Partnership Across Disciplines: Improved EHS Efficiency Through Collaboration of Industrial Hygienists and Environmental Engineers

Marsalla, P.E. , Joy
(Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, OR)

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While semiconductor companies drive to meet Moore’s Law through groundbreaking research practices, Environmental, Health and Safety professionals must assess new types of hazards, complete regulatory reviews and examine chemical data, often in a resource-scarce environment. Given the immense breadth and depth of knowledge required of semiconductor EHS professionals such as Industrial Hygienists and Environmental Engineers, the roles and responsibilities of these two specialties are often kept rather isolated. However, there is a unique opportunity to be had through partnership across disciplines. To be effective with these conflicting pressures of enlarged scope and limited resources, collaborative and multi-disciplinary developments within EHS can lead to more proactive and thorough Industrial Hygiene and Environmental assessments. For example, at Intel Corporation, new chemistries which are brought into our facilities must be reviewed by EHS, which is completed by both Industrial Hygienists and Environmental Engineers at each of the sites throughout the corporation. In this practice, the increased standardization, increased communication and greater visibility across disciplines to new chemicals, tools, and technologies, Intel is utilizing individuals who are cross-trained in Industrial Hygiene and Environmental Engineering to act as a leading indicator for EHS needs and often, a coordinator for the more discipline-specific investigations. This presentation will discuss basic philosophies and training of Industrial Hygienists and Environmental Engineers, will investigate opportunities for streamlining and sharing data across disciplines, and then will discuss examples of some EHS cooperative efforts in place at Intel Corporation beginning with the incoming chemical review, while including hazard and exposure assessments, regulatory chemical classification, and other preemptive EHS evaluations.

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