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COMMUNITY
AIHA NEWS AND NOTES
Global Partnerships to Protect Workers BY CHRIS LASZCZ-DAVIS, TOM FULLER, STEVEN VERPAELE, MARY O’REILLY, GARRETT BROWN, AND RICHARD HIRSH

AIHA members participate in several global organizations that strive to mitigate work-related risks in underserved parts of the world. These organizations often partner with each other to leverage resources, and they are always looking for volunteers. If you’re interested in contributing, please reach out to the following groups:
The AIHA International Affairs Committee (IAC) serves as a point of contact with international organizations on professional development as well as technical and educational issues. IAC organizes every six weeks to discuss occupational hygiene conferences, ongoing projects, and other topics. During the pandemic, IAC members arranged sessions for AIHce EXP and organized a webinar on the multicultural workforce.
The Developing World Outreach Initiative (DWOI) focuses on building OEHS capacity by sponsoring technical projects and training workshops conducted by nongovernmental organizations and universities in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. Volunteers from DWOI have led courses developed by the Occupational Hygiene Training Association and the University of California, Berkeley.
Founded in 1993, the Maquiladora Health & Safety Support Network (MHSSN) comprises more than 300 occupational safety and health professionals who provide information, training, and technical assistance to workers and community organizations in the developing world. During 2020–2022, MHSSN and six labor, women’s rights, and public health organizations conducted an emergency COVID response program in Dhaka, Bangladesh, that included three mobile clinics, a 24/7 medical hotline, and distribution of food, medicine, and educational materials on COVID and domestic abuse prevention.
During the pandemic, Workplace Health Without Borders (WHWB) held monthly webinars that included presentations focused on aerosol transmission, ventilation, infection control, respirators, and informal work. The WHWB training group provided basic health and safety awareness training online for students from 17 countries. WHWB working groups are involved with workers in waste management, nail salons, brick kilns, mines, and other workplaces with high silica exposures.
The International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA), a network of organizations that promotes, develops, and improves safety and health for workers and the environment worldwide, represents 18,000 members from 35 countries. IOHA has developed a strong relationship with the International Labor Organization (ILO), and two IOHA representatives gave presentations at the ILO Vision Zero Conference in May 2022. During the conference, IOHA was one of only five international organizations to sign the Tokyo Declaration on Vision Zero.
The Occupational Hygiene Training Association (OHTA) was formed to address the critical shortage of trained occupational hygienists, especially in underserved parts of the world. OHTA provides quality, peer-reviewed teaching modules that can be downloaded for free from its website. Translated or suitable for translation into local languages, these modules address core aspects of occupational and environmental hygiene that complement and enhance existing training opportunities available in academia and in many industrial organizations.
The authors are AIHA volunteers. For more information about the organizations discussed in this article, contact Chris Laszcz-Davis.
Students Recognized for Best-in-Show Posters Congratulations to the students whose posters were selected as best in show during AIHce EXP 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. Andrew Floeder of the University of Minnesota came in first place with the poster “Analytical Sampling Method for Chemotherapeutic Surface Contamination in Occupational Settings.” The second-place winner was Purdue University’s Chang Geun Lee, whose poster was titled “Comparison of Size Distributions of Particles in Steel and Aluminum Welding Fumes.” Johnathan Klicker-Wiechmann of Purdue University placed third for the poster “Dust, Mold, Heavy Metals: Health Hazards in Museums.”
AIHce EXP 2023 is scheduled to be held in Phoenix, Arizona, May 22–24. The submission portal for the 2023 conference is now open, and proposals for student posters and presentations will be due on March 15, 2023.
AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Programs Announces Rebrand Internationally recognized accreditation body AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Programs LLC, also known as AIHA LAP, has taken on a new brand identity. AIHA LAP’s rebranding includes a new logo, mission statement, and vision as well as an updated website.
