Metro New York Section

of the American Industrial Hygiene Association


AIHA/ASSE/SENY joint meeting was on February 27, 2013, Wednesday, from 8:30 to 12noon, at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. Click here for full details and agenda.

TOPIC: P.A.L.M. (PCBs, Asbestos, Lead & Mold) Meeting Series + Post Hurricane Sandy Environmental Health & Safety issues

PRESENTERS: from Federal and City Government, Industry and Medical sectors include:

ü  Vickie L. Pane - USEPA Regional Lead Coordinator -presentation

ü  John Gorman - USEPA Region 2 Chief, Pesticides & Toxic Substances Branch -presentation

ü  Neil Feldscher, CIH,CSP,ESQ - Chief at NYCDEP - presentation

ü  Eckardt Johanning, MD,MSc,PhD - Medical Director, Occupational & Environmental Life Science/Fungal Research Foundation - presentation

ü  Mark Drozdov, CCT,SSM,CFSM,CAI - VP, Technical Director, Creative Environment Solutions (CES) Corp. - presentation

 

Event Photos Available Here: https://picasaweb.google.com/presidentMetroNY/AIHAASSESENYPALMMeetingTheMetOn22713

 

Above (Left to Right): Shaun Carvalho - ASSE NYC President; Mark Drozdov, CCT,SSM,FSM,CAI - http://www.CEScenter.com; Damon C. Baumann - AIHA NY President; Eckardt Johanning, MD,MSc,PhD - Fungal Research Foundation; Neil Feldscher, CIH,CSP,ESQ - Chief at NYCDEP; Vickie L. Pane - USEPA Regional Lead Coordinator; John Gorman - USEPA Region 2 Chief, Pesticides/Toxic Substances.

Sponsored by CaliWel BNA: Leading Architectural Antimicrobial Paint Finish Green & Zero VOC Most Potent Premium Paint Proven In All Commercial and Residential Architectural and Industrial Settings www.alistagen.com

Comments from attendees:
I had a very good time and enjoyed the presentations very much”
“It was great to be a part of the meeting”
Enjoyed the meeting and learned a lot”
“You guys did a great job!


OSHA Fact Sheet Highlights Mold Hazards during Sandy Cleanup

OSHA emphasizes mold hazards and appropriate safeguards to protect workers involved in Hurricane Sandy cleanup and remediation activities in a fact sheet issued Dec. 5. The agency issued the fact sheet as a tool for workers and employers in areas that experienced extensive flood and water damage due to Sandy—conditions that contribute to increased mold growth. The fact sheet includes general information on mold and associated hazards; creation of a mold cleanup plan; and protection of workers during mold remediation, including the use of engineering controls, good work practices, and personal protective equipment.

"Workers will be exposed to mold during hurricane response and cleanup activities. Remediation of mold-contaminated building materials and surfaces can and must be done safely, so that no worker is sickened or injured while performing this vital work," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York.

View the fact sheet as a PDF on OSHA’s website.

AIHA Members Create Amazon "Wish Lists" for Sandy Relief Effort

Working with the AIHA® New York Metro and New Jersey local sections, AIHA member Jack Caravanos has created two “wish lists” on Amazon.com that contain items for protecting workers during cleanup operations. The wish lists facilitate donations to the Hurricane Sandy relief effort. Items that are purchased through the wish lists will be shipped to a distribution center that Caravanos set up at Hunter College, which is part of The City University of New York (CUNY). Volunteers will coordinate the distribution of donated items to relief workers. Caravanos is a professor of environmental health and industrial hygiene at Hunter.

The items available for purchase include a PPE ensemble, hand sanitizer, booties, Tyvek suits, and other personal protective equipment. View the wish lists at the following links:

Donations of equipment can also be arranged by contacting Caravanos at jcaravan@hunter.cuny.edu. Members interested in volunteering to help affected residents and relief workers can contact Damon Baumann, president of the New York Metro Local Section, at dbaumann@thorntontomasetti.com.

Hurricane Sandy made landfall on Oct. 29 and caused extensive damage in New York City and northern New Jersey. Some residents still have no power, and many who have returned to their homes face extensive repairs and hazards such as mold.

