2010 Past NEAIHA Meetings

New England AIHA Local Section 2010 All Day Industrial Hygiene Conference and Vendor Exhibition

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

NEAIHA held its annual industrial hygiene conference and vendor exhibition at the Four Points by Sheraton located in Norwood, MA on October 27, 2010.  Seven speakers presented current industrial hygiene topics to approximately 150 conference participants.  In addition, representatives from 27 environmental and occupational health and safety companies were present with booths in the exhibition hall showcasing products and services for the industry. 

 The conference featured a panel of experts discussing industrial hygiene and occupational safety and health issues from regulatory, legal, and medical perspectives.  MaryAnn Medeiros, Compliance Assistance Specialist with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), provided participants an update on current OSHA activity occurring with the new administration including new enforcement programs, the current regulatory agenda, and the new penalty policy.  Dr. Robert J. MacMillan, Board Certified in Occupational & Internal Medicine and Occupational Medicine Consultant, discussed medical perspectives on occupational health and OSHA, while Richard Wayne, Partner at Hinckley, Allen, & Snyder, LLP, provided a legal point of view on current OSHA initiatives.

The afternoon session included two presentations on the Gulf oil spill response.  Commander Laura Hartline Weems, Chief of Shore & Sector Occupational Safety with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), provided an overview of the emergency response and safety challenges faced during the Gulf oil spill response.  Dave Sylvain, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), reviewed conducting health hazard evaluations on employees engaged in the Gulf oil spill response efforts. 

 Also in the afternoon, Ted Myatt, Sc. D., Senior Scientist with Environmental Health and Engineering (EH&E), Inc., spoke about infectious disease concerns in non-healthcare facilities and reviewed case studies.  Alyson Fortune, Air Quality Scientist at Columbia Analytical Services, provided an overview of current trends and evolving concepts on VOCs in the indoor environment and implications on green building and vapor intrusion initiatives. 

Once again, the conference offered participants an opportunity to fulfill the CIH ethics requirement through the ethics seminar presented by Bonnie Weeks, Sanofi Pasteur, and Pam Greenley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 

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.

MaryAnn Medeiros, Compliance Assistance Specialist with OSHA, is pictured above discussing the direction of OSHA under the new administration.

Pictured above is Dr. MacMillan, Occupational Medicine Consultant, discussing medical perspectives on health and productivity in the workplace and limitations on OSHA health standards.

Richard Wayne, Esq., Partner at Hinckley, Allen, & Snyder, LLP, is pictured above speaking about legal perspectives on OSHA activities. 

Pictured above is Commander Laura Hartline Weems, Chief of Shore & Sector Occupational Safety with USCG, talking about the real hazards versus perceived hazards during the Gulf oil spill response.

Dave Sylvain, NIOSH, is pictured above describing the health hazard evaluations conducted on employees working on fishing trawlers responding to the Gulf oil spill. 

Alyson Fortune, Air Quality Scientist at Columbia Analytical Services, is pictured above on the right with Mark Malchik, President Elect.  Fortune discussed industrial hygiene implications on green building and vapor intrusion initiatives pertaining to VOCs in the indoor environment. 

Bonnie Weeks, Sanofi Pasteur, (right) and Pam Greenley, MIT, (left) once again led the ethics seminar.

New England AIHA Joint Technical Meeting with the New England Chapter of the Auditing Roundtable -- Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The New England Section’s June meeting was held at our traditional location, Anthony’s Pier 4 in Boston, Massachusetts.  The meeting was held in conjunction with the New England Chapter of the Auditing Roundtable.  The speakers this year were Kerry Ann Jaggassar, ENVIRON International Corporation, and Dr. Charles Redinger, Redinger EHS.  Jaggassar spoke about “Organizing and Managing Industrial Hygiene Data” and explained the challenges and lessons learned when implementing data software to manage industrial hygiene data.  Dr. Redinger gave an “Update from the ISO World: How Upcoming Changes May Affect Industrial Hygienists, EHS Professionals, and Auditing Professionals.”  He reviewed ISO standards applicable to environmental and occupational safety and health professionals.  He also provided an update on the changes taking place at AIHA in "Discussion on the AIHA's 2011-2015 Strategic Planning Process."  Copies of the presentations are available on the Meeting Presentations tab of the NEAIHA website. 

The meeting was graciously sponsored by Proscience Analytical Services, Inc., Woburn, MA.

Kerry Ann Jaggassar of ENVIRON International Corporation is shown above on the left with Paul Webb, NEAIHA President.

Dr. Charles Redinger of Redinger EHS is pictured above on the left with Paul Webb, NEAIHA President.

Adrian Stanca of Proscience Analytical Services is pictured above discussing services provided by the company.  Also in attendance with Proscience was Simona Holacsek (not pictured).

NEAIHA Spring Dinner Meeting and Workshop:  Exposure Assessment of Nanomaterials:  Bridging the gap between research and IH practice

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The New England Section’s April technical meeting was held at the Hilton in Woburn, Massachusetts.  The topic was “Exposure Assessment of Nanomaterials:  Bridging the gap between research and IH practice.”  Dhimiter Belo, Sc. D, University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Susan Woskie, Professor in the Department of Work Environment, School of Health & Environment, University of Massachusetts at Lowell, presented an interesting perspective on conducting exposure assessments of nanomaterials.  They demonstrated equipment used in the field and led a group discussion on case studies.  The meeting was graciously sponsored by Pharmaceutical Containment Technologies www.pctamericas.com. 

Paul Webb, NEAIHA President, pictured above on the left with Dhimiter Bello, University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Susan Woskie, Professor at University of Massachusetts at Lowell, is pictured above on the right with Paul Webb, NEAIHA President.

Tim Cowher with Pharmaceutical Containment Technologies, sponsor for the meeting, talked about containment products that can be used for nanomaterials.

NEAIHA-Greater Boston ASSE Joint Industrial Hygiene Technical Meeting
Thursday, January 28, 2010

NEAIHA held a joint evening meeting with the Greater Boston Chapter (GBC) of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) at The Best Western in Waltham, MA on January 28, 2010.  This year we had a record turnout of approximately 100 participants!  Two engaging speakers spoke about how to adequately respond to emergencies.  Marcella R. Thompson, PhD(c), MS, CSP, RN, COHN-S, FAAOHN University of Rhode Island, presented responding to elemental mercury contamination, and Deputy Chief Gerry Mahoney, Cambridge Fire Department and Cambridge Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) Chair, spoke about emergency response to laboratory facilities.

NEAIHA also recognized two departing members of the Executive Committee for their service to NEAIHA: Corey Briggs for his long service in the three Presidential roles and as Director and John Dembrowski as Director.

The meeting was graciously sponsored by Fire and Rescue Training, Inc.   

Marcella R. Thompson, PhD(c), MS, CSP, RN, COHN-S, FAAOHN (pictured above) presented a case study and discussed recommendations on responding to mercury contamination. 

Andy Kalil, NEAIHA Past President, pictured above on the right with Deputy Chief Gerry Mahoney (left), who talked about experiences in the field responding to emergencies in laboratories. 

John Dembrowski is pictured above on the left with Andy Kalil, Past President, accepting an appreciation award.

Corey Briggs is pictured above on the left with Andy Kalil, Past President, accepting an appreciation award.