= SUMMARY OF 21-23 JANUARY ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Yuma Pacific SouthWest Section, AIHA

(Highlights provided by Program Chairman Howard Kusnetz)

The business meeting was= held on Wednesday, 21 January. Minute= s of the last meeting were reviewed and approved. The Treasurer’s financial re= port was accepted. The following w= ere elected to the Board: Bob Wheeler, President-Elect and 2010 Program Chairma= n; Carolyn Phillips and Henry Muranko were elected Directors. Acknowledgment and thanks were giv= en to Dr. Peter Bellin, departing Board member, and Hamid Arabzadeh, departing Pa= st President for their services to the Section.

President Chris Laszcz-D= avis opened the technical meeting on Thursday, 22 January 2009. After welcoming attendees and spea= kers she introduced president-Elect and Program Chairman, Howard Kusnetz. The theme this year was Industrial Hygiene - Broader Dimensions, Broader Directions.

Thursday 22 January

Implications for Industrial Hygiene in the New Administration

‚<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Aaron Trippler, Director AIHA Governmental Affairs noted that the last Congress h= ad very little action on occupational health and safety. Labor’s highest priority is = in the “card check” program, which will do away with secret elections = for union membership. He did see = the possibility of a “Protect American Worker Act” which would expa= nd OSHA, increase criminal penalties, advance whistle blower protection, and h= old contractors responsible for sub-contractors. He did not foresee any action on ergonomics, combustible dust, or diacetyl.

Tripple= r noted that the AIHA would request a GAO study of NIOSH - with particular emphasis= as to whether it should be a part of CDC.&nbs= p; He also noted that states are now taking the lead in OS&H matter= s. He stated that the unions want to = scrap the VPP program and want more regulations and more stringent enforcement. Trippler also pointed out that Cass Sunstein, an advocate of strict cost-benefit analysis is slated to be the director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, an office wit= hin the White House Office of Management and Budget. All regulations have to go through= OIRA .

‚<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Frank Hearl, PE, NI= OSH Chief of Staff descried the leadership vacuum in the agency. Both the directors of NIOSH and CD= C, its parent, have left and no candidate has as yet surfaced. The transition team has asked for = more cost-benefit analysis. He spo= ke about the Program Analysis Rating Tool (PART) process. The NIOSH budget will stay essenti= ally flat with about 40% going for extra-mural activities. There is a possibility that there w= ill be funds to consolidate NIOSH Cincinnati activities into a new, single locatio= n.

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Hearl n= oted that the National Occupational Research Agenda would stay. He advised that details may be fou= nd on the Institute’s web site, www.cdc.gov/niosh. Other on line NIOSH information is available. Flicker has some 350 pictures; YouTube (search on NIOSH) has = many videos.

‚<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Chuck Adkins, OSHA Regional Administrator in Kansas City spoke next. As did the previous speakers, he emphasized that the remarks were his, and not the official position of the agency he represented. He noted that the new USDL Secreta= ry, Hilda Solis, is very strong on labor and on health and safety. Her concern is with smaller busine= sses. &= nbsp; Adkins, as did Trippler speculated on possible OSHA heads, but both emphasized that nothing would occur until after the DoL Secretary was sworn in.

Adkins = also speculated that there would be greater emphasis on enforcement and standard= s; less emphasis on compliance assistance and the VPP program; improved target= ing, e.g., lead; and a greater whist= le blower protection program.

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Friday, 23 January 2009

Reflections on the Future Practice of Occupational Hygiene

Dennis Paustenbac= h, PhD CIH (1992) ChemRisk Inc. = San Francisco, Ca

Dennis was concerned wit= h the “apoptosis” of industrial hygiene. He pointed out that a great number= of occupations were moved offshore. He noted also that small particles have become a major initiative and that biological monitoring and biomarkers have become as important as air sampli= ng.

Paustenbach’s conc= lusion was that there are four actions which would dramatically change our field:<= /p>

1. Develop new OELs... Most are b= ased on old risk criteria; many based on the toxicity database are now considered incomplete; much lower OELs would make for a major change in industrial hygiene.

