization and always keeping in the foreground the need to fully respect the canons of professional ethics.
ICII’s activity started in 1987 and so far it has carried out the issuing of over 300 certificates. Obviously such a certification does not substitute the enrolment in professional registers or associations. It is a guarantee of professionalism. The acknowledgement of the ICII certification in the international accreditation system is in a developing phase, through its qualification at SINCERT. This will enable certified industrial hygienists to be acknowledged more and with greater visibility. In any case, AIDII is part of the panel of the eight associations that are working to define a protocol of international certification of industrial hygienists on an international scale.
A Board of Directors, made up of AIDII’s founder members, Past Presidents and by representatives appointed by AIDII leads ICII. It is chaired by the AIDII’s Past President in charge. The Board refers to a Scientific Commission, which is in charge of guaranteeing the technical and scientific precision of the procedures. The Commission is composed of the members of the Board of Directors of the Institute and of AIDII, by university professors, as well as by personalities of the scientific world.
To access the certification – for which multidisciplinary knowledge and experience are requested - it is necessary to have a diploma or a degree in technical and scientific subjects. The certificate can be obtained following two different professional paths: the one of Industrial Hygienist and the one of Technician of Industrial Health, by passing the certification exam.
The subjects tested during the exam are the following:
General principles of industrial health
Industrial toxicology
Epidemiology
Statistics for industrial health
Chemical agents
Noise
Vibrations
Radiations
Indoor air quality
Thermal stress
Industrial ventilation
Biological monitoring
Air pollution
Water pollution
Waste
Industrial health management
Ethical Code
An ethical code of the industrial hygienist has been established and it can be summarized in 8 guidelines:
1. to practice the profession following acknowledged scientific principles and having clear in mind that the life, health and wellbeing of individuals may depend on one’s professional assessment and that the first task consists in protecting the health and wellbeing of the population;
2. to provide objective advice as to potential risks for health as well as to the precautions to take in order to avoid negative consequences on health;
3. to guarantee the confidentiality of the information obtained during the carrying out of one’s activity, unless it becomes seriously harmful for individuals or there exist specific Law obligations;
4. to use confidential information exclusively for the aim it has been requested for;
5. to avoid circumstances, which might compromise one’s professional judgement or give way to conflicts of competence;
6. to provide services related exclusively to the areas of one’s competence;
7. to support and develop the respectability and the integrity of the profession;
8. to avoid deceitful behaviours in seeking a professional employment, as well as unethical actions towards others.
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