Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health
SOC: 19-4091.00

Description:

Perform laboratory and field tests to monitor the environment and investigate sources of pollution, including those that affect health, under the direction of an environmental scientist, engineer, or other specialist. May collect samples of gases, soil, water, and other materials for testing.

National Salary Information:

Hourly Statistics:

Annual Statistics:

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015 wage data.

Employment Projections:

Employment (2014):
36,200 employed

Projected (2024):
39,600 employed

Projected growth (2014-2024)


Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015 2014-2024 employment projections external site. "Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2014-2024). "Projected job openings" represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Alternate Titles:

  • Air Analyst
  • Air Pollution Auditor
  • Air Quality Technician
  • Air Sampling and Monitoring
  • Asbestos Abatement Technician
  • Asbestos Microscopist
  • Biological/Microbiological Lab Technician
  • Biotechnician
  • Chemical/Analytical Lab Technician
  • Compliance Analyst
  • Compliance Manager
  • Decontamination Technician
  • Emergency Response Technician
  • Emergency Spill Response Technician
  • Energy and Conservation Technician
  • Environmental Analyst
  • Environmental Compliance Technician
  • Environmental Field Technician
  • Environmental Health and Safety Specialist
  • Environmental Health Specialist
  • Environmental Laboratory Technician
  • Environmental Property Assessor
  • Environmental Safety Specialist
  • Environmental Sampling Technician
  • Environmental Science Technician
  • Environmental Scientist
  • Environmental Specialist
  • Environmental Technician
  • Facility Environmental Technician
  • Field Sampling Technician
  • Ground Water Technician
  • Groundwater Monitoring Technician
  • Hazardous Material Technician
  • Hazardous Materials Analyst
  • Hazardous Substances Scientist
  • Hazardous Waste Technician
  • Industrial Ecology Technician
  • Industrial Pretreatment Program Specialist (IPP Specialist)
  • Infectious Waste Technician
  • Instrumentation Chemist
  • Laboratory Assistant
  • Laboratory Specialist
  • Laboratory Technician
  • Lead-Based Paint Technician
  • Leaking Underground Storage Tank Remover (LUST Remover)
  • Mobile Lab Technician
  • Natural Resource Technician
  • Pollution Control Technician
  • Process Environmental Technician
  • Process Laboratory Specialist
  • Public Health Sanitarian
  • Public Health Sanitarian Technician
  • Radon Inspector
  • Regulatory Affairs Specialist
  • Remediation Technician
  • Sample Prep Technician
  • Sanitarian
  • Sanitarian Specialist
  • Smog Technician
  • Smoke Tester
  • Soil Analyst
  • Solid Waste Analyst
  • Solid Waste Landfill Technician
  • Solid Waste Technician
  • Source Control Inspector
  • Surface Water Technician
  • Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility Technician (TSDF Technician)
  • Waste Minimization Technician
  • Waste/Materials Exchange Specialist
  • Wastewater Analyst
  • Wastewater Treatment Plant Chemist
  • Water Analyst
  • Water Purification Chemist
  • Water Quality Analyst
  • Water Quality Specialist
  • Water Quality Technician
  • Water Treatment Specialist

    • Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

    Experience:

    A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

    Education:

    Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

    Job Training:

    Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

    Required Skills:

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Active Listening
  • Writing
  • Speaking
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Critical Thinking
  • Active Learning
  • Learning Strategies
  • Monitoring
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Coordination
  • Persuasion
  • Negotiation
  • Instructing
  • Service Orientation
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Operations Analysis
  • Technology Design
  • Equipment Selection
  • Programming
  • Operation Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Troubleshooting
  • Repairing
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Systems Analysis
  • Systems Evaluation
  • Time Management
  • Management of Financial Resources
  • Management of Material Resources
  • Management of Personnel Resources

    • Knowledge Used:

  • Administration and Management
  • Clerical
  • Economics and Accounting
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Personnel and Human Resources
  • Production and Processing
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Design
  • Building and Construction
  • Mechanical
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Biology
  • Geography
  • Education and Training
  • English Language
  • History and Archeology
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Law and Government
  • Telecommunications
  • Communications and Media
  • Transportation

    • Tasks:

