Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Jeremy Farson | From left, U.S. Air Force Airman Jelan Smith, Senior Airman Adrianna MacNeil and...... read more read more
Subscribe
The first thing that may pop into people’s minds when they hear about bioenvironmental engineering (BEE) is gas mask fit tests. There’s more to it than that.
“Our main mission is to ensure anyone working on base is doing their job safely,” said Airman 1st Class Mya Ownbey, bioenvironmental engineer, 117th Medical Group. “Some of the things that we do are conducting health risk assessments, radiation testing, noise surveys/dosimetry and testing for dangerous contaminants that people may be exposed to in the course of their duties.”
To determine the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) needed, BEE personnel distribute job-specific questionnaires in order to gauge individual exposure. Some of the information obtained revolve around how long work shifts are, amount of time people are exposed to hazardous materials and individual functions of the job that a person has. This is in addition to scientific testing conducted such as measuring radiation with dosimeters, noise with decibel readers and air sampling to assess personnel exposure to airborne contaminants.
“We can run testing equipment for an entire day or just for the tasking itself,” said Ownbey. “What I do in air sampling is attach a sampling pump with filters to an individual during a specific task and when that task is complete, I send off the filters to a testing lab to test for specific airborne contaminants.”
The filters are sent to the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. There, tests are run to identify the amount of airborne contaminants on the filter. The air sampling results are calculated to time-weighted average (TWA). The TWA is an average exposure to a contaminant or hazard over a specific amount of time, typically an eight-hour workday. The resulting TWA is compared to the Occupational Environmental Exposure Limit of that airborne contaminant to determine if the limit was exceeded.
BEE also deals with hazardous communication, thermal stress, ventilation, confined spaces, soil sampling, nuclear incidents and ergonomic issues to fit people with proper PPE. Having to wear safety equipment to perform tasks may seem burdensome but worker input is taken into consideration when equipment is selected. Feedback from airmen is welcomed.
“We are here to help,” said Ownbey. “We aren’t here to make anyone’s job harder.”
The tech school for this career field is approximately three months and it has a strong foundation in algebra and pre-calculus. There is a lot of content to learn due to the vast amount of testing the school prepares airmen to accomplish. When airmen get back to their units they are exposed to all aspects of bioenvironmental engineering but once a 5-level certification is achieved specialization in one section of the shop begins.
| Date Taken: | 07.31.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.01.2025 14:49 |
| Story ID: | 544556 |
| Location: | BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Unit Spotlight - Bioenvironmental Engineering Shop, by SMSgt Jeremy Farson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
