Exposure Banding

Exposure Banding Vision Statements

1. In partnership with NIOSH, AIHA is educating health & safety professionals on the importance of utilizing Occupational Exposure Banding (OEB) in their exposure risk assessments.
2. IH/OEHS and allied professionals, e.g., Product Stewards, Occupational Health Nurses, and Doctors, develop and actively use practical guidance to apply OEB in their professional practice.

NIOSH Resources

• Apps and Digital Tools from NIOSH The following NIOSH apps and software tools provide the practicing industrial hygienist with quick and easy access to the information necessary to evaluate exposure profiles and determine if the exposures are acceptable, not acceptable or if more data is needed to determine acceptability.
• New NIOSH Report Outlines Its Occupational Exposure Banding Process A new technical report published by NIOSH describes the agency’s voluntary occupational exposure banding process for chemical risk management.

Education

• Conference
  • AIHA University Occupational Exposure Banding Virtual Conference Recordings Learn how to apply occupational exposure banding strategies and tools for chemical exposures in the workplace.
    
  • AIHce OnDemand Whether you missed attending AIHce EXP in person or virtually, you don’t have to miss out on the great educational programming that was shared! AIHce OnDemand session recordings bring the best of AIHce EXP directly to you. Choose the topic areas that best meet your education needs and get access to cutting-edge presentations through your computer, tablet, or smartphone.

• Certificate Program
  • Certificate Program: Occupational Assessment Prove your competency in assessing workplace exposures and hazards. Based on the Occupational Exposure Assessment Body of Knowledge Technical Framework, this certificate program provides education on the competencies listed in Technical Level IH

• AIHA University
  • Featured Education in Hot Topics & Emerging Issues Stay on the cutting edge of trending topics and emerging issues with insights and research from OEHS industry leaders.
• OEB Instructional Videos
  
  • Occupational Exposure Banding: What You Need to Know Occupational exposure banding provides a framework to help protect worker health from potential chemical exposures even when certain information on the chemical is lacking. Although an OEB is not a substitute for an OEL, creating an OEB is a step towards safeguarding workers from the chemical’s effects and may also help occupational health bodies prioritize the chemical in question for OEL development. (View the first video in the series.)
  • How OEB Can Help You Keep Workers Safe This video explains the three tiers of OEBs and how they are used by industrial hygienists (IH) and occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) professionals to better identify hazardous materials for employees and workers at the workplace. (View the second video in the series).

Bodies of Work

Volunteer Committees’ Bodies of Work include White Papers, Guidance Documents, Fact Sheets, and Position Statements. Access an extensive library of resources developed by AIHA Volunteer Committees in their areas of specialty on various topics of interest.

Frameworks

Frameworks are written by appointed members and volunteers that worked collaboratively to develop guides, which outline the knowledge and skills a competent person should possess and be able to demonstrate in a specific topic or specialty.

• Technical Framework: Occupational Exposure Banding Process is a one-of-a-kind resource for industrial hygienists involved in occupational exposure banding. This body of knowledge outlines the skills a competent professional should possess and demonstrates after completing the NIOSH process.
• Competency Framework: Understanding How ARECC Works Within Occupational Exposure Assessment provides an organized summary of the collective knowledge and skills necessary for conducting occupational exposure assessments.

The Synergist

• Synergist Webinars are presentations by sponsoring companies on important topics to occupational and environmental health and safety professionals.
• Managing the Complexities of Global Occupational Exposure Limits with a Central ESHQ System
• Measurement of the Potential Exposure to Isocyanates Monomers and Oligomers During Spray Painting
• Synergist Archives, access to The Synergist archives is a benefit of AIHA membership and will require a login.
  • Banding Together: Making the Case for Occupational Exposure Bands (May 2022 issue) in a world of work where the number of chemical substances in use vastly exceeds the number of chemicals with OELs, the search for additional strategies for chemical risk assessment and management began. One such strategy gaining stronger acceptance and increasing utility is occupational exposure banding and the use of occupational exposure bands (OEBs).
  • Occupational Exposure Banding: No More Excuses (February 2022 issue) details the importance of occupational exposure banding to the OEHS profession and the usage of the NIOSH e-tool, a validated process for generating an occupational exposure band.
• Synergist Blogs
  • Banding Strategies for Protecting Workers
  • Occupational Exposure Banding: A New Virtual Conference from AIHA University
  • Occupational Exposure Bands: A Reintroduction
  • A Deep Dive into the Trends that Affect IH/OH
  • Resources for Content Development
  • Preparing for the Future: AIHA’s 2019 Environmental Scan
  • New Champions for Content
  • What Every IH/OEHS Should Know about AIHA’s Content Priority
  • AIHA’s Public Policy Agenda for 2019 – 2020

Press

• AIHA Releases its First-Ever Biennial State of AIHA Research Report (Feb '19). The report analyzes the trends and issues affecting the field of industrial hygiene and occupational health, including the changing workplace landscape, big data, total worker exposure, and exposure banding.
• AIHA Issues its First Public Policy Agenda (Jan '19) Covering the years 2019 through 2020; this plan focuses on 15 of the nation’s most important worker health and safety issues.

Volunteer Groups

• Content Portfolio Advisory Group (CPAG) CPAG helps advance AIHA’s mission and values by providing input and advice to the AIHA Board and staff regarding the content AIHA provides to members and other stakeholders. Content may include documents, articles, white papers, fact sheets, publications, and more. Here you can find information on how you can contribute to the development and advocacy of AIHA content. To see current initiatives, please visit the Exposure Banding Dashboard.
• Emerging Digital Technology Committee provides a forum for advancing computer applications by occupational and environmental health and safety professionals.
• Exposure & Control Banding Committee The committee supports and promotes the application of banding strategies for the simplified assessment of occupational risk, selection of solutions and controls, and reduction of work-related health, safety, and environmental risks globally.
• Leadership and Management Committee promotes the health and safety of all workers, the public, and the environment by developing core leadership competencies of OEHS professionals.
• Real-Time Detection Systems Committee provides effective leadership in Real-Time Detection Systems by maintaining knowledge of past and present tools and methods related to the field.
• Sampling and Lab Analysis Committee provides a forum for exchanging ideas and information about sampling and analysis of chemicals as they impact the workplace and the community and participate in developing and analyzing related technological and regulatory issues.
• Communication and Training Committee provides a forum for discussion and recommendations on education methods, training, and communicating with employees, employers, and the community about occupational and environmental health risks and allied topics.