The Washington State Department of Health is currently seeking a qualified individual to fill the position of Chemist 1 - Project within the Office of Environmental Laboratory Sciences, Radiation Laboratory, at the Washington State Public Health Laboratories located in Shoreline, Washington. This position is in the Biomonitoring for Protection of Public Health in Washington State project. The project is currently funded through August 31, 2010 and the Cooperative Agreement supporting the project has been approved through August 30, 2014.

This position is required to accomplish the technical tasks for chemical analysis of clinical specimens collected for biomonitoring of arsenic and pesticides in the environment of Washington state. The methods used will be state of the art, high-sensitivity chemical instruments and methods developed by the CDC for the National Health And Nutrition Examination (NHANES) studies. The information generated will relate national data to that of Washington state, and indicate where preventive measures would most protect and improve the health of the people of the state.

Primary duties include: • Receives, logs, and unpacks specimens for analysis for the Project; maintains quality assurance on patient data records as needed. • Performs instrumental analyses for the detection of specific hazardous chemical compounds and metabolites, such as Arsenic species and pesticides, in clinical specimens. • Performs speciated arsenic analyses on High Performance Liquid Chromatograph with Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectrometer detector (HPLC-ICP-MS). • Uses HPLC-ICP-MS software system, archives to the Laboratory Instrument Network. • Performs pesticide metabolite analyses on Gas Chromatograph instrument with Mass Spectrometer detector (GC-MS). • Performs analyses on High Performance Liquid Chromatograph with tandem Mass Spectometer detector (HPLC-MS/MS).

Required Qualifications: • Bachelor's degree in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering. • Experience in a laboratory or academic setting in instrumental analysis of chemicals using ICP-MS, HPLC, and GC-MS. Desired Qualifications: • Demonstrated experience in operation and maintenance of analytical instruments in a laboratory setting • Demonstrated experience maintaining reagent inventories

Conditions of Employment: • Willing and able to work with hazardous chemicals such as acids, bases and organic substances • Willing and able to undergo a background-check which includes fingerprinting • Willing and able to receive vaccinations due to potential exposure to certain microorganisms/agents within the laboratory • Willing and able to undergo medical evaluation, a requirement for use of respirators • Willing and able to work with radioactive materials • Willing and able to work in a chemical fume hood or biological safety cabinet • Willing and able to physically handle pressurized and liquefied gas cylinders • Willing and able to wear personal protective equipment (PPE's) such as a respirator and anti-contamination coveralls • Willing and able to occasionally work in excess of 40 hours per week and outside assigned core work hours • Willing and able to work standing in one location for up to 2 straight hours • Willing and able to occasionally accompany field teams during sampling operations in physically challenging or potentially hazardous conditions

Application Process: Individuals interested in applying for this position should visit the complete job announcement at http://www.doh.wa.gov/job_ann/DOH959.doc for more information and instructions on how to apply.

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