Image credit: Getty Images / Sorapop

Understanding aerosol physics, biology, instrumentation, and control strategies can make you a more effective industrial hygienist. Whether you are a newly minted IH or a seasoned pro, learning more or refreshing your knowledge can give you the background to address current and emerging threats. AIHA Aerosol Technology Committee members and colleagues have produced free video resources to share with AIHA members and others who would like to be better informed about aerosol science and technology. Investigate these videos by top-notch aerosol scientists to take advantage of this learning opportunity that could be considered for certification maintenance points.

The Midwest Emerging Technologies Public Health and Safety Training (METPHAST) program is a collaborative effort by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, the University of Iowa College of Public Health, and Dakota County Technical College. The website for the program provides two major links to free course videos, each 43 to 64 minutes in duration.

On the METPHAST “Introduction to Occupational Hygiene” page, there are two course modules on aerosols: “Introduction to Aerosols” and “Importance of Particle Size.” Additional modules discuss occupational health principles, risk assessment, and regulations.

From the METPHAST “Nanotechnology Health and Safety” page, there are links to twelve videos including three focused exclusively on nano-sized aerosols: “Sampling Instrumentation for Airborne Nanomaterials,” “Sampling Strategies for Airborne Nanomaterials,” and “Air Cleaners for Nanoparticles.” Nine other videos address the topic more broadly and include potential exposure, health effects, dermal risks, and control strategies.

These videos can also be accessed through the METPHAST YouTube channel, which includes shorter (approximately 2 to 20 minutes) aerosol detection and measurement lessons about sampling methods and other occupational hygiene and environmental health topics. In addition, the long videos are available for continuing education credit from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

The next version of METPHAST is now being finalized. This new version, called the Interdisciplinary Training, Education, and Research Activities for Assessing and Controlling Contaminants from Emerging Technologies (InTERACCT), provides web-based curriculum to prepare learners with the skills necessary to address health and safety issues that arise in emerging technology workplaces. Educational modules developed by a team of industrial hygienists at the Universities of Minnesota, Iowa, and California, Los Angeles focus on chemical hazard recognition and exposure assessment.

Another excellent source of free hour-long videos is the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health Continuing Education at the University of California, Berkeley and California Labor Lab. Their YouTube channel provides a wealth of videos on many industrial hygiene topics. Examples of aerosol topics include “Sampling Methods for Personal Exposure to Herbicides,” “Creative Use of Direct Reading Instruments,” and “Take a Deep Breath! Work-related Aerosol Respiratory Deposition Study.” Other aerosol-related topics address firefighter exposures, silicosis, ventilation, and second- and third-hand smoke, as well as e-cigarettes, cannabis exposures, and controlling exposures to the COVID-19 aerosol.

For more information about the AIHA Aerosol Technology Committee, visit our web page.