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AIHA NEWS AND NOTES

Call For Nominations Due Dec. 31  AIHA requests nominations for the 2020 Fellow and AIHA awards. The deadline for Fellows nominations is Dec. 31, 2019, and the deadline for AIHA awards nominations is Jan. 15, 2020. AIHA’s awards honor individuals who provide significant contributions to the IH and OEHS professions. Any AIHA member may submit an award nomination. The AIHA Fellow designation is limited to no more than five percent of the membership. Each AIHA Local Section, Volunteer Group, Special Interest Group, or other formal AIHA entity may nominate one individual for consideration as an AIHA Fellow. At-large nominations will also be accepted, with the exception that individuals may not self-nominate.  More information on AIHA awards and honors is available on AIHA's website. Links to online nomination forms are available on AIHA's open calls page. Please email questions to Laurie Mutdosch.

AIHF Names Member-at-Large for Board of Trustees The American Industrial Hygiene Foundation recently announced that Barbara J. Dawson, CIH, CSP, has been selected to serve as the new member-at-large for the Foundation's board of trustees. AIHF is committed to advancing the industrial hygiene profession by awarding scholarships to students studying industrial hygiene and related disciplines. By joining the leadership of AIHF, Dawson will help shape the future for students across the IH profession. "We are thrilled that Barbara J. Dawson will be serving as an AIHF trustee,” said AIHA President Kathleen S. Murphy, CIH. “Barbara is a great supporter of the Foundation, students, and the IH profession. She is a welcome addition to the Foundation board, and we look forward to working with her."  Dawson has 30 years of experience in industrial hygiene, safety, and environmental health, and is currently the global OH competency leader at DuPont. She is an AIHA Fellow, served as AIHA president in 2014, and is past chair of the American Board of Industrial Hygiene.

Students: AIHF Scholarship Application Available Now  The American Industrial Hygiene Foundation is accepting scholarship applications for the 2020–2021 academic year. Students are evaluated on academic record, extracurricular activities, future goals as an industrial hygienist, and potential for leadership in the industrial hygiene profession. Several AIHF scholarships have specific criteria, and schools or students who meet those criteria will be given first consideration.  All application materials must be submitted by Jan. 27, 2020. For more information on AIHF scholarships and eligibility requirements, please visit the foundation's website. There’s still time to give to AIHF and receive a tax deduction in 2019. Donating to AIHF will help ensure that deserving students preparing for careers in industrial hygiene will receive scholarships. Detailed information about making a donation or a pledge can be found online.  Since 1982, AIHF has distributed more than $2 million to more than 700 students studying industrial hygiene and related disciplines at fifty-plus schools and universities. These scholarships have enabled talented students to complete their education and have encouraged the most promising scholars to enter or remain in the industrial hygiene profession.

Reach Consumers, Decision Makers with AIHA’s Consultants Listing AIHA’s Consultants Listing is consulting professionals’ link to building a larger network. The Consultants Listing features an online layout and search function that allow consumers searching for an industrial hygienist or occupational and environmental health and safety consultant to quickly and easily find the expert they need in their zip code. Every year, AIHA distributes the Consultants Listing nationwide to thousands of decision makers in a variety of industries, including legal, real estate, trade associations, academia, healthcare, and agencies at all levels of government. Federal agencies such as EPA, FEMA, and OSHA regularly refer consumer inquiries to consultants listed in AIHA’s Consultants Listing for assistance. For one price, consultants can display their company logo in both the online Consultants Listing and the print version. The deadline to submit order forms for next year's printed Consultants Listing is Dec. 12, 2019. To learn more or download the form, visit AIHA's website. Please email Wanda Barbour or call (703) 846-0782 with questions.

The Synergist Launches New Home Page Last month, The Synergist unveiled its new home page. Like the digital Synergist, the home page is optimized for viewing on desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones. The magazine’s new online home features articles from the latest issue of The Synergist as well as articles from the archives that remain relevant to the industrial hygiene profession today. Readers will also find links to issues of the digital Synergist published over the last year. The Synergist team hopes readers enjoy this new way to easily access content from the magazine. Please email feedback to The Synergist.

AIHA Accolades The Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association recently recognized Savannah River Remediation’s efforts to protect workers from mercury vapors at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C. SRR was the recipient of VPPPA’s annual VPP Innovation Award. AIHA member Steven Jahn, CIH, shared details about the project with The Synergist. SRR operates the liquid waste storage and processing facilities in Aiken, S.C., for the Department of Energy. One of the byproducts of waste processing creates both elemental and organic mercury. Under DOE’s Worker Safety and Health Program (10 CFR 851), effective exposures management must be documented through surveys and health, safety, and medical staff participation. “SRR’s industrial hygiene staff pursued a technology solution that would empower the operations staff to manage exposures and validate controls working to remove fugitive emissions occurring in the principal process buildings operated by SRR,” said Jahn. “Working with [manufacturing company] Tekran, AIHA member Alexander Brown, CIH, CSP, led the specifications development process that culminated in the implementation of simultaneous monitoring of eight discrete geographical source locations. Real-time display data and alarm configurations enable the operations control room to fully ‘own’ mercury risk management. The near-continuous stream of data has allowed facility teams to identify and correct previously unrecognized gaps in the engineering control strategy and has eliminated significant unexpected downtime related to elevated mercury vapor which had not been traceable.”

Read more about the project in the Aiken Standard. Dates and Deadlines December 6 73rd Annual Northeast Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition in Princeton, N.J., presented by NJAIHA. December 12 Deadline to submit an order form to list your business in AIHA’s 2020 Consultants Listing. December 31 Deadline to submit AIHA Fellows nominations. January 15, 2020 Deadline to submit nominations for AIHA awards. January 27, 2020 Deadline to submit AIHF scholarship applications for the 2020–2021 academic year. June 1–3, 2020 AIHce EXP 2020 in Atlanta, Ga.

For a complete list of events, visit the AIHA website.