 


When contacted by The Synergist®, Mark Drozdov, past president of AIHA-NY, gave this sobering account: “You’re walking into people’s houses and the walls are wet, the floors are soft, there’s no heat, there’s obviously no hot water and no electricity, and then you have mold growing. The fact that it’s been over a month since the hurricane hit and they still don’t have the basics speaks volumes.”


Dear Friends and Colleagues,

As you can imagine many of us have been directly or indirectly impacted by Hurricane Sandy. That being said the Metropolitan Section of AIHA together with the Hunter College EOHS Program has organized a PPE collection drive for the workers and residents affected by the storm. The lobby of the School of Public Health at Hunter College has been designated as a drop-off site for any PPE you wish to donate.

Please drop-off your donations between 7 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. daily.  We are NOT accepting cash donations; the Red-Cross is doing this.

Sometime this weekend, the equipment will be brought to the sites (not yet determined). Volunteers may be needed and some vehicles, please let us know if you can help. We'll also assess whether volunteers are need to instruct or direct cleanup efforts. If you would like to donate, please pack the materials in a box or study plastic bags and bring it to:

Hunter College, School of Public Health

2180 Third Avenue (NW corner of 119th Street and Third), New York, NY (you can double park and security will tell you where to place equipment)

You can probably surmise what is needed but here's a list.... (you can probably predict what's needed so feel free to donate it).

- N95 face masks

- disposable suits (i.e. Tyvek?)

- disposable booties

- gloves (all types)

- hard hats

- heavy duty waterproof boots

- goggles and eye protection

- decontamination supplies (all)

- plastic garbage bags (large)

on an on

If there is anything else that you personally, your organization, or fellow colleauges not on this list can bring to the table please let us know.

Thank you and let's unite to help our fellow New Yorkers,

Damon Baumann, President MetAIHA
Jack Caravanos, Program Director, EOHS


AIHA Donates $10,000, Aids Sandy PPE Drive - published by ohsonline.com Nov 27, 2012:

The American Industrial Hygiene Association announced it has donated $10,000 to the American Red Cross to help with the Hurricane Sandy relief effort in the Northeast. AIHA said the Red Cross reports donations are still urgently needed to provide food, water, relief items, and other supplies to affected areas.

Individuals may donate by visiting www.redcross.org.

AIHA said its Metro New York Local Section has established a distribution center at Hunter College School of Public Health, 2180 Third Avenue in New York City, and is seeking Tyvek suits/waterproof coveralls/cut-resistant chaps, moisture meters/battery-powered CO meters, disposable booties/waterproof boots, gloves, goggles/hard hats/ear plugs/N95 face masks, decontamination supplies, plastic garbage bags, knee pads, and fire extinguishers.

The association's news release thanked Draeger Medical Inc., saying the company "responded to our call for items and contributed over 56,000 N95 units to the relief effort." It also thanked members of the Metro NY local section for their assistance.

For further information about donations or requested items, contact Jack Caravanos, DrPH, CIH, and EOHS Program Director at Hunter College, at jcaravan@hunter.cuny.edu.


AIHA NYC MAY 2012 TECHNICAL MEETING PRESENTATION

  • Presenter: David Duford, CIH, CHMM
  • Topic: An overview of the most recent conference held by the Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) and will give the NYC folks some insight of this upstate annual event, widely attended by NYS Officials, including a short presentation on the NYS Fire Safety and Building Codes and their impact on asbestos abatement and relevant examples.

    PowerPoint

    

 

AIHA Metro NY is proud of its Hunter Affiliated members for their remarkable achievements and for their inspiration on the rest of us to keep pushing IH ahead to the next level!

 

The Metro NYC AIHA and Hunter College / School of Public Health - EOH enjoy an active, collaborative relationship through alumni and other activities.


