Since the advent of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the growth in environmental regulations almost seemed to be geometric. The end result of the plethora of environmental regulations was that many safety professionals found that they were expected to also be "environmental" professionals. That changed the focus of the education and practice of safety professionals in most organizations. September 11, 2001, and the anthrax events that year forever changed the lives and focus of the safety profession. Potential chemical, biological, and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism and emergency and business continuity planning mandated that safety professionals work closely with their Security/Asset Protection organizations to prepare for unexpected and, in some cases, unthinkable events. In addition, in recent years there has been a major thrust towards utilization of leading rather than trailing metrics. Downsizing, lean manufacturing, and business techniques such as Six-Sigma have forced safety professionals to be more business focused. Nanotechnology and the avian flu are significant emerging issues requiring safety professionals to become more fluent in chemistry, physics, and biology.
In 2000, the National Academy Press published the Institute of Medicine (IOM) book, Safe Work in the 21st Century, Education and Training Needs for the Next Decade's Occupational Safety and Health Personnel.1 The IOM concluded that the burden of largely preventable occupational diseases and injuries and the lack of adequate occupational safety and health services at most small and some larger workplaces indicated a need for more occupational health and safety professionals at all levels. A focus on injury reduction and training of occupational health and safety professionals and workers was recommended. The emergence of a new global economy and global initiatives, such as ISO 14001 and the global harmonization of classification and labeling of chemicals, along with new ANSI standards, such as the ANSI Z10 occupational safety and health management systems standard, will fuel a growing demand for occupational safety and health professionals. Competency will be expected, and employers are likely to rely on recognized, accredited certification of safety professionals. Certified Safety Professionals (CSPs) are certain to be in demand and possession of the CSP will become a mandatory stamp of excellence and measure of competency for employers. The Council on Certification of Health, Environmental and Safety Technologists (CCHEST) operates certification programs for safety and health practitioners at the technologist/technician level. Since 1985, that organization has operated as a joint venture of the American Board of Industrial Hygienists and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. Its three certifications, including the OHST (Occupational Health and Safety Technologist), CHST (Construction Health and Safety Technician), and STS (Safety Trained Supervisor) are peer certification programs nationally accredited by the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB).
This paper will not be focusing on certification and training needs specifically but will address issues such as globalization, emerging technologies, science, regulatory and management issues that will also impact the safety profession in the coming years. It is not intended to address every emerging issue or concern.
