Meet our Alumni: Levi Kimble, Senior Industrial Hygienist

I am an industrial hygiene consultant with clients in various industries, such as mining, construction, television/film, and government. Projects vary based on client needs, but common requests include indoor air quality assessment, hazardous materials management and assessment, exposure risk assessment and management, and heat stress and exposure management.

Following a Bachelor of Science degree, I fell into the environmental consulting industry by chance. I had worked as a labourer as a summer student during my BSc and was vaguely familiar with asbestos as an exposure hazard due to this experience in mines and paper mills. This led me to apply for a job as a hazardous materials technician in the environmental consulting field, which I did for two years before starting in the UBC MSc OEH program. Following the OEH program, I immediately started consulting again, now in broad-scope industrial hygiene, and I have been doing this for over ten years now.

 I had been introduced to environmental consulting in the narrow scope of hazardous building materials, and I wanted to gain knowledge in broad-scope IH.

It was instrumental. It gave me a solid base to work; much of my day-to-day activities and duties rely heavily on the knowledge and experience I gained in the OEH program.

If you have the opportunity to work in heavy industry or consulting, then do it, even if it’s not your ideal location or position. This experience will be invaluable and beneficial later in your career, even if you don’t continue in that industry long-term.