Included in every issue of The Synergist is the NewsWatch section, which includes short articles and updates from NIOSH, the CDC, EPA, OSHA, and other government agencies. NewsWatch focuses on news, new research and findings,
and best practices. Hot-button topics like silica and GHS labeling have appeared here throughout the past year.
JANUARY 2022
Insert: AIHA's New Strategic Plan
Hazards associated with renewable energy and lithium ion batteries. With the accelerating transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles, OEHS professionals will need to learn more about the hazards of producing, charging, and disposing of batteries, among other new hazards.
Safety in construction. An examination of two common rescue situations in construction: a trench collapse, and a worker falling and being suspended from a harness.
How to create a workplace vaccination clinic. This case study from the National Institutes of Health has practical lessons for workplaces seeking to comply with OSHA's emergency temporary standard that requires employers with 100 or more workers to adopt a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.
FEBRUARY 2022
Hacking and OEHS. What OEHS professionals need to know about the potential effects of hackers on workplace health and safety.
How to read and understand epidemiology studies. Tips for OEHS professionals on how to critically appraise studies and make informed decisions.
Sustainable laboratories. How OEHS professionals can contribute to sustainability initiatives at labs. Initiatives such as changes to ventilation practices that can result in energy and cost savings without compromising worker health will be discussed.
MARCH 2022
Insert: AIHA's Annual Report
Industrial hygiene 4.0. The role of sensors in the occupational environment.
Introduction to PFAS. Authors from NIOSH explain their work on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
Respiratory protection training for non-experts. Surveys suggest that small businesses generally lack the resources and understanding required to implement successful respiratory protection programs. This article will suggest possible solutions.
APRIL 2022
Decentralized management and OEHS. How do new modes of organizational governance such as holacracy affect workers' well-being? What practical matters do OEHS professionals need to consider when advising such an organization?
Health and safety at unusual venues. From one of the authors of the article "Mortal Exposures," which explored how to protect workers in America's death care industry, comes a new article focused on workers' concerns about bloodborne pathogens and workplace violence at strip clubs.
Silica controls. A review of engineering and administrative controls for crystalline silica.
MAY 2022
Bonus circulation: AIHce EXP 2022
Insert: Commit to C.A.R.E.
Benchmarking for EHS resources. Practical tips on how to leverage the resources and talent OEHS professionals have at their disposal.
Empathy for industrial hygienists. Some IHs are more comfortable with the technical aspects of their jobs. This article will present practical tips for excelling at interacting with workers.
Update on occupational exposure banding. The latest on OEBs from NIOSH.
JUNE/JULY 2022
Protective clothing and heat stress. Best practices in identifying and preventing heat-related illnesses when using personal protective clothing, including background on the applicable regulations, exposure sampling, and mitigation techniques.
Preparing for the next pandemic. What have we learned from COVID-19 that will prepare us for future infectious diseases?
AI in the workplace. Robots, scanners, sensors, cameras--AI is everywhere these days. How can OEHS professionals use these technologies to their advantage without violating workers' privacy?
AUGUST 2022
Special issue on labs
Analyzing wildfire and structure fire combustion residues. The authors discuss the limitations of wipe sampling.
Proficiency testing for gravimetric analysis of airborne particulates. Introducing a new program from AIHA Proficiency Analytical Testing Programs LLC.
Controlling formaldehyde in an academic lab. The challenges of selecting an appropriate ventilation strategy for protecting students and staff in an anatomy lab.
Special section: A look back at AIHce EXP 2022.
Additional topics to come.
SEPTEMBER 2022
Bonus circulation: Product Stewardship Society
Special section on product stewardship.
Millennials as OEHS leaders. How the younger generation of OEHS professionals can get the most out of their careers.
Emerging workforce issues for students and early-career professionals. A primer on changing workforce demographics, shifting industry outlooks, climate change, and other topics likely to influence the careers of new OEHS professionals.
Professional judgment and its pitfalls for young IHs. Recent research indicates that industrial hygienists' qualitative exposure judgments are often wrong when they don't follow a systematic process. In this article, authors from AIHA's Students and Early Career Professionals Committee offer tips new IHs can use to improve their judgments.
OCTOBER 2022
Protecting workers with multiple jobs. Inadequate knowledge about the interactions between hazards presents challenges for risk management.
Fatigue management systems. How technology is helping OEHS professionals manage the hazards of fatigue.
The process safety management roadmap. This article will be a sequel to "Process Safety Management and the IH" from the October 2021 issue.
NOVEMBER 2022
Mailed with the AIHA Vendor Directory
Addressing conveyor noise in manufacturing facilities. How to investigate and mitigate this common noise problem, which can dominate the background noise throughout a department or even an entire plant.
Quantifying historical exposures. How the data IHs collect today can affect future epidemiological studies.
New developments in EPA risk assessments. Changes to EPA's approach to risk assessments, as exemplified by its recent assessment of pigment violet 29 (PV29), have significant consequences for industrial hygienists.
DECEMBER 2022
Exposure modeling. Authors will discuss using openly published data to reconstruct a modeling tool that allows users to predict the type of engineering control measure that will reduce exposures to below the relevant occupational exposure limit.
Hazards in correctional facilities. Another in our series on health and safety in unusual venues, this article will focus on the health and safety of inmates, officers, and vendors at correctional facilities.
Topics TBD