Public Awareness Campaign Promotes Accurate Information About COVID-19 AIHA and the Integrated Bioscience and Built Environment Consortium (IBEC) have launched a public awareness campaign intended to debunk myths about the spread of COVID-19, increase understanding of COVID-19 science, and encourage businesses to pledge to protect their employees and the communities in which they reside. The campaign, “Commit to C.A.R.E.,” asks businesses and workers to publicly commit to disseminating accurate information about COVID-19. The acronym C.A.R.E. stands for community, awareness, responsibility, and equity.

A website associated with the campaign, Commit2Care.org, includes links to free multimedia tools such as videos and checklists designed to facilitate equal access to information about COVID-19. The tools are presented as a series of nine tutorials that inform businesses and workers about topics such as determining the risk of contracting COVID-19 at work, training employees on how to properly wear and store respirators, assessing and improving ventilation in buildings, developing policies on employee vaccination and testing for COVID-19, and finding an OEHS professional. While the materials on Commit2Care.org are targeted to the general workforce, additional materials are available for healthcare workers. The entire Commit2Care.org website, including all tutorials and resources, is available in both Spanish and English.

“Both employers and their employees play a role in keeping their work environments and communities safe,” said AIHA CEO Lawrence Sloan. “While vaccination is one way to reduce the transmission and severity of COVID-19, there are other steps organizations should take to mitigate its spread and protect what matters most—people. Commit to C.A.R.E. resources include the most comprehensive tools that employers and employees can use to better understand their risk and take action to protect themselves and others.”

AIHA and IBEC are tracking the number of organizations and workers who register to complete the pledge, the number of tutorials completed, and the downloads of supporting materials.

Commit to C.A.R.E. was developed in 2021 by AIHA and IBEC under a cooperative grant agreement funded in part by CDC/NIOSH. As of early December, partnering organizations that support Commit to C.A.R.E. included the Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare, the Indoor Air Quality Association Australia, the International Safety Center, the National Safety Council, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

Formed at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, IBEC is a consortium of subject matter experts that promotes safe congregation and occupancy in built environments. For more information, visit IBEC's website.

Cast Your Ballot in the 2022 AIHA Board Election AIHA will partner once again with ElectionBuddy to provide a safe, secure web-based voting system during the 2022 Board of Directors election cycle. Instructions on how to vote in the election, which will run from Feb. 11 to March 4, will be emailed to members in February. Nominations by petition are due soon. In addition to nominations made by AIHA’s Nominating Committee, nominations for officers and directors may be made by petition of not less than two percent of members who are eligible to vote. Each petition must include a letter from the nominee stating the nominee’s willingness to stand for election. Petitions must be emailed to Thursa Pecoraro by Jan. 26. Important information about AIHA governance is available on the AIHA website. Email questions to Thursa Pecoraro. AIHA LAP Seeks Site Assessors AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Programs LLC is expanding its Site Assessor Team and is looking for assessors. Both part-time and full-time opportunities are available. Assessors visit AIHA LAP laboratory sites all over the world, auditing them to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and additional AIHA LAP requirements. Approved candidates will undergo in-depth training and will be given opportunities for additional on-site training before getting started. They will also participate with other AIHA LAP site assessors, volunteers, and staff in the annual AIHA LAP meeting, which includes an assessor training refresher. Laboratory professionals with ISO/IEC 17025:2017 laboratory and auditing experience (in IH, microbiology, lead, or food) who love to travel are encouraged to consider joining the AIHA LAP team as a site assessor. Contact Cheryl Morton, managing director of AIHA LAP LLC, for an application or to receive more information.

AIHA Responds to Agencies’ Work on Stress, COVID-19, Climate AIHA recently submitted comments in response to requests from three government agencies on topics of importance to OEHS professionals.

Preventing work-related stress. In response to a NIOSH request for information, AIHA commented that recent research suggests that strategically changing workplace conditions to foster worker well-being not only improves worker mental health but also can bring about beneficial business outcomes such as improved job performance and lower levels of worker burnout. Read the comments (PDF).

COVID-19 emergency temporary standard. AIHA’s feedback on OSHA’s ETS to protect employees of large companies from the risk of contracting COVID-19 recommends that businesses of all sizes develop and implement an infection prevention and control plan for all their workers, that employers set a standard for what type of test result and report is adequate for an employee, and that OSHA include the full range of controls in the final rule. All of AIHA’s recommendations can be found in its Nov. 18 letter to OSHA (PDF).

Climate action plan. AIHA’s response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed climate action plan recommends that the plan reference established exposure limits, incorporate administrative controls related to heat stress, and address mental health effects. Read the comments (PDF).

AIHA, WCC to Collaborate on Disaster Preparedness and Response AIHA has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the World Cares Center (WCC), a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to reducing the harm, suffering, and loss caused by disasters. AIHA and WCC will work together to enhance and integrate the role of industrial hygienists and other occupational and environmental health and safety professionals in supporting disaster volunteer safety, training, and communication.

According to the MoU, the areas of collaboration will include promoting and sponsoring joint educational programs on occupational and environmental health and disaster worker and volunteer safety and professional development activities, as well as developing and producing books, pamphlets, and other educational programming. The organizations will leverage each other’s assets and expertise to reduce duplication of efforts and maximize their strengths. Read more in AIHA’s press release.

Students: AIHF Scholarship Applications Due Feb. 1 The American Industrial Hygiene Foundation is accepting scholarship applications for the 2022–2023 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 Feb. 1. For more information on AIHF scholarships and eligibility requirements, please visit the Foundation's website.

Since 1982, AIHF has distributed more than $2 million in scholarship funds to students pursuing degrees in industrial hygiene or occupational and environmental health and safety. More information about AIHF, including reflections from recent scholarship recipients, is available online.

Join AIHA’s New Thermal Stress Working Group The Thermal Stress Working Group was recently established to develop new tools and educational materials for thermal stress, with a focus on occupational heat exposure. Individuals who are interested in joining this new group are invited to fill out an online application form.

New Volunteer Opportunity: AIHA Representatives to NORA AIHA seeks to appoint members to serve on NIOSH’s National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) sector councils and cross-sector councils. NORA councils are a national venue for individuals and organizations with common interests in occupational safety and health topics to come together. Learn more.

Dates and Deadlines January 15 Deadline to submit nominations for AIHA awards.

February 1 Deadline to submit AIHF scholarship applications.

February 6–10 33rd International Congress on Occupational Health.

February 8–April 12 Virtual Comprehensive Industrial Hygiene Review course. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12–2 p.m. ET, co-sponsored by the University of Michigan and the Michigan Industrial Hygiene Society.

February 11–March 4 AIHA’s Board of Directors election.

May 23–25 AIHce EXP 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.

For a complete list of events, visit AIHA's website.