President Obama announces his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts

Dr. David Kotelchuck, Appointee for Member, Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health

Dr. David Kotelchuck is Professor Emeritus at Hunter College of the City University of New York.  From 1989 to 2010, Dr. Kotelchuck was Director of the graduate Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences program at Hunter College, and Deputy Director of the New York/New Jersey Education and Research Center. He was also an associate professor at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine from 1992 to 2011, a lecturer in physiology and physics at the Harvard School of Public Health from 1979 to 1980, and Assistant Professor of Physics at Vanderbilt University from 1962 until 1967.  In 2008, he received the Alice Hamilton award from the Occupational Health and Safety section of the American Public Health Association.  Dr. Kotelchuck received his B.A. in Physics from Johns Hopkins University, a Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University. and an M.P.H in Occupational Health and Safety from the Harvard School of Public Health.

 

AIHA Announces 2012 Award Winners

The American Industrial Hygiene Association announced the winners of its major awards for 2012, including the Donald E. Cummings Memorial Award....... taking place June 16,21 in Indianapolis, where awards will be presented.

 

Franklin Mirer, Ph.D., CIH with Metro NY local chapter members, in AIHA conference, Indianapolis 2012.

The Donald E. Cummings Memorial Award, given for outstanding contributions to the knowledge and practice of industrial hygiene. The recipient presents the Cummings Memorial Lecture at AIHce. The 2012 recipient is Franklin Mirer, Ph.D., CIH, Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Hunter College of the City University of New York.


PAST MEETING

January Technical Meeting: AIHA Metro NY Technical Meeting together with Safety Executives of New York and New York City ASSE

Speaker: Mark Drozdov, CCT, SSM, FSM – Technical Director, Creative Environment Solutions (www.CEScenter.com) and AIHA NY Past President.
US EPA’s Regional Lead Coordinator has also been invited to speak at this event.

Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/presidentMetroNY/JointMeetingOfAIHAASSESafetyExecutivesOfNY1102012#

Remarks from the Presentation (EPA's LEAD RRP Program – what about Public & Commercial Buildings?):

  • “Excellent presentation and fantastic turnout, topped off by a great museum tour!”

  • “Great job today Mark!”

  • “Wonderful event!”

  • “Wonderful presentation!”

  • “Today was very helpful to me”

  • “Mark also presented jeopAIRdy Description: Description: Description: Description: cid:image005.jpg@01CCCAC8.7DB90850 a Visual Training Contest developed by CES which kept everyone engaged!”


2011 Northeast Regional Industrial Conference and Exposition

Presentations from the 31st NE Regional Conference are Available in the Resource Section

AIHA Metro NY expresses special thanks and great appreciation to the following speakers for their excellent presentation and their valuable support in this conference:

  • Aaron Trippler, Director, Government Affairs, AIHA

  • Denese A. Deeds, CIH. Industrial Health & Safety Consultants, Inc.

  • Dennis Quinn, CHP, DAQ, Inc.

  • Thomas Abdallah, P.E. LEED AP, Chief Environmental Engineer, MTA New York City Transit

  • Hari Floura (Floura LLC)

  • Nicole Vars McCullough, PhD, CIH, 3M, Occupational Health and Environmental Safety Division

  • Robert G. Sussman, Ph.D., DABT.

We also extend our thanks to:

  • Steve Winiecki of Mid-Atlantic and Southeast Regions, Galson Laboratories – for organizing all the vendors.

  • All the vendors who participated in the conference.

  • Al Wallner, treasurer of AIHA Metro NY and all the members who worked together on the program.

  • Sophie Naftalovich, Past President of AIHA Metro NY

  • Mark Drozdov, Past President of AIHA Metro NY

  • And to all the great supporters who attended the conference. 

Pictures from 2011 NE Regional Industrial Conference and Exposition (December 2, 2011)
https://picasaweb.google.com/presidentMetroNY/NERegionalAIHAConferenceDecember22011#

   


The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) is "the essential source" for information on Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety issues. Founded in 1939, AIHA is an organization of more than 12,000 professional members dedicated to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of environmental factors arising in or from the workplace that may result in injury, illness, impairment, or affect the well-being of workers and members of the community.

Established in 1939, the Metro New York AIHA serves the area's health and safety professionals, providing a forum in which to learn and exchange ideas.