Victoria Peña
MS Applied, Occupational Health & Industrial Hygiene
Hometown
La Guajira, Colombia
Internship with
Sound Transit
Editor’s note: This summer, DEOHS students have been getting hands-on experience as interns with health agencies, nonprofits and private companies. In our occasional “On the Job” series, we feature some of their stories.
As a summer intern at Sound Transit, Victoria Peña has the best of both worlds. She experiences the everyday work of a health and safety professional, but at times she’s still a student, learning from top-notch faculty.
That’s because Sound Transit asked Associate Professor Marissa Baker and Teaching Professor Martin Cohen to assess risk factors for passenger slips, trips, and falls at two of its Link light rail stations this summer. Peña was enlisted to help.
“It was my favorite part of the job, being in the field and taking measurements with Dr. Marty and Dr. Marissa,” she said. “This was a huge opportunity to learn. I tried to be like a sponge, just receiving everything, capturing everything.”
Skimming the surface
The team spent two long days crouching over a British Pendulum Test instrument to evaluate floor surfaces at the SeaTac/Airport station and University of Washington station. They used spray bottles of water to replicate varying levels of moisture.
A slick surface causes a faster upswing of the pendulum, while a more abrasive surface slows it down. The researchers are currently analyzing the data they gathered to see which surfaces are more slippery than others.
Peña compared the project to discovering a new world. She studied environmental engineering in Colombia and worked in health and safety for five years before moving to the United States and enrolling in the University of Washington’s MS Applied program.
“I thought I would be sampling for silica dust or noise, something like that. I’ve never thought about testing surfaces and collecting that kind of data,” she said. “I’m thinking about the safety of more abrasive floor tiles. This is all completely new.”
Safe chemical storage
In addition to the surface friction testing, Peña has two other major projects as a Sound Transit intern. She’s creating a comprehensive record of 250 chemicals the company has in storage and updating an emergency evacuation plan for employees at Sound Transit headquarters in Seattle.
Throughout the summer, Peña has been encouraged to see how worker health and safety projects at Sound Transit radiate out into the community. When a company cares about the safety of its workers, those workers are more productive.
“Employees feel safe, and they go into work with a good mindset. That ends up having a positive impact on the public,” she said. “It’s important to take care of their emotional health.”
