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Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health
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.
Also Known As:
Environmental Health Officer (EHO)
Environmental Technician (Environmental Tech)
Industrial Pretreatment Program Specialist (IPP Specialist)
Lab Technician (Laboratory Technician)
Public Health Sanitarian
Sanitarian
Sanitarian Specialist
Soil Lab Technician (Soil Laboratory Technician)
Water Quality Analyst
Water Quality Specialist
Wages
Annual wages for Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
36,200
7% Change From 2023
Explore Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Collect samples of gases, soils, water, industrial wastewater, or asbestos products to conduct tests on pollutant levels or identify sources of pollution.
- Record test data and prepare reports, summaries, or charts that interpret test results.
- 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.
- Perform statistical analysis of environmental data.
- Inspect sanitary conditions at public facilities.
- Monitor emission control devices to ensure they are operating properly and comply with state and federal regulations.
- Initiate procedures to close down or fine establishments violating environmental or health regulations.
- Examine and analyze material for presence and concentration of contaminants, such as asbestos, using variety of microscopes.
- Develop or implement site recycling or hazardous waste stream programs.
- Direct activities of workers in laboratory.
- Make recommendations to control or eliminate unsafe conditions at workplaces or public facilities.
- Develop or implement site recycling or hazardous waste stream programs.
- Analyze potential environmental impacts of production process changes, and recommend steps to mitigate negative impacts.
- Determine amounts and kinds of chemicals to use in destroying harmful organisms or removing impurities from purification systems.
- Investigate hazardous conditions or spills or outbreaks of disease or food poisoning, collecting samples for analysis.
- Investigate hazardous conditions or spills or outbreaks of disease or food poisoning, collecting samples for analysis.
- Prepare samples or photomicrographs for testing and analysis.
- Discuss test results and analyses with customers.
- Weigh, analyze, or measure collected sample particles, such as lead, coal dust, or rock, to determine concentration of pollutants.
- Maintain files, such as hazardous waste databases, chemical usage data, personnel exposure information, or diagrams showing equipment locations.
- Develop or implement programs for monitoring of environmental pollution or radiation.
- 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.
- Distribute permits, closure plans, or cleanup plans.
- Record test data and prepare reports, summaries, or charts that interpret test results.
- Inspect workplaces to ensure the absence of health and safety hazards, such as high noise levels, radiation, or potential lighting hazards.
- Calibrate microscopes or test instruments.
- Develop or implement programs for monitoring of environmental pollution or radiation.
- Monitor emission control devices to ensure they are operating properly and comply with state and federal regulations.
- Develop testing procedures.
- Set up equipment or stations to monitor and collect pollutants from sites, such as smoke stacks, manufacturing plants, or mechanical equipment.
- Calculate amount of pollutant in samples or compute air pollution or gas flow in industrial processes, using chemical and mathematical formulas.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")