Environmental Scientists and Specialists

Environmental Scientists and Specialists typically perform the following tasks: • Communicate scientific or technical information to the public, organizations, or internal audiences through oral briefings, written documents, workshops, conferences, training sessions, or public hearings. • Monitor effects of pollution or land degradation and recommend means of prevention or control. • Collect, synthesize, analyze, manage, and report environmental data, such as pollution emission measurements, atmospheric monitoring measurements, meteorological or mineralogical information, or soil or water samples. • Review and implement environmental technical standards, guidelines, policies, and formal regulations that meet all appropriate requirements. • Provide scientific or technical guidance, support, coordination, or oversight to governmental agencies, environmental programs, industry, or the public. • Process and review environmental permits, licenses, or related materials. • Conduct environmental audits or inspections or investigations of violations. • Provide advice on proper standards and regulations or the development of policies, strategies, or codes of practice for environmental management. • Prepare charts or graphs from data samples, providing summary information on the environmental relevance of the data. • Research sources of pollution to determine their effects on the environment and to develop theories or methods of pollution abatement or control. • Supervise or train students, environmental technologists, technicians, or other related staff. • Monitor environmental impacts of development activities. • Evaluate violations or problems discovered during inspections to determine appropriate regulatory actions or to provide advice on the development and prosecution of regulatory cases. • Analyze data to determine validity, quality, and scientific significance and to interpret correlations between human activities and environmental effects. • Investigate and report on accidents affecting the environment. • Develop the technical portions of legal documents, administrative orders, or consent decrees. • Design or direct studies to obtain technical environmental information about planned projects. • Determine data collection methods to be employed in research projects or surveys. • Conduct applied research on environmental topics, such as waste control or treatment or pollution abatement methods. • Develop programs designed to obtain the most productive, non-damaging use of land.