COMMUNITY

AIHA NEWS AND NOTES

Call for New AIHA-LAP, LLC Volunteers AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Programs, LLC is seeking qualified volunteers to fill positions on the Analytical Accreditation Board and the Technical Advisory Panel to serve terms beginning in March 2020. The AAB is responsible for approving laboratories for accreditation and reaccreditation once site assessments are conducted. AAB members are also responsible for approving policy changes and participating on ad hoc task forces formed to address certain policy matters that may arise. TAP members advise the staff and AAB on technical laboratory matters and review accreditation packages for the major programs: industrial hygiene, environmental lead, environmental microbiology, food, and unique scopes. Newly appointed volunteers will be required to attend the LLC’s annual training and orientation meeting in the first quarter of 2020.  AAB and TAP applications are available from the AIHA-LAP website. Applications will be accepted until July 30, 2019. For additional information, please email AIHA-LAP Managing Director Cheryl O. Morton. More information about AIHA-LAP is available on its website. Become a Safety Matters Trainer In October 2015, AIHA and NIOSH jointly introduced the Safety Matters program, which is intended to raise awareness among young workers about workplace safety and health. Safety Matters is a one-hour interactive teaching module and PowerPoint presentation targeted to students in grades 7 through 12. The module helps young people build the skills and knowledge they need to participate in safe and healthy work environments throughout their working lives. The program covers topics such as identifying hazards at work; preventing injury and illness; identifying emergencies at work and deciding on the best ways to address them; and communicating with others—including people in authority—when young workers feel unsafe or threatened. Interested in helping out? Learn more on AIHA's website. New Regional Event Coming to Chicago AIHA's University Pop-Up is a new program that provides an opportunity for industrial hygiene and occupational health and safety professionals to access high quality education outside of AIHce EXP, AIHA's premiere annual conference.  Registration is open for the first AIHA University Pop-Up event, which will be held Oct. 27–28, 2019, in Chicago, Ill. Eight courses will be offered over a span of two days, so individuals can pick the ones that match their interests, budget, and schedule. Each course runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes breakfast, lunch, and coffee breaks. Course topics include occupational exposure banding, building a successful consulting practice, operational safety regarding fentanyl and high-potency drugs, noise control, Bayesian statistics, cannabis legalization and workplace health and safety, legal aspects of industrial hygiene, and compliance with OSHA’s silica standard. More University Pop-Ups will be scheduled in the future for different areas. Learn more or register on AIHA’s website. AIHA Launches Second Assessment-Based Certificate Program AIHA eLearning recently launched its second assessment-based certificate program. The four-contact-hour Occupational Exposure Assessment Certificate Program is primarily designed for industrial hygiene technicians and allows participants to prove their competency in assessing workplace exposures and hazards. The course includes modules on establishing exposure assessment strategy, gathering data for basic characterization, evaluating exposures, using controls to manage unacceptable exposures, and dealing with uncertain exposures. Other topics covered in the course include confirming acceptable exposures and communicating with stakeholders.  Technicians who would benefit from this program typically have an undergraduate degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics and are tasked to apply the fundamentals of IH to gather, document, and report monitoring data and make exposure judgments under the supervision of an industrial hygienist. Visit AIHA’s web page on eLearning certificate programs for further details.   Self-Study Course Covers Basic Principles of Occupational Hygiene A new online course offered by AIHA introduces the broad principles of occupational hygiene as the basis for anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of workplace hazards. Students who complete this eight-hour, self-study course will gain a basic understanding of the value of occupational hygiene and the role of the occupational hygienist, the range of hazards in the workplace, hazard recognition techniques, sources and potential routes of exposure, methods of controlling exposure, management of occupational hygiene programs, and hazard evaluation, exposure assessment, and measurement processes. Course content is based on Occupational Hygiene Training Association course materials. This course is intended for those who are new to industrial hygiene, occupational health specialists, and other industry specialists.  Learn more or register on AIHA's website. Join AIHA in Atlanta Beginning in July 2019, AIHA will accept proposals from industrial hygiene and occupational and environmental health and safety professionals to present during AIHce EXP 2020 in Atlanta, Ga. Professional development courses will be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 30 and 31, and on Thursday, June 4. AIHce EXP educational sessions will take place Monday through Wednesday, June 1–3. The submission deadline for proposals for PDCs, case studies, scientific research, education sessions, SPARKtalks, and professional posters is Sept. 18, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Student poster submissions will be due in March 2020.  For more information, visit AIHA's website. Become an AIHA Distinguished Lecturer  AIHA’s Distinguished Lecturer Program identifies experts within the association who are willing to provide lectures in their area of expertise to the industrial hygiene community and to AIHA's outreach partners. The program is hosted by the AIHA Fellows SIG and features prominent experts in industrial hygiene who are prepared to lecture on recent research, new developments, and topics of interest that affect workplace safety and the environment. Learn more on AIHA's website. Subscribe to SynergistNOW The SynergistNOW blog offers ideas, insights, and perspectives on important topics affecting industrial and occupational hygiene professionals, written by and for experienced IH/OHs, researchers, academics, and AIHA leaders. Launched in 2016, SynergistNOW features two new posts per week. Visit SynergistNOW online. Dates and Deadlines June 20 AIHA webinar: “Requirements of 2019 Edition of NFPA 652 Standard on Combustible Dust – On Your Way Towards Compliance?” September 10–12 Product Stewardship 2019 in Columbus, Ohio.

September 16–19 Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene course in Westerville, Ohio. September 17–18 AIHA Rocky Mountain Section/ASSP Colorado Chapter Fall Technical Conference in Arvada, Colo. September 23–27 Comprehensive Industrial Hygiene Review course in Ann Arbor, Mich., co-sponsored by the Michigan Industrial Hygiene Society. For a complete list of events, visit AIHA's website.