2009 Past NEAIHA Meetings

New England AIHA Local Section Evening Technical Meeting – Industrial Hygiene Research at Universities and Colleges           

Thursday, December 10, 2009

NEAIHA held its December meeting in Lowell, MA at The Brewery Exchange.  There was a great turnout for a busy holiday season!  Six speakers presented on current IH research conducted at several local universities and college. 

An important role of our local section is to promote Industrial Hygiene to future IH professionals. This meeting provided an opportunity for practicing industrial hygienists to interact with students and faculty in EHS programs in the New England area. Representatives from the following colleges and universities were present:

Boston University, School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health

Keene State College, School of Professional and Graduate Studies, Safety Studies

University of Massachusetts at Lowell, School of Health & Environment, Department of Work Environment

Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health

Copies of the presentations are available on the presentation tab of the NEAIHA website. 

Michael McClean, Boston University, School of Public Health, Department of Environment Health is pictured on the left with Paul Webb, NEAIHA President Elect.  McClean shared results of a study assessing exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in asphalt paving.

Alexis Sablock, NEAIHA Director, introduced Melinda Treadwell, Keene State College, School of Professional and Graduate Studies who spoke on her study on particulate exposures to non-road diesel equipment operators.  It was noted that much of the work was collaborative effort with the city of Keene, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and students of Keene State College.

Bob Herrick, Professor in the Harvard University School of Public Health, gave us an overview of where industrial hygiene alumni are now practicing. 

Susan Woskie, Professor in the Department of Work Environment, School of Health & Environment, University of Massachusetts at Lowell spoke on evaluating methods to improve dust, silica and noise exposures in construction. 

Dick Aichelmann, Treasurer (right) being thanked for his two years of service by Andy Kalil, NEAIHA President.  Thank you Dick – second time around was terrific!

Michael Ellenbecker, University of Massachusetts-Lowell spoke on the Toxic Use Reduction Institute’s (TURI) technical services provided to companies on reducing the use of toxic chemicals in their processes.  He provided to the audience a case study of the TURI program on the process of elimination of chlorinated solvent use.

Dhimiter Bello, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, was last but not least!  Dr. Bello has been investigating exposures to nanoscale particles in the workplace.  His presentation provided insight on enormous need for comprehensive approaches for assessing exposures to the rapid expanding use of nanoparticles in our society.

New England AIHA Local Section 2009 All Day Industrial Hygiene Conference and Vendor Exhibition

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

NEAIHA held its annual industrial hygiene conference and vendor exhibition at the Sheraton Needham Hotel in Needham, MA on September 30, 2009.  Eight speakers presented current industrial hygiene topics to approximately 185 conference participants.  In addition, representatives from 37 environmental and occupational health and safety companies were present with booths in the exhibition hall.  This year held a different format with a chance for meeting attendees to interact with the keynote speakers.  Barry Beder, Vice President of AllOne Health, presented “Innovation in Human Error Reduction,” and David Ropeik, Ropeik and Associates, spoke about “The Need for Better Risk Communication.”  Both speakers led breakout sessions giving meeting attendees an opportunity to further discuss human error and risk communication.  Aaron Trippler, Director of Government Affairs at AIHA, provided an update on federal and state governmental issues.

Daniel Erwin, Network Industrial Hygienist, VA New England Healthcare System, and Dr. Alfred DeMaria, State Epidemiologist, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, led a workshop on “Effective Interventions for Influenza Response.”  The afternoon session also included vendor presentations on the latest advancements in services and products for occupational and environmental health and safety professionals.  The conference offered participants an opportunity to fulfill the CIH ethics requirement through the ethics seminar presented by Bonnie Weeks, Genzyme Corporation, and Pam Greenley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Copies of the presentations are available on the presentation tab of the NEAIHA website.  For additional pictures from the conference, click here to view the slide show.

Barry Beder, AllOne Health, discussed human factors, such as stress, and their effect on safety in the workplace.  Beder is shown above on the left with Paul Webb, NEAIHA President-Elect.

David Ropeik, Ropeik and Associates, discussed how human emotion plays a role is risk perception.  Ropeik is shown on the left with Andy Kalil, NEAIHA President.

Aaron Trippler, AIHA, is pictured on the left with Paul Webb, NEAIHA President Elect.  Trippler provided an inside look at what’s to come for OSHA and NIOSH.

Daniel Erwin, VA New England Healthcare System, and Dr. Alfred DeMaria, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, discussed transmission and prevention of H1N1 Influenza.  Andy Kalil, NEAIHA President, is shown on the left presenting speaker appreciation gifts to Dr. DeMaria (center) and Erwin (right).

Bonnie Weeks, Genzyme Corp., (right) and Pam Greenley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (left) led an ethics seminar.

Cole Stanton, Vice President of National Accounts, Fiberlock Technologies, presented “Strengthening Scopes in Mitigation of Environmental Hazards in Buildings,” such as asbestos, lead, and mold.