  • Record test data and prepare reports, summaries, or charts that interpret test results.
  • Collect samples of gases, soils, water, industrial wastewater, or asbestos products to conduct tests on pollutant levels or identify sources of pollution.
  • Respond to and investigate hazardous conditions or spills, or outbreaks of disease or food poisoning, collecting samples for analysis.
  • Provide information or technical or program assistance to government representatives, employers, or the general public on the issues of public health, environmental protection, or workplace safety.
  • Calibrate microscopes or test instruments.
  • Make recommendations to control or eliminate unsafe conditions at workplaces or public facilities.
  • Inspect sanitary conditions at public facilities.
  • Prepare samples or photomicrographs for testing and analysis.
  • Calculate amount of pollutant in samples or compute air pollution or gas flow in industrial processes, using chemical and mathematical formulas.
  • Initiate procedures to close down or fine establishments violating environmental or health regulations.
  • Determine amounts and kinds of chemicals to use in destroying harmful organisms or removing impurities from purification systems.
  • Discuss test results and analyses with customers.
  • Maintain files, such as hazardous waste databases, chemical usage data, personnel exposure information, or diagrams showing equipment locations.
  • Perform statistical analysis of environmental data.
  • Set up equipment or stations to monitor and collect pollutants from sites, such as smoke stacks, manufacturing plants, or mechanical equipment.
  • Distribute permits, closure plans, or cleanup plans.
  • Inspect workplaces to ensure the absence of health and safety hazards, such as high noise levels, radiation, or potential lighting hazards.
  • Weigh, analyze, or measure collected sample particles, such as lead, coal dust, or rock to determine concentration of pollutants.
  • Examine and analyze material for presence and concentration of contaminants, such as asbestos, using variety of microscopes.
  • Develop testing procedures or direct activities of workers in laboratory.
  • Conduct standardized tests to ensure materials or supplies used throughout power supply systems meet processing and safety specifications.
  • Develop or implement programs for monitoring of environmental pollution or radiation.
  • Analyze potential environmental impacts of production process changes and recommend steps to mitigate negative impacts.
  • Develop or implement site recycling or hazardous waste stream programs.
  • Monitor emission control devices to ensure they are operating properly and are in compliance with state and federal regulations.

    • Tools & Technology:

  • 35 millimeter cameras
  • Air current test kits
  • Air monitoring equipment
  • Air sampling impingers
  • Air sampling primary flow calibrators
  • Area sampling pumps
  • Autoclaves
  • Binocular light compound microscopes
  • Bioaerosol impactors
  • Bladder water sampling pumps
  • Carbon monoxide monitors
  • Carpet sampling pump kits
  • Centrifugal water sampling pumps
  • Centrifuges
  • Chloride test kits
  • Chlorinated hydrocarbon testing equipment
  • CO2 monitors
  • Colorimetric field sampling devices
  • Detector tubes
  • Digital cameras
  • Digital hand meters
  • Digitizing tablets
  • Dilution systems
  • Electronic pump calibrators
  • Field data collection computers
  • Flame ionization detectors FID
  • Flow monitoring equipment
  • Freon detectors
  • Hach field kits
  • Halide meters
  • Halogen leak detectors
  • Handheld laser particle counters
  • Humidity sticks
  • Hygrometers
  • Indoor air quality IAQ monitors
  • Infiltrometers
  • Interface probes
  • Landfill gas collection systems
  • Landfill gas detection systems
  • Large-format plotters
  • Laser printers
  • Lead air sampling kits
  • Lead soil sampling kits
  • Lead surface sampling kits
  • Lead water sampling kits
  • Low-flow pumps
  • Luxmeters
  • Micromanometers
  • Micropurge sampling equipment
  • Microscope slides
  • Moisture meters
  • Nephelometers
  • Noise dosimeters
  • Noise logging analyzers
  • Noise monitoring instruments
  • Notebook computers
  • Ozone generators
  • Particulate monitors
  • Particulate samplers
  • Passive samplers for organic vapors
  • Peristaltic pumps
  • Personal computers
  • pH meters
  • Phase contrast microscopes
  • Photoionization detectors PID
  • Pilot tubes
  • Pocket personal computers PC
  • Polarized light microscopes
  • Pump flowmeters
  • Purge pumps
  • Radon detection devices
  • Salinity meters
  • Sequential air samplers
  • Sewer surveillance cameras
  • Soil augers
  • Soil vapor extraction units
  • Sound level meters
  • Spectrophotometers
  • Velocity meters
  • Velometers
  • Vibration monitors
  • Volt-ohm meters VOM
  • Water chemistry analysis equipment
  • Water level recorders
  • Water sample extraction pumps
  • Water sample extraction tubes
  • Water sampling augers
  • Water sampling bailers
  • Water sampling pumps
  • Water well depth meters
  • Zero air generators
  • Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat software
  • Autodesk AutoCAD software
  • Autodesk Softdesk
  • Computer aided design CAD software
  • Database software
  • Email software
  • ESRI ArcGIS software
  • ESRI ArcInfo
  • ESRI ArcPad
  • ESRI ArcView
  • ESRI software
  • FishXing software
  • Flood modeling software
  • Geomechanical design analysis GDA software
  • Graphics software
  • HEC RAS
  • HEC-HMS
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word
  • Scientific analysis software
  • Spreadsheet software
  • Statistical software
  • Trimble GPS software
  • Visual OTTHYMO
  • Web browser software
  • Word processing software

    • life physical and social science

    industry stats

    SOC: 19-0000

    Total Employed: 1,146,110

    Average Annual Salary: $71,220