Bioenvironmental Engineers (BEEs) within the United States Air Force (USAF) blend the understanding of fundamental engineering principles with a broad preventive medicine mission to identify, evaluate and recommend controls for hazards that could harm USAF Airmen, employees, and their families. The information from these evaluations help BEEs design control measures and make recommendations that prevent illness and injury across multiple specialty areas, to include: Occupational Health, Environmental Health, Radiation Safety, and Emergency Response. BEEs are provided both initial and advanced instruction at the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.
History
During the 1970s, the United States Air Force (USAF) saw a need to implement measures to protect the health of personnel. It took elements of Military Public Health and spun off a separate arm called Bioenvironmental Engineering. From that point on, Bioenvironmental Engineering has taken the lead in protecting the health of USAF workers.
The original group of Bioenvironmental Engineers (BEEs) came to the Air Force from the U.S. Army in 1947 when the Air Force was formed. They were an outgrowth of the U.S. Army Sanitary Corps. Until 1964, Air Force BEEs were called Sanitary and Industrial Hygiene Engineers. They were Medical Service Corps (MSC) officers until the Biomedical Sciences Corps (BSC) was created in 1965.
Between 1960 and 1970, the BEE field grew from around 100 to 150. However, beginning in 1970, with the formation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the career field experienced an exponential growth in Federal regulations. These laws require BEEs to monitor Air Force operations for their effects on personnel and the environment. Several major catastrophes and other events focused keen Congressional interest on environment, safety and occupational health (ESOH), leading to new, mandatory compliance programs. Love Canal, Bhopal, atmospheric ozone depletion, and other incidents spawned new laws governing the Installation Restoration Program; Hazard Communication; community-right-to-know; Process Safety Management; and hazardous material inventory, control and reduction. These have continually driven additional, corresponding requirements for BEEs.
In the early 1980s, a major shift in functions occurred. The clinical and sanitary aspects of the BEE program, (communicable disease, sanitary surveys, vector control, and occupational medicine) were turned over to the newly forming environmental health officers. This enabled the BEE force to concentrate its efforts on the industrial work place and the environment.
The importance of ensuring Air Force compliance with ESOH requirements is higher than ever. Public awareness/concern/disclosure, the recognition of risk analysis/communication/management, loss of sovereign immunity of federal agencies, and the personal liability of commanders for environmental infractions are all impacting BEE surveillance programs. Increased environmental pollution prevention and occupational health preventive medicine programs are shifting the emphasis to avoiding problems before they occur.