The new brand was developed through collaboration with the Chicago-based agency 88 Brand Partners to express AIHA LAP’s primary function: supporting the health and safety missions of accredited testing laboratories and their clients through programs that assess and affirm lab performance. On AIHA LAP’s updated website, users can access information about the programs offered by AIHA LAP and on topics such as the value of accreditation, how to become accredited, and how to find an accredited laboratory.
AIHA LAP has been helping labs and their clients have greater confidence in the dependability of their test data for almost 50 years. Programs offered by AIHA LAP include the Industrial Hygiene Laboratory Accreditation Program, the Environmental Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program, the Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Accreditation Program, the Food Laboratory Accreditation Program, and the Unique Scopes Laboratory Accreditation Program.
To learn more about AIHA LAP, visit its home page.
AIHA LAP to Accredit Laboratories to Conduct Food Testing on Behalf of FDA AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Programs (AIHA LAP) learned in June that it is now recognized to accredit laboratories under the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) final rule on Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Foods, or LAAF. Under the FDA program, LAAF-recognized accrediting bodies may accredit food testing laboratories to LAAF program specifications. FDA is expected to publish a Federal Register notice announcing when it has established sufficient accreditation body capacity, allowing AIHA LAP and other approved accreditation bodies to officially accredit labs to LAAF requirements. FDA’s program is intended to support accredited laboratory testing when called for by the administration as it responds to issues related to food safety. LAAF-accredited laboratories (that is, those accredited by FDA-approved accreditation bodies) will be allowed to test food under certain circumstances.
Under AIHA LAP’s Food Laboratory Accreditation Program (Food LAP), laboratories already have the option to be accredited to FoodLAP and the AOAC International Guidelines for Laboratories Performing Microbiological and Chemical Analyses of Food, Dietary Supplements, and Pharmaceuticals. Once FDA issues LAAF requirements and announces its full plans for LAAF accreditation, AIHA LAP will set up the LAAF program under FoodLAP and immediately begin accepting applications for laboratories that want to be accredited to LAAF so that they can conduct food testing on behalf of FDA. Laboratories already accredited under FoodLAP will simply need to add LAAF to their scopes and may not need another on-site assessment.
For more information on the FMSA final rule, visit FDA’s website. Further details can be found in an FDA constituent update. Individuals seeking information about AIHA LAP’s current and planned food testing programs are encouraged to contact Cheryl O. Morton, managing director of AIHA LAP.
A Change of Address for AIHA In September, the AIHA office will move to 3120 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 360, in Falls Church, Virginia. The new location is across the street from the building where AIHA has resided since 2012.
The AIHA office has been in northern Virginia since 1992 when it was relocated to Fairfax from Ohio.
In Memoriam AIHA Fellow Charles E. Adkins, CIH, of Overland Park, Kansas, passed away on June 19. He was 89. Adkins served on AIHA’s Board of Directors during 1989–1991. He was the 1990 recipient of the association’s Edward J. Baier Technical Achievement Award, and in 2002 he received the Henry F. Smyth, Jr. Award. His obituary is available to read online.
James P. Bushnell, CIH, CSP, passed away on April 23. He was 63. Bushnell was a member of AIHA’s Pacific Northwest Local Section and previously served as the section's president in 2013. His career focused on safety training, and he worked for more than four decades as a chemical engineer. According to his obituary, which is published online, Bushnell worked for the Navy, CH2M Hill, and the University of Washington.

Synergist
Webinar Recordings The Synergist hosts free webinars throughout the year, and AIHA members can access past recordings at any time. Delivered by experts from sponsoring companies in three distinct formats, these webinars can help you learn about best practices and emerging technologies relevant to your work.
Dates and Deadlines
Sept. 13–Nov. 17 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.
Sept. 15 AIHA webinar: “The Role of Context and Reason in Ethical Decision-Making for the Industrial Hygienist.”
Oct. 12 AIHA webinar: “Welding Field Guide, 2nd Edition: Updates and Control Banding Strategies.”
Oct. 18–20 PSX 2022 in Louisville, Kentucky.
May 22–24, 2023 AIHce EXP 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona.
For a complete list of events, visit AIHA's website.