Insight
ETHICS
Worker-Oriented Ethics
A Dynamic International Code for OEHS Professionals
BY JEFF THROCKMORTON
Recently, I learned of an interesting
ethics document titled “International
Code of Ethics for Occupational Health
Professionals,” published by the International Commission on Occupational
Health (ICOH). The document notes that it
“may be freely reproduced provided that
the source is indicated.” The full text is
available at www.icohweb.org/core_docs/
code_ethics_eng.pdf.
Readers might wonder why they
should care about this international
code. After all, industrial hygienists already have the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) enforceable
ethics code and companion aspirational
code. My response is that an ethics code
with international scope directed at occupational health professionals, including industrial hygienists, may cause
readers to think about ethical issues
more broadly—and perhaps in a way that
complements other ethics codes for industrial hygienists.
Multiple Codes
ICOH is an international non-govern-mental professional society that aims to
foster the scientific progress, knowledge
and development of occupational health
and safety. Founded in 1906 in Milan,
Italy, as the Permanent Commission on
Occupational Health, ICOH has a membership of 2,000 professionals from 93
countries. Its ethics code is available in
eight languages, including Chinese. The
latest version of the code was approved
in March 2002.
How does the ICOH code differ from
the codes adopted by ABIH, AIHA,
ACGIH® and the Academy of Industrial
Hygiene (AIH)? Readers should note that
the ABIH and AIHA/ACGIH/AIH versions
of the industrial hygiene code are quite
similar, differing only in that the ABIH
version has fewer provisions and
slightly altered phrasing in areas where
the issue of enforcement becomes prob-
lematic. In this article, I refer to the
ethics codes adopted by ABIH/AIHA/
ACGIH/AIH in a singular fashion as
“our code” or the “industrial hygiene
code.”
Obviously, industrial hygienists need a
specific code that best fits our profession,
and in this review I intend no criticism of
our code. But the overall approach of the
ICOH code is professional, worker-ori-
ented and perhaps somewhat visionary.