Alyson Fortune, Air Quality Scientist, Columbia Analytical presented “Defective Chinese Drywall: Analytical Testing” and discussed the problems caused by Chinese drywall, analytical techniques used to test samples of drywall, and test results.

Joel Myerson, Safety, Inc. presented the latest technology in gas detection, such as the Gasmet FTIR gas analyzer and Dräger sensor.

AIHA New England Section June Technical Meeting

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The New England Section’s June meeting was held at Anthony’s Pier 4 in Boston, Massachusetts, and the technical topic was on ergonomics.  Dr. Ian Noy, Director of Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, presented “A Historical Perspective of Ergonomics”, discussing ergonomics from Hippocrates to present day lean manufacturing.  Bob Manning from Humanscale, presented “Ergonomics and the Office Environment” and spoke about redesigning work stations and training employees on ergonomics.  Brian B. Bethel from Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation presented “Managing Ergonomic Risks” and discussed utilizing ergonomics teams for evaluating and solving ergonomics issues.  The meeting was graciously sponsored by Office Environments of New England (http://www.oene.com). 

 Dr. Ian Noy from Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety is shown above on the right receiving

a speaker appreciation gift from Andy, Kalil, NEAIHA President.

Bob Manning from Humanscale is shown above on the left with Paul Webb, NEAIHA President Elect.

Paul Webb, NEAIHA President Elect, pictured above with Brian Bethel from Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.
  

John Dembrowsky (right), Director, pictured above with Chuck Marshall from Office Environments of New England, who sponsored the meeting.

 AIHA New England Section March Evening Meeting

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The New England Section’s March technical meeting was held at the Holiday Inn Select in Woburn, Massachusetts.  The topic was “Sustainability: Industrial Hygiene’s Role in the Fast-growing areas of Energy Efficiency and Green Building Maintenance.”  Stephen Nicholas, President of Air Industries, Incorporated, reviewed the new ASHRAE Standard 180 on inspection and maintenance of commercial building HVAC systems in his presentation “Approaches to Effective Maintenance of HVAC Systems.”  Fran Boucher, Senior Energy Engineer at National Grid, discussed indoor environmental quality and ventilation issues as they relate to renewable energy and sustainability.  After the presentations, Nicholas and Boucher led a roundtable discussion on the role of industrial hygiene in commercial ventilation systems, renewable energy, and sustainability.  The meeting was graciously sponsored by GZA GeoEnvironmental, Incorporated (www.gza.com).  Copies of the presentations will be available on the presentation tab of the NEAIHA website.

Stephen Nicholas from Air Industries, Inc. is shown above receiving a speaker appreciation gift from Paul Webb, CIH, CSP and NEAIHA President Elect.

Fran Boucher from National Grid is shown above receiving a speaker appreciation gift from Paul Webb, CIH, CSP and NEAIHA President Elect.

From left to right: Stephen Nicholas from Air Industries, Fran Boucher from National Grid, and Paul Webb, NEAIHA President Elect leading a roundtable discussion on how industrial hygienists play a role in the growing area of energy efficiency.

Paul Webb, NEAIHA President Elect and Andy Kalil, NEAIHA President are shown above with Mark Malchik (center) of GZA GeoEnvironmental, who sponsored the meeting.

NEAIHA-Greater Boston ASSE Joint Industrial Hygiene Technical Meeting

Thursday, January 22, 2009

NEAIHA held a joint evening meeting with the Greater Boston Chapter (GBC) of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc. in Cambridge, MA on January 22, 2009.  Tolle Graham, Senior Occupational Health Educator/Organizer at MassCOSH, reviewed programs and outreach activity the organization provides to workers, particularly non-English speaking workers.  Bob Selwyn, V.P. Sales at Casella USA, presented on recent developments in noise monitoring and compared U.S. and European noise standards.  The meeting was graciously sponsored by Occupational & Environmental Health Network (OEHN).  Copies of the presentations will be available on the presentation tab of the NEAIHA website.

 Toll Graham from MassCOSH pointing to where meeting attendees feel pain on a body map at the beginning of her presentation on “Changing the Workplace, Engaging the Worker."

 Tolle Graham from MassCOSH is shown above receiving a speaker appreciation gift from Andy Kalil, CIH and NEAIHA President.

 Adam Sotirakopoulos, President of the Greater Boston Chapter of ASSE, thanking Bob Selwyn from Casella USA for his presentation on occupational noise.  Bob Selwyn presented differences in noise measurements between the U.S. and Europe in “Noise Dosimetry and the Great Divide.” 

 Tanya Robinson and Joe Flynn from the Occupational and Environmental Health Network (OEHN) presenting the meeting sponsor check to Andy Kalil, NEAIHA President and Adam Sotirakopoulos, President of the Greater Boston Chapter of ASSE.