21120 Public and environmental health and safety professionals

What this occupation covers

Public and environmental health and safety professionals review, evaluate and monitor public health and environmental safety hazards and develop strategies to prevent, control and eliminate disease and environmental impact caused by biological and chemical factors. They inspect restaurants, industrial establishments, municipal water systems, public facilities and institutions to ensure compliance with government regulations regarding sanitation, pollution control and the handling and storage of hazardous substances. They are employed throughout the public and private sectors.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 8 main duties for this code.

• Inspect the sanitary conditions of restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals and other public facilities or institutions
• Conduct surveys and monitoring programs of the natural environment to identify sources of pollution
• Collect biological and chemical samples and specimens for analysis; measure physical, biological and chemical; and conduct safety and environmental audits
• Investigate health and safety related complaints, spills of hazardous chemicals, outbreaks of diseases or poisonings
• Inspect workplaces to ensure that equipment, materials and production processes do not present environmental hazards to the environment or a health and safety hazard to employees or to the general public
• Lead the development and the implementation of public safety and environmental health and safety programs and strategies to mitigate risk and optimize the general public and worker's health and safety and environmental protection
• Initiate enforcement procedures to fine or to close an establishment contravening municipal, provincial or federal regulations
• Provide consultation and deliver training programs to employers, employees and the general public on issues of public health, environmental protection or workplace safety.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 8 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 43202 By-law enforcement and other regulatory officers
• 22233 Construction inspectors
• 22231 Engineering inspectors and regulatory officers
• 41400 Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers
• 22232 Occupational health and safety specialists

Excluded from this code

• By-law enforcement and other regulatory officers (See 43202 By-law enforcement and other regulatory officers)
• Construction inspectors (See 22233 Construction inspectors)
• Engineering inspectors and regulatory officers (See 22231 Engineering inspectors and regulatory officers)
• Ergonomist (See 41400 Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers)
• Occupational health and safety specialists (See 22232 Occupational health and safety specialists)
• Occupational hygienist (See 41400 Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

beauty salon inspector · dangerous goods inspector - railway transport · dangerous waste inspector · enforcement officer - environmental health · environmental health and safety advisor · environmental health and safety coordinator - public health and environmental safety · environmental health inspector · environmental health inspectors supervisor · environmental health officer · environmental health officers supervisor · environmental officer · environmental safety advisor · environmental safety consultant · environmental safety officer · environmental safety specialist · flood damage inspector · food inspector · hazardous waste inspector · health standards inspector · hotel and restaurant inspector - public health · industrial waste control inspector · mine examiner · nursing home inspector · pollution control inspector

Employment requirements

• A bachelor's degree in a discipline such as food science, environmental studies, chemistry or health and safety is usually required.
• Public health inspectors employed outside Quebec require certification with the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors.
• Environmental health and safety professionals may require certification with the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP).