AIHA: Healthier Workplaces | A Healthier World
JUNE/JULY 2020
CONTENTS
CONTRIBUTORS
SAMANTHA CONNELL, FEATURE AUTHOR
Samantha Connell, MSPH, CIH, is an industrial hygienist at Lonza in Visp, Switzerland.

SCOTT SCHNEIDER, FEATURE AUTHOR
Scott Schneider, CIH, FAIHA, recently retired as director of Occupational Safety and Health for the Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America.  
SHELLEY R. CARRY, FEATURE AUTHOR
Shelley R. Carry, CIH, CSP, is principal consultant at Kaiser Permanente.

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The Synergist's mission is to provide AIHA members with news and information about the occupational and environmental health and safety fields and the industrial hygiene profession. The Synergist focuses on industry trends and news, government and regulatory activities, key issues facing the profession, appropriate technical information and news on association events and activities.
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RESPIRATORY SENSITIZERS       
STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS OCCUPATIONAL ASTHMA CAUSED BY RESPIRABLE ALLERGENS
Respiratory sensitization leading to occupational asthma (OA) is growing in prevalence worldwide. This article describes where sensitizers can be found, how respiratory and dermal sensitization differ, the symptoms and characterization of OA, and approaches to assessing and controlling exposures to respiratory sensitizers.

BY SAMANTHA CONNELL AND SELENE ARAYA
»
THE MARIJUANA DILEMMA
DRUGS IN A DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE
Marijuana is legal for medical use in 33 states and the District of Columbia, but the federal status of cannabis hasn’t changed. Companies subject to the Drug-Free Workplace Act must prohibit the use of controlled substances in the workplace. How can employers reconcile the legality of cannabis in many states with the need to comply with drug-free workplace policies? 

BY LAMONT BYRD, CARL W. HEINLEIN, JANET L. KEYES, JASON MCINNIS, DIANE RADNOFF, AND SCOTT SCHNEIDER
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HAZARDOUS DRUGS IN VETERINARY MEDICINE     
USP <800> RAISES AWARENESS OF AN OBSCURE CONCERN     
The recent promulgation of the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) General Chapter 800 standard has led to increased interest in preventing exposure to hazardous drugs in veterinary medicine providers. The potential for exposure to hazardous drugs, and the challenges related to minimizing it, are quite similar in veterinary and human healthcare settings.          
  
BY SHELLEY R. CARRY
»
Respiratory Sensitizers
Strategies to Address Occupational Asthma Caused by Respirable Allergens