2. Improve Sampling Techniques...= To meet “modern era” OELs better techniques will be needed; passive and/or microtechniques will be expected (and available); 8-24 hour sampling will be commonplace.

3. Guidelines for Biomonitoring..= . New OELs will dictate a “sea change”; if hygienists and toxicologis= ts don’t lead on interpretation, the public will dictate the response to these new data; leadership will be critical - perhaps through an internatio= nal panel.

4. Identify Uniform Risk Criteria= ... On the global stage, harmonized ri= sk criteria would be helpful; this is not likely until developing countries wa= nt to participate; trade agreements could force the issue.

Sustainability

Prepared by Neil Hawkins, PhD= CIH (1994), VP Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI

Presented in his absen= ce by Susan Ripple, MSc, CIH, Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI

The Hawkins - Ripple pap= er was titled A Catalyst for Change - Dow’s Approach to Sustainability

Sustainability differs s= omewhat from classic industrial hygiene in that sustainability is in making every decision with the future in mind. Understanding the needs of the communities where Dow has a major presence, and responding in a constructive and appropriate way is part of t= hat company’s role as a member of the community and one to which they are deeply committed. Dow is an e= ngaged corporate citizen globally and locally providing EH&S (industrial hygie= ne) expertise to those communities.

Examples of sustainable initiatives including the development of an energy absorbing foam to protect drivers; photovoltaics integrated directly into building materials; Omega-9 oils to replace transfat and saturated oil content in cooking; using methane landfill gas; and polyolefin dispersions for carpet applications. This latter endeavor provides for thermoplastic products which have low odor and enhanced recyclability.

Developing and Broadening Industrial Hygiene Leadership

Perry Logan CIH (20= 06) Manager, Corporate IH, 3M Corporation, St. Paul, MN

Logan saw two keys for a= bright future for industrial hygiene: The continuous development of leaders and the strengthening of industrial hygiene core skills. Leadership skills must be continuo= usly refined and expanded. Great l= eaders also know when to follow. He = noted that exposure assessment is at = the root of all exposure risk managemen= t.

Perry than proceeded to demonstrate the use of audience response tools in exposure assessment as fo= und in current research at the University of Minnesota. He pointed out that a heuristic ap= proach (heuristics: relating to

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exploratory problem-solv= ing techniques that utilize self-educating techniques, as the evaluation of feedback, to improve performance) is of great value in such assessments. He showed how the industrial hygie= ne might use any or all of three different types of heuristics to arrive at a final judgment in a risk exposure situation. These are: availability, representativeness, and anchoring and adjustment heuristics. A key point he made is that “Expert” does not always equal “Accurate”. He concluded with a series of poin= ts in correcting for bias and for developing industrial hygienists to take consci= ous actions to develop their leadership skills.

CIH Communications with CPAs and MDs

Kyle Dotson, CIH, = (1996) Dotson Group, San Jose, CA

Dotson noted the need fo= r common goals among CIHs, CPAs, and MDs. He posited that language barriers can be overcome if people want to work together. However, even with = that common desire, there will be differences in focus. For example, CIHs concentrate on t= he r.e.c. of

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exposure, not disease. MDs, on the other hand focus on the r.e.c. disease, rather than exposure. CPAs focus on the r.e.c. of the organization’s income, not on losses by others. Kyle pointed out that there could be a common “bucket” of concern for all three groups = – health care costs. Commonalit= ies also include business ethics, saving money, greater productivity, and risk management. He presented two = case studies to illustrate his theme. He summarized by suggesting the common language to express the industrial hygienists’ shared vision with CPAs and MDs .

After NAFTA&nbs= p; – Industrial Hygiene From the Other Side of the Border

Jorge Rodriguez= CIH (2002) Laboratorio Microanalitico de Control, Mexico City, Mexico

Rodriguez made the obser= vation that in the United States the AFL-CIO had opposed NAFTA. He was also aware that as part of = the pre-election rhetoric in the U. S., there were indications that NAFTA might= be amended, perhaps unilaterally. As a positive point, Jorge noted that after NAFTA safety and health in the workp= lace has also been improved in Mex= ico. Further, industrial hygiene practi= ce has been improved in Mexico after NAFTA. He described the legal systems in the two countries: Common law in t= he US, Romano-canonical procedure in Mexico.&= nbsp; Mexican law, he stated was akin to the Louisiana system of law.

