Before shots are fired: The occupational health and safety professional's role in addressing active shooter and violent threats in the workplace.

Abstract

This article examines active shooters and mass shootings and their implications for occupational health and safety professionals as they relate to industrial hygiene and public health. The article explores the overlapping workplace threat landscape and the roles of homeland security and industrial hygiene enterprises in preventing, mitigating, responding to, and helping people recover from workplace violence, including active shooters, as a natural extension of the purview of those enterprises in addressing all hazards. The article concludes by setting forth a means for improving workplace violence prevention and response through industrial hygiene concepts and through the contributions of industrial hygiene professionals.