Toxic and Health Hazard Specialist

GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES

Provides technical and analytical field services to the Department of Public Health's Toxic and Health Hazard Program.

The primary purpose of the Toxic and Health Hazard Specialist is to protect the public health and environment through assuring that hazardous wastes and underground storage tanks are managed properly, and existing contamination is cleaned up across Guilford County. This is accomplished through a memorandum of agreement between Guilford County and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. The Toxic and Health Hazard Specialist evaluates and investigates petroleum and hazardous material releases.

Based on their inspections, employees make recommendations concerning needed corrective action and the control methods needed to minimize the exposure to the health hazard.

• Conducts initial field investigations throughout Guilford County at sites of reported releases of petroleum products or hazardous substances from underground storage tanks or above ground spills.
• Determines sources of contaminant, identifies responsible parties, prepares enforcement legal documents, evaluates hydrogeological data, and has direct interaction with the affected public.
• Reviews and evaluates investigative proposals, corrective action plans, and administrative agreements submitted by responsible parties and/or their consultants and provides technical oversight.
• Gathers spill information and submits reimbursement packages to the US Coast Guard when the County is managing the petroleum release remediation.
• Serves as a member of the Hazardous Materials Response Team and as a member of the Local Emergency Planning Committee.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

• Considerable knowledge of hydrogeological techniques, procedures and methods including but not limited to lithology, groundwater hydraulics.
• Working knowledge of the regulations and policies governing well construction and groundwater protection management, including state and federal rules and regulations pertaining to environmental cleanups.
• Effective and tactful communication with a diverse range of people which include co-workers, managers/supervisors, responsible parties, NCDEQ personnel, consultants, and the public.
• Effective organization and multi-tasking skills in a high energy, high volume work environment while remaining in compliance with rules and regulations and staying within statutory time limits.
• Familiarity with Windows Operating System Windows 7 or above.
• Thorough knowledge of Microsoft Office.
• Ability to plan and conduct tests to determine the hydraulic characteristics of an aquifer, field data interpretation, geophysical data interpretation, drilling techniques for soil sampling and monitoring well installation and sampling, fate and transport of petroleum hydrocarbons and other contaminants in the soil and groundwater.
• Ability to use electronic documentation storage and management practices in order to increase availability of electronic documents for use by NCDEQ and the public.
• Ability to tolerate work practice changes which may include learning quickly.

Graduation from a four‑year college or university with a degree in Geology, Chemistry, Soil Science, Environmental Science or a closely related field and one year of experience in hydrogeological work; OR a master's degree in one of the above areas.

Graduation from a four‑year college or university with a degree in Geology, Chemistry, Soil Science, Environmental Science, or a closely related field.

• Bachelor of Science in Geology, Geoscience, Environmental Science or other related field
• Experience in Soil and Groundwater remediation

Sits, walks, stands, climbs, kneels during a workday. Must be able to physically perform the basic life support functions of walking, fingering, grasping, talking, and hearing.

Periodically, may be required to lift up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and up to 20…