Document VJd2rDQOg3epLGxdZX1JOkr7K
6 FRANK A, PATTY
1914. The United States Public Health Service organized a Division of Industrial
Hygiene and Sanitation in 1915. The American Association of Industrial Physi
cians and Surgeons was organized in 1916. The ill health and increased mortality
accompanying the accelerated production of munitions and other war materials for
World War I made many persons conscious _pf the necessity for technical guidance
in the recognition and control of occupational diseases. The Journal of Industrial
Hygiene was established in 1919 and was:the leading publication in the field. It
was acquired by the American Medical Association in 1949, underwent editorial
policy changes, and is presently (1957) published as the A.M.A. Archives of
Industrial Health. The American Industrial Hygiene Association Quarterly, pub
lished for the first time in 1946, has had wide acceptance and is now the leading
source of information in the industrial hygiene field. Starting January, 1958, it will
be issued six times a year as the American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal.
In 1918 the Harvard Medical School established a Department of Applied
Physiology, which in 1922 became a part of the present Harvard School of Public
Health as the department of Physiology and the Department of Industrial Hy
giene. This was the first time that instruction and research in industrial hygiene
leading to-advanced degrees had been offered anywhere in the world. This school
co-.dperates;i.th the.graduate school of engineering: any of the courses offered in
the Schopl of public Health may be elected by students working for a degree of
master;or, doctor,of, science in engineering. The School of Public Health, which is
open.tp. graduates pf schools of medicine, and graduates in arts and sciences with
'ScieHiTesrOr specialized framing "and experiehceTrrim
imp.prtant.phase, of. public health work, offers the degree of master of public health
arid, to especially qualified persons, the degree of doctor of public health! The
Harvard SchogljOf, Public Health was the first place in the world where a qualified
perspn cpui^gb|ain scheduled, broad instruction in industrial hygiene regardless
Of whether,,:riisl.,undergraduate training had been in medicine or in the sciences.
Several, uniy.emities, .colleges, and technological schools now provide similar
instruction,(.fea^ggdrig number of students.
^
Many .chemists.and engineers, as well as physicians, in the field'have acquired
their specialized industrial hygiene knowledge and skills by association and in the
h^|ipBl|ang||^g|g|th;;^department bureaus of jndusimaL hygiene, have furnished valu^bl^Mtibg;''sta{ion8 for developing neophytes into full-fledged industrial hygienist^jMore recently, industry has been training chemists, engi
neers,.and--45hy.sicistfefOT-Imth.specialized-.and-general -work~in-the'>field-''by''g.iviRg them opportunities to work with trained industrial hygiene personnel.
The National Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists was organ ized in 1938 and has since furnished a valuable forum for the discussion of prob lems and experiences among this important group of industrial hygienists. The American Medical Association held its first Congress on Industrial Health in 1939.
INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE----RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT
7
i^^^_"''Bhe-American Industrial Hygiene Association was also organized in 11939, pri-
;/ matjly- as a specialized group to encourage and foster the exchange and ddiissemina-
IIo''"twnlvT'o'f technical information in the basic scie..n..c.e. .s.,...s..u..cuh ~a~s chemist--ry, physics, E^-'-u^.mi;c..h..a..n...ic...a..l...e..n..g..i.n..e..e..r.i.n..g..,..and toxicology, as it applies to industrial hygiene. This r '^^-V'l'hiSriization held its first annual meeting: ini 1940. It became the nucleus around
iiindustrial hygiene developed and gained recognition as a scientific profes- membership now includes both men and women from the several sciences
"P^^aiidsmedicine who represent the many facets of this particular field, of public _ |||||5y.Industrial hygiene has successfully withstood abortive efforts at absorp-
^ `-tionpy both safety engineering and medicine. It borders on each of those fields, jfplk18 "technique from both, and one of its primary functions is to get these
.^.tVajferoups to work hand in hand. As long as men of the professional strength
J^^^ffiatlhas characterized the field since the early Twenties continue their interest, ^^Sj^ndu|trial hygiene will be likely to retain its identity as a separate and important
public health. It has a specific job to do and the specialized training to do
the jpb--a fact that is constantly becoming more widely recognized. In recent | V*rli,the American Industrial Hygiene Association, the Industrial Medical Asso-
American Association of Industrial Nurses, Inc., and the National K^jS^f^pnfejence of Governmental Industrial Hygienists have found it to their mutual
to hold joint annual meetings and to work closely together, with a Sgragplg of research findings and practical experiences,
JJntil 1936 the industrial hygiene activities of the United States Public
mifiOr `and were confined largely to research of a and Statistical nature. From 1928 until 1932 toxicological research, such
tndy of the effects of solvents, vapors, and gases on guinea pigs, rats,
of the peritoneal injection
;Q lor evamatm& prouterative action of dusts, was farmed out to the United Bureau of Mines. Under the able guidance of R. R3Sayers and W. P. Yant
'.^t^E^S-'h^-rcsearch had become extensive and the Bureau of Klines was hailed by some
stiil'lSw^i_fcjflig4 chemical industries as an impartial, qualified research institute where
could have relative toxicities determined in order that the manufacturer lias the public might be intelligeritly guided regarding-necessary precautions
handling and use of chemical products. The studje%,w.|re co-operative arr
^^^.Tj|^.-y.T^ts-wherebcTln'dugfctY^bsorbfe~d~go;st~s "connect'e^^^
'their
The amount of money involved began to be attractive and protests ^//i'S^a!m|t "subsidizing" the government and research caused the prnject to be disEiS^a^teed. Later federal funds were made available to the Unitla'%tates Public
j^^i^^1h--Senaca4Ittou^cfefr8oaial^Seomaty--Aet,' whereupon-extensive research
SfcrsjW^t'gatinns and a program designed to establish active industrial hygiene units
health departments of the various industrial states were ^inaugurated. By
facilities of the Industrial Hygiene Division, National institutes of
of ^e United States Public Health Service had been greatly extended, and ffiftj^l'Jrffireonnel had increased from less than a score of persons in 1933 to Veil over