World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health


Department of Environmental Health Engineering

Faculty of Public Health

Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education & Research

(Deemed to be University)

Accredited by NAAC with A++ Grade & Graded by UGC as Category I University


Indian Council of Medical Research

Center for Advanced Research on Environmental Health : Air Pollution

Short Time Training

Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education & Research has been involved in numerous short-term training efforts in many areas of occupational and environmental health. A distinguishing feature for these trainings has been that they have been largely directed at professionals in industry, government or academia. Themes have been chosen on the basis of what is directly useful in their everyday practice. Many of these trainings have utilized the services of leading national and international experts. With a full-fledged laboratory available to provide hands on training as well as a large network of patients to provide real case experience, the workshops in Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education & Research have been consistently rated highly. Some of these training modules are available as WHO fellow training modules for regional participation. Many of the training modules are now being web enabled to optimize resources, as well as make uniform trainings available at multiple centres within the country. Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education & Research has available numerous conference and hostel facilities on campus to accommodate large batches of trainees regularly. A list of important training workshops and seminars conducted between 1999 and 2007 is provided below.

1. Hands on Training in evaluation assessment & control of workplace hazards, 2006
  Focal Area: Hazard identification in industries; noise evaluation; illumination; heat stress assessment ; Chemical exposure assessment
2. Workshop on safety in construction industries, 2006
  Focal Area: Scaffolding safety; Ladder safety; PPE selection
3. Data analysis workshop: Project data of indoor air pollution & tuberculosis, 2006
  Focal Area: Discussion on the revised national tuberculosis control program; Molecular diagnostic methods for Tuberculosis, design of case-control studies related to TB and indoor air pollution associated with solid fuel-use
4. EHE- WHO/ILO Technical training workshop on control banding and application in industries, 2005
  Focal Area: Current status of chemical management using control banding approach; Technical aspects of proposed risk assessment tools; Lessons from using control banding in small and medium scale enterprises (case study tannery)
5. Hands on Training in evaluation assessment & control of workplace hazards between 3rd and 4th October, 2005 in Chennai, India
  Focal Area: Introduction to Industrial Hygiene & Hazards; Fundamentals of Illumination Assessment, Heat stress assessment, Chemical exposure assessment
6. Technical training workshop on Recognition, Evaluation and Management of Bioaerosols in Health Care Facilities, conducted in collaboration with Association of Microbiologists, India, October 2005
  Focal Area: Bioaerosol assessment in health care facilities; Management of Bioaerosols in Hospitals
7. Guidelines on OHSAS 18001/ILO OSH Management Systems, conducted in collaboration with National University of Malaysia and National Safety Council ,Tamil Nadu chapter, January, 2003
  Focal Area: Introduction to OSH Management system; Evaluation-Performance monitoring/Surveillance/Auditing on OSH
8. Technical Training workshop on Diagnosis, Management and Medical Surveillance of Pneumoconiosis, 2003
  Focal Area: X-ray diagnostic criteria (ILO reader system); Spirometric evaluation; Sampling methodologies for aerosols- Vapours, Particulates, Fibres Respirator selection, evaluation and Fit tests
9. Applied Chemical Safety, conducted in collaboration with CIF, Manali Industries Association, 2003
  Focal Area: Strategies for workplace monitoring -Sampling strategy (who, when, where, how, how many); Sampling equipment (practical demonstration); TLVs /Records; Medical surveillance and monitoring, BEIs; HazChem waste-South African + Indian solutions
10. Technical Training Workshop on OSH management and Systems, conducted in collaboration with National safety council and University of Malaysia 2002
  Focal Area: Introduction to OSH Management system; Evaluation-Performance monitoring/Surveillance/Auditing on OSH
11. Seminar on Impacts of toxic exposures to metals, conducted in collaboration with Harvard School of Public Health, USA, November 2002
  Focal Area: Biological Monitoring for metal exposure; Clinical management of metals toxicity; Cost- benefit analysis for metal exposure reduction
12. Training program was conducted for CLRI staff members on Industrial Hygiene measurements, between 25th and 29th November 2002
  Focal Area: Overview of analytical techniques for industrial hygiene; Samples; Demonstration of cytogenetic tests used for genotoxicity
13. Metals Pollution and toxicity, conducted in collaboration with USEFI, 2001
  Focal Area: Monitoring for metals in the environment; Demonstration of "Lead care"; Biological monitoring for metal exposure
14. Technical workshop on biomedical waste management, conducted in collaboration with TNPCB, 2001
  Focal Area: Elements of a biomedical waste management system; Biomedical waste management and handling rules (MOEF,1998); In house practices, Treatment technologies
15. Respirable Hazards In The Work Environment: Recognition, Prevention and Control, conducted in collaboration with The National Safety Council, Inspectorate of factories, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, The Hindu, 2001
  Focal Area: Occupational diseases attributable to dust exposure; Pulmonary function testing in the workplace
16. National technical training workshop on Environmental epidemiology, conducted in collaboration with MOEF&WHO, 2001
  Focal Area:Basic principles of environmental epidemiology, Demonstration of USEPA integrated biokinetic model for lead; Demonstration of INTOX on CD -ROM
17. Hazard recognition and prevention in the workplace Airborne dusts, conducted in collaboration with Inspectorate of Factories, Tamil Nadu, 2000
  Focal Area: Airborne dusts-Definition, classification, mechanism of dust generation and dispersion; Strategies for dust control-control of dust transmission
18. Environmental Epidemiology, conducted in collaboration with ETI, TNPCB, February 2000
  Focal Area: Assessment of environmental health impacts from major pollutants; Group discussion and listing of local environmental problems; Environmental monitoring-current status of air, water and soil quality in Indian cities
19. Training of Central leather Research Institute students on Industrial Hygiene Measurements, 2000
  Focal Area: Overview of occupational exposure limits; Occupational risk assessment
20. Training Doctors of Corporation of Chennai on Biomedical Waste Management, Chennai, 2000
  Focal Area: Biomedical waste in the context of urban solid waste; Evaluation and selection of treatment technologies
21. Focal Area: Technical training workshop on Industrial hygiene measurements, conducted in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, USA, 1999
  Focal Area: Overview of analytical techniques for industrial hygiene samples; Case study: Evaluation of the Occupational environment in tanneries; Demonstration of sound level meters, lux meters, WBGT meters, Spirometers; Overview of noise measurement techniques; Audiometry & Hearing conservation at the workplace
22. International workshop on quantitative health risk assessment methodologies, conducted in collaboration with USEPA/USAID, 1998
  Focal Area: Cancer and Non-cancer risk assessment; exposure assessment; risk characterization and risk communication