Summer Update: Nhu Nguyen’s summer internship at Freeport-McMoRan copper mine

Published: July 23, 2024

Nhu Nguyen, BA, is a NIOSH-funded Trainee in Industrial Hygiene at the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (SWCOEH). Ms. Nguyen obtained her B.A. in Biology from the University of North Texas. After working for a few years in the healthcare and revenue cycle management industry, she decided to return to school and aspires to be a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH). Nhu is excited about this new journey. 

Nhu Nguyen is spending the summer of 2024 as an intern at the Freeport-McMoRan copper mine in Safford, Arizona, following a path of former SWCOEH NIOSH-funded trainees in Industrial Hygiene who now work at the same copper mine in Arizona.

“A few of our SWCOEH IH alums work at Freeport-McMoRan and forwarded the internship opportunities to me and the IH program director, Dr. Wei-Chuung Su,” Nguyen said. “Currently, I am doing a NIOSH gap analysis on dust control for my specific mine site. I compare what controls the company has in place and what NIOSH suggests for controls. I go out and meet with frontline workers/supervisors and get their perspective on their roles/work areas. They explain to me what works well and does not work well when it comes to the current dust control conditions. I compare the two and hope to provide some solutions to better protect the workers from silica dust, an acute and chronic health risk.”

Nguyen’s previous experience is with healthcare and academia, but this internship has offered new learning experiences.

“I have learned so much about mining from this internship. I was not aware of the different ore types and various mining processes it takes to extract certain minerals. The friends I have made have helped educate me on geology and mining – fields that I was not aware of before!  I only knew about copper from chemistry classes, and it is the material pennies are made from Cathodes/anodes were a process I only learned about and to be able to witness what can be produced from that reaction is pretty neat. That process can create hundreds of copper sheets!” 

This marks Nguyen’s first time living in Arizona, and so far, she is enjoying the climate and outdoor activities.

“I biked through the Lower Rim of the Grand Canyon! It is as hot as they say, but the dry heat is something you can get used to. I appreciate the breeze we get from the mountains, and the nature is beautiful here. I have already hiked through mountains, canyons, and forests here!”

Nguyen has again experienced IH in another personal way, with eye-to-eye interaction with others. “I think what drives me in Health & Safety/IH is seeing these people as friends/family/loved ones and the goal is to get them home to their own loved ones. Everyone deserves protection and good health, and I take pride in advocating for those who cannot or may be unaware of the harmful work conditions out there. I can't wait to continue with this journey and apply this care to future teams I get to work with.” 

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.