FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Release No. SPR-08-212-01   

Vicky Yobp, AIHF
(703) 846-0769; vyobp@aiha.org
      
Melissa Hurley, AIHA Communications
(703) 846-0740; mhurley@aiha.org

The American Industrial Hygiene Foundation Announces New Los Alamos Industrial Hygiene Scholarship

FAIRFAX, VA (February 12, 2008) - The American Industrial Hygiene Foundation (AIHF) announced today that the Los Alamos Industrial Hygiene Scholarship has been added to the scholarship program. AIHF is a nonprofit organization formed by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) to award scholarships to students studying industrial hygiene (IH) and related disciplines.

The Los Alamos Industrial Hygiene Scholarship was established with a generous initial contribution from AIHA member Harry J. Ettinger, CIH, PE. The scholarship is in recognition of the many individuals from Los Alamos—past, present, and future—who have made or will make major contributions to the industrial hygiene and related technical professions.

People who work in the industrial hygiene programs at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) are protecting the health of workers at the labs in two ways, both operationally through its health and safety program and by performing a wide variety of research to protect workers at LANL and throughout the world.

Some major research accomplishments by the LANL IH programs include development of respiratory protection and testing procedures, models defining performance by respirator sorbents, and application of two-stage respirable dust sampling procedures.

In addition, LANL IH program support for IH professional associations resulted in members of its staff serving as

• 4 presidents of AIHA
• 1 treasurer of AIHA
• 1 secretary of AIHA
• 2 chairs of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)
• 2 board members of the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH), including one chair
• 1 assistant secretary of labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

The IH program also provided educational and training opportunities to many graduate students performing their thesis research at Los Alamos, as well as interns from OSHA and the Department of Energy.

LANL, formerly known as Los Alamos Scientific Lab, is a premier national security research institution delivering scientific and engineering solutions for the nation’s most crucial and complex problems. In addition to supporting the lab’s core national security mission, its work advances bioscience, chemistry, computer science, earth and environmental sciences, materials science, and physics disciplines. LANL emphasizes worker safety, effective operational safeguards and security, and environmental stewardship, while outstanding science remains its foundation

Since 1982, AIHF has distributed more than $900,000 to 356 students at 45 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.

For more information regarding AIHF or to make a donation, please contact Vicky Yobp, AIHA’s member services director, at (703) 846-0769 or vyobp@aiha.org, or visit http://www.aiha.org/foundation.htm.

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Founded in 1939, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) is the premier association of occupational and environmental health and safety professionals. AIHA’s 10,600 members play a crucial role on the front line of worker health and safety every day. Members represent a cross-section of industry, private business, labor, government, and academia. For more information, go to www.aiha.org.