Joseph R. Compton, CIH
*** ***** ******, **********, ** 29104
Tel: 803-***-**** Mobile: 803-***-**** Email: **********@**.***
PROFILE
Experienced environmental health and safety (EHS) professional and safety/industrial hygiene technical
expert. Ability to confidently engage with people at all levels, think quickly on my feet, see issues and
problems from the biggest possible perspective, and readily persuade others to follow my example.
EXPERIENCE
Safety/Industrial Hygiene Manager
Thompson Industrial Services, LLC
Sumter, South Carolina August 2011 - Current
Provide safety support to Thompson Industrial Services divisions in the South Carolina and Charlotte, NC
areas. Support includes assisting division units in safety program implementation and management (e.g.,
respiratory protection, hearing conservation, confined spaces, etc.), field operations audits, incident
investigations, root cause analysis and general professional consultations. Also provide industrial hygiene
support for the entire company for the management of exposure to chronic hazards (e.g., heavy metals,
chemicals, and gases).
President
EHS Risk Solutions, LLC
Sumter, South Carolina July 2010-July 2011
Founder and owner of EHS Risk Solutions, LLC, an environmental and occupational health services firm.
The company provided clients with sustainable EHS systems, employing unified strategies that work with
people, processes, and organizations. Served as principal of the firm, bringing many years of professional
EHS experience to help reduce environmental and occupational health risk for a variety of organizations.
Director, Global Industrial Hygiene Services
Schering-Plough Corporation
Summit, New Jersey October 2002-June 2010
Managed the provision of safety and industrial hygiene support services to Schering-Plough pharmaceutical
facilities worldwide. Directed a team of corporate professionals who designed, delivered and facilitated the
implementation of safety and industrial hygiene programs for all business areas of the company. Developed
and presented safety and industrial hygiene training programs for OSHA compliance as well as for internal
employee EHS development. Initiated, developed and led the global ergonomics risk management program,
including serving as Chair of the Management of Ergonomics Risk Committee. Served as a key leader in the
development of corporate-level strategic safety plans. Coached site-based safety teams in the
implementation of regional and site-level plans based upon the corporate safety plan. Primarily responsible
for analyzing the impact of Federal, state, and local safety and health hazards legislation upon business
units. Developed and rolled out leading indicator metrics for measuring and reducing chemical exposure
risks, the first such leading indicator for the company. Developed and managed a budget in excess of
$1,000,000.
Senior Principal Industrial Hygienist
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
Allentown, Pennsylvania July 1991-September 2002
Provided industrial hygiene and safety support services and direction for chemical and gas plant operations,
including complex risk assessment work, air sampling strategies, auditing, program consultation,
ergonomics, and product stewardship. Worked with facility engineers to identify, assess, and remediate a
broad range of facility safety risks. As primary industrial hygiene support for the chemicals side of the
business, developed and implemented risk assessment protocols that allowed the chemicals business unit to
define, prioritize, and build process changes needed to efficiently control employee exposure to chemical
agents.
Project Manager, Industrial Hygiene Engineering
RMT, Inc.
Madison, Wisconsin July 1990-June 1991
Provided direct oversight of safety and industrial hygiene projects for industrial clients. Worked to expand
safety and industrial hygiene functions in alignment with the company’s business model. Assisted in
marketing efforts in the Gulf Coast and West Coast areas. Served as the Corporate Health and Safety
Director.
Manager, Industrial Hygiene & Environmental Conservation
Exxon Corporation
Houston, Texas July 1988-June 1990
Initially worked with Exxon Company USA providing safety and industrial hygiene support services to Exxon
pipeline affiliates and domestic coal mining operations. Later worked for Exxon Production Research
Company and managed the industrial hygiene and environmental program for research and development
laboratories supporting Exxon oil and gas exploration and production activities. Managed laboratory waste
minimization and recycling programs. Developed and implemented hydrogen sulfide safety procedures for
level gauging of large crude oil tanks in the field. Trained employees in hazard communication program
elements.
Lieutenant, Medical Service Corps
U.S. Navy July 1982-June 1988
Responsible for the provision of safety and industrial hygiene services for Naval activities, including Naval
and Marine Corps air stations, Naval weapons facilities, ship repair facilities, research centers, hospitals, and
training centers. Developed new safety and industrial hygiene programs for Naval and Marine Corps
installations.
EDUCATION
University of South Carolina, 1980
BS, Chemistry
University of South Carolina, 1982
MSPH, Environmental Sciences
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Sponsored and led the development of a new program to identify, assess, and correct ergonomic risks.
After implementation of this program, global ergonomic-related injuries were reduced from 70% to 18%
(percentage of total recordable injuries that had a significant ergonomic risk component). [Schering-
Plough]
Developed and implemented a strategy for qualitative risk assessment of occupational health hazards
using a task-based approach. A systematic methodology and task/equipment focus allowed a more
efficient risk assessment process that helped to focus and leverage limited safety resources. The systemsbased
approach enabled participation of other professionals after being trained in the risk assessment
procedure. The focus and efficiencies resulted in an approximate 50% reduction in time needed to
assess job task risks. [Schering-Plough, Air Products and Chemicals]
Managed a project to evaluate laboratory hoods using ASHRAE standard 110. The objective was to
lower hood operating volumes while maintaining the same level of contaminate control. This project
evaluated over 400 hoods during the first testing phase. As a result of this effort, facility energy savings
were substantial while maintaining full exposure control. [Schering-Plough Research Institute]
Designed and implemented a new industrial hygiene organization and global program for Schering-
Plough Corporation. Created definitions of job function, managed the vetting and hiring of staff,
developed procedural guidance and administration, and developed budget figures for the new group.
This required careful inception and planning over time to justify the function, maintaining short-term
tactical support with a long-term strategic focus. [Schering-Plough]
Reduced annual field sampling time and sample laboratory costs by approximately 30% by using taskbased
risk assessments to focus sampling efforts. Previous monitoring strategies used a broad “shotgun”
approach to assess quantitative exposure risk, thereby requiring more samples than were truly necessary.
[Air Products and Chemicals, Schering-Plough]
Designed and fielded a version of the Industrial Hygiene Risk Assessment process that helped facilities
predict task and stressor risk prior to construction, thereby allowing the installation of the proper level of
control. This process was used in Schering’s Singapore facility to ensure that current facility equipment
could handle production of a newly imported product, thereby saving substantial upgrade costs.
[Schering-Plough]
Served as President of the American Industrial Hygiene Association, Lehigh Valley Chapter, from 2002-
2003.
Published article: The Effect of Square Wave Exposure Profiles Upon the Performance of Passive
Organic Vapor Monitoring Badges. 1984. AIHAJ, Vol. 45(7): 446-450.