Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s environmental investigators risk daily exposure to raw sewage and noxious chemicals. To ensure the safety of all field staff and that no inadvertent exposure to harmful chemicals has occurred, TCEQ uses mobile health monitoring to provide mandatory yearly checkups.
The health monitoring checkup includes an occupational health history assessment; a physical examination; hearing and eye tests; thorough blood-chemistry analysis for both typical health indicators and foreign substances, such as lead; an EKG; a chest exam; and other tests. Program organizer Dr. Thomas Mackey says it is also important to make sure that investigators’ vaccinations are current, especially to protect against life-threatening exposures they may encounter on the job, such as tetanus (found in soil and manure), hepatitis A (found in raw sewage), and hepatitis B (found in blood and other bodily fluids).
Since switching from using a medical provider in San Antonio and Houston to mobile health monitoring 23 years ago, TCEQ has saved an estimated $20 million by eliminating travel costs and lowering employees’ time away from the job.
To learn more about TCEQ’s mobile health monitoring program, see here.
