2026 John J. Bloomfield Awardee

The John J. Bloomfield Award is presented to a young industrial hygienist who pursues the problem of occupational health hazards primarily by doing fieldwork.

The 2026 John J. Bloomfield Award recipient is Ben Smigielski.

Ben Smigielski has an MS in Occupational Health with concentration in Industrial Hygiene from University of Toledo, and BS from The Ohio State University (major in Biology, minors in Environmental Science, Business, and Comparative Studies).

Ben is an Industrial Safety Hygienist for the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation’s Office of Safety Services and has been with BWC since 2019. His work primarily involves conducting industrial hygiene and engineering surveys in numerous industries, utilizing tailored approaches to assess the hazard potential of noise levels, various airborne contaminants, and thermal stress for affected workers. In addition to these surveys, he also works to find actionable exposure control methods in order to comply not only with established regulatory standards, but also to achieve exposure levels that are consistent with best practice guidelines. His related efforts involve developing, reviewing, and implementing related safety programs, assessing the effectiveness of current controls, and charting the best course for establishing occupational health and safety proactivity. Through his efforts in leading both on-site and classroom training, he seeks to expand the industrial hygiene knowledge base of employees and help them achieve personal buy-in for maintaining safe and healthful workplace conditions. Furthermore, he is an active presence at Ohio Safety Congress, fulfilling roles ranging from content presenter to session moderator to member of the Educational Committee. He also serves as a BWC representative for various BWC Safety Councils, where he seeks to dialogue with employers and employees alike and address any industrial hygiene concerns they experience in their respective industries.