Readers of The Synergist monthly magazine receive in-depth news and information about the occupational and environmental health and safety fields and the industrial hygiene profession:
- Industry trends and news
- Government and regulatory activities
- Key issues facing the profession
- Technical information
- News on Association events and activities
- Association news
JANUARY 2025
AIHA's continuous improvement plan.
PPE risk hazard assessment. A step-by-step explanation of how to determine the proper personal protective equipment for your workforce--and how to communicate your decisions to employees.
Creating a product stewardship program from scratch.
FEBRUARY 2025
Collaboration between industrial hygiene and infection prevention. An IH and an IP share examples of how they work together to protect workers, patients, and visitors at a large healthcare facility.
Ethical considerations around infectious disease response. Three experts in biocontainment care discuss how IHs and OEHS professionals can work to balance infection control, worker health, and sustainability in these and other healthcare settings.
A primer on banding strategies. For small businesses, control and hazard banding allow quick implementation of controls to protect workers in situations where a traditional exposure assessment is beyond an employer's resources.
MARCH 2025
Special insert: AIHA's 2024 Annual Report
PPE for women: vendor selection and implementation. A follow-up to our popular March 2023 article "Don't Just Shrink It and Pink It," which explored common challenges women face related to personal protective equipment.
OEHS in data centers. In certain parts of the U.S., these massive facilities are springing up everywhere. What health and safety challenges do they present?
Using AI for SDS management. Artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionize management of safety data sheets by automating complex tasks, enhancing structured data analysis, and fostering data-driven compliance reporting.
APRIL 2025
Special section: AIHA Connect 2025 preview
The hazards of impulse noise.
Professional driving safety. Truckers often face unreasonable schedules, poor communication between the office and field, and a lack of adequate time home to access healthcare. These conditions can contribute to medical episodes, mental health concerns, and excessive tiredness. This article will focus on the importance of physical and mental wellness among these workers.
Respiratory protection for the public and workers without respiratory protection programs. Members of a committee convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, write a new article stemming from the consensus study report "Frameworks for Protecting Workers and the Public from Inhalation Hazards."
MAY 2025
Bonus distribution: AIHA Connect
An introduction to ultrafine particles. Generated in processes as varied as diesel engines, welding, 3D printing, tire wear and brake emissions from highway traffic, and wildfires, UFPs are of concern due to their extremely small size.
IH data decision making. This article discusses common analysis approaches and preliminary results from a new tool that allows users to test the performance of various strategies using theoretical exposure data.
What if Batman were an occupational hygienist? Batman follows a strict moral code: he will not kill, even if following this code makes him arguably less effective at preventing crime. Similarly, OHs must consider the implications of either eliminating a hazard or focusing on its broader consequences.
JUNE/JULY 2025
Standing up for NIOSH. How staffing cuts at the agency may affect the OEHS profession.
Understanding AI hazards in the workplace. A discussion of the connection between algorithmic system characteristics and well-known categories of occupational hazards and controls.
Increasing enrollment in OEHS programs. How four top OEHS undergraduate programs worked together to attract more students.
AUGUST 2024 - The Labs Issue
Bonus distribution: AIHA Laboratory Accreditation Programs participants
Topics coming soon!
Process safety concepts for laboratory operations. How to identify operational hazards involved in lab operations and inspections.
Lab method development and validation. The apparent demise of NIOSH has significant consequences for the development and validation of laboratory analysis methods.
Special section: Looking back on AIHA Connect 2025.
SEPTEMBER 2025
Long COVID.
How to prepare for the CIH exam. A Certified Industrial Hygienist describes reasons for pursuing the CIH, what to expect in the exam, the "mental marathon" of studying and preparing, and tips for taking the exam.
Implementing FMEA in occupational safety management systems. This article discusses effective risk assessment strategies within the ISO 45001 framework, focusing on identifying, evaluating, and mitigating workplace risks. It highlights Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) as one of the practical tools for enhancing safety management and ensuring continuous improvement.
OCTOBER 2025
Confined spaces Q&A. Standards and guidelines don't always address the practical reality of confined spaces. This article addresses the gray areas in confined spaces health protection.
A primer on nonionizing radiation. Potential exposures to nonionizing radiation are increasing as it is used in more technologies such as cell phones and self-driving cars. This article will help prepare IHs to manage these hazards.
OEHS bootcamp for executives. Practical suggestions for introducing company leaders to occupational health and safety.
NOVEMBER 2025
Asbestos denaturing efforts. Public and private institutions have long sought to neutralize remediated asbestos minerals and reuse them in construction materials. This article presents an update on these projects.
Genetic insights into workplace hazards. Exploring the role of Mendelian randomization in occupational exposure research.
DECEMBER 2025
Health and safety in home care. The home care workforce faces a range of health and safety hazards. This article will discuss technical and educational interventions that can be applied to help protect home care aides and others working in this rapidly growing part of the healthcare industry.
Risk and AIHA's content priorities. From the AIHA Risk Committee, this article presents perspectives on AIHA's content priorities through the lens of risk.
Additional topics coming soon!
