Summer Update: Youngjin Kim's summer internship at Arizona copper mine

Published: July 24, 2024

Youngjin Kim, BS, is a SWCOEH NIOSH-funded Trainee in Industrial Hygiene at the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (SWCOEH). Mr. Kim attained his B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Texas A&M University and is interested in the field of Industrial Hygiene because he values employee health and minimizing hazardous workplace conditions. Youngjin hopes to work as an Industrial Hygienist and eventually become a Certified Industrial Hygienist. 

Youngjin Kim is spending the summer of 2024 as an intern at the Freeport-McMoRan copper mine in Safford, Arizona, following a path set forth by many past SWCOEH trainees in Industrial Hygiene. Kim's classmate, Nhu, is currently an intern at another Freeport-McMoRan copper mine in nearby Morenci, Arizona.

“I first learned about the internship by recommendation from classmate and fellow SWCOEH IH trainee Nhu Nguyen and it was also sent to me by Dr. Wei-Chung Su,” Kim said. “The application process was straightforward. After applying via Freeport-McMoRan's job portal, I received an email from their hiring team asking for a recorded interview and live one. After passing the recorded interview, I conversed with three different individuals in a more casual setting where they tested if my personality would fit the job role.”

A typical, non-sampling day of his internship begins at 6:00 a.m. with planning which areas to address with his mentor.

“We then drive around different departments of the mine such as Crush and Convey and head up and down the haul truck roads to make sure everything we review is in order. Occasionally, we are asked to do equipment inspections of contractor equipment such as cranes and loaders, which we would pass or fail depending on whether safety systems such as seatbelts, headlights, and back-up alarms were all working.”

Kim also has a project of observing off-gassing trends from acid unloading, by analyzing data results and working towards completing my presentation. On a sampling day, he comes in earlier – 4 a.m. – or later – 5 p.m. – depending on if he is dropping sampling equipment off or picking up to the intended targets.

“I have learned a lot in terms of general health and safety duties and sampling techniques. I had never used equipment such as dosimeters before and interacting with my fellow department members has taught me a lot. Most of the people here have already been in the industry for more than 10 years, so they have been teaching me a lot of the inner workings of the mine. These would include how certain processes work and general understanding of the copper extraction process. I still have a lot to learn, but it has been fun learning and seeing the intricacies involved with extracting a mineral required for most daily lives.”

“I had no idea the whole mining industry was still going so strong, and Freeport has such an emphasis on safety it surprised me quite a bit. There are many safety measures and trainings that workers must stay up to date with, to ensure minimizing as many fatal injuries as possible. It's also fascinating how many towns have spawned because of these mines and the communities surrounding them. Many folks that work in the mines tell me that their grandparents also work here.”

“Aside from knowing copper was used in a variety of technology and manufacturing, I had no idea that such an industry was so lucrative. There's a lot of money that goes into mining and processing copper. Each haul truck can cost more than a million dollars and there's probably hundreds of thousands spent each day paying for workers, using water to reduce dust on the roads, and production of sulfuric acid for the leach pads.”

The SWCOEH provides graduate-level training opportunities for occupational and environmental health professionals through our industrial hygiene, occupational and environmental medicine, occupational epidemiology, and Total Worker Health^® programs.