Jorge noted that since 1= 984, Mexico has adopted permissible exposure limits for chemical substances base= d on the 1983-1984 ACGIH TLVs. The permissible exposure limits were updated in 1989 and 1999. Currently PELs are based on the 19= 98 ACGIH TLVs. Other Mexican sta= ndards include, Heat and Cold Stress, Whole Body Vibration, Hand-arm Vibration, and Lighting Levels. Enforcement = is shared among three different agencies.&nbs= p; As important, from Rodriguez’ point of view, laboratory accreditation is under arrangement with International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperati= on (ILAC). There is also a Mexic= an industrial hygiene certification program.&= nbsp; The Mexican Association of Industrial Hygienists (AMHI) has 130 memb= ers.

Integrating Industrial Hygiene into Product Design and Development<= /i>

Nicole McCullough<= /a>, PhD, CIH (2008) Regulatory Affairs Manager, 3M Company, St. Paul, MN

Because of travel restri= ctions, Dr. McCullough’s presentation was made by phone. She first noted that in the 3M Com= pany, 130 employees are AIHA members. (Compare with AMHI, above.) She outlined the process from basic research to product launch. Industrial hygiene input is at all phases of the process. 3M’s industrial hygiene acti= vities fall into three categories, namely, Corporate, Occupational Health and Environmental Safety Division (OHESD) and external industrial hygienists. An important function is customer input and feedback.

Regulatory support activ= ities are also an important part. T= hey include: understanding product performance= standards globally; participation on IH-related standards committees; and participation in IH-related rulemaking. Nikki = also spoke of 3M’s sustainability program. It was interesting to compare and contrast it with that of Dow. The reader is encouraged to review carefully both full presentations which can = be found on the Yuma Pacific SouthWest web site. Finally, Nikki gave examples = for several of her company’s products.

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Optimal Traits in the Boardroom and the Courtroom

Chris Laszcz-Davi= s, CIH (1989) Environmental Quality Organization, Lafayette, CA

YPSW President Laszcz-Da= vis drew upon her extensive corporate and consulting experience to show that effectiveness is a function of perceived alignment be= tween services offered and services requested. Success emerges when alignment occurs. She provided two complex matrices depicting desired traits as seen by organizational leaders, trial attorneys and EH&S perceptions. The full matrices are also availab= le on the web site.

The technical sessions o= n Friday were unique, in that every invited speaker was a past Kusnetz Award winner. One of the criteria o= f the award is “shows promise of leadership in the field of industrial hygi= ene.”   There was no doubt that the presenters have easily met that criterion.= The dates following each speaker’s name represent the year in which he or she won the Award.

Report Outs

The Friday session ended= with reports by:

‚<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'>        &= nbsp; Don Hart – AIHA

‚<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'>        &= nbsp; Larry Gibbs – ACGIH

‚<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'>        &= nbsp; Jas Singh – Academy of IH

‚<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'>        &= nbsp; Rick Fulwiler – AIH Foundation

‚<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'>        &= nbsp; John Henshaw – ABIH

The Clayton Award was pr= esented to Emil Christofano. Emil acc= epted the award with a very moving and emotional “thank you” presentation.

The gavel was passed, an= d the very successful Laszcz-Davis term came to an end. Chris will remain on the Board dispensing wisdom and sarcasm for the next year.

The “Mystery Speaker” at the Friday night banquet cracked wise for a while before taking the audience over a 60-year history of industrial hygiene.

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Footnote:

YPSW members present declared the meeting a resounding success - a superb slate = of speakers, robust discussions and great group dynamics. The meeting certainly highlighted the fact that the profession’s EH&S horizons continue= to expand as technology and a “flat economy” propel us into the 21= ^st century.

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