Collect samples of hazardous materials or arrange for sample collection.

“Collect samples of hazardous materials or arrange for sample collection.” is a core task performed by Occupational Health and Safety Specialists. Among the occupation's 21 rated tasks, workers place it 3rd by importance (#19 most important). About 91% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Test sites or materials for environmental hazards. in Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E0. No direct exposure — current language models give little or no time savings on this task.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.00. Automation potential label: T0.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Recommend measures to help protect workers from potentially hazardous work methods, processes, or materials. · importance 4.6
• Order suspension of activities that pose threats to workers' health or safety. · importance 4.4
• Develop or maintain hygiene programs, such as noise surveys, continuous atmosphere monitoring, ventilation surveys, or asbestos management plans. · importance 4.4
• Investigate accidents to identify causes or to determine how such accidents might be prevented in the future. · importance 4.3
• Inspect or evaluate workplace environments, equipment, or practices to ensure compliance with safety standards and government regulations. · importance 4.1
• Collaborate with engineers or physicians to institute control or remedial measures for hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions or equipment. · importance 4.1
• Collect samples of dust, gases, vapors, or other potentially toxic materials for analysis. · importance 4.1
• Investigate the adequacy of ventilation, exhaust equipment, lighting, or other conditions that could affect employee health, comfort, or performance. · importance 4.0
• Conduct safety training or education programs and demonstrate the use of safety equipment. · importance 4.0
• Investigate health-related complaints and inspect facilities to ensure that they comply with public health legislation and regulations. · importance 4.0
• Inspect specified areas to ensure the presence of fire prevention equipment, safety equipment, or first-aid supplies. · importance 3.8
• Provide new-employee health and safety orientations and develop materials for these presentations. · importance 3.7
• Analyze incident data to identify trends in injuries, illnesses, accidents, or other hazards. · importance 3.6
• Maintain or update emergency response plans or procedures. · importance 3.6

See all tasks on the Occupational Health and Safety Specialists page.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-11078,
  title  = {Collect samples of hazardous materials or arrange for sample collection.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-11078}
}