Ethics in Industrial Hygiene

Abstract Industrial hygienists have a moral responsibility, and, if certified or a member of an OHS professional organization, a professional obligation to act and perform their work in an ethical manner. According to ethicist Rushworth Kidder, the single largest problem in ethics is the inability to recognize ethical issues. Ethical challenges for individual industrial hygienists and the companies that employ them grew substantially with the development of the global economy starting in the 1990s. The growth of corporate social responsibility has not improved working conditions around the world; however, a handful of examples of worker‐driven social responsibility show potential. A code of ethics provides for a common understanding and minimum expectations. A professional code of ethics also provides evidence to those outside of the organization or discipline of the members' value and repute. The American Board of Industrial Hygiene code is enforceable among CIH candidates and diplomats. American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) has a Code of Conduct, AIHA and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists have joint ethical principles and the International Commission on Occupational Health has the more comprehensive International Code of Ethics for Occupational Health Professionals. Case studies provide an opportunity to work through common and complex ethical issues faced by industrial hygienists.