Social Concerns Committee

Mission

The committee seeks to provide a forum for identifying, discussing, and sharing with the AIHA community on a variety of social issues related to occupational and environmental health. Social issues may include a broad range of topics such as economically disadvantaged populations and socially vulnerable and under-represented populations, environmental justice, workplace discrimination, and lagging enforcement of occupational health policy and regulation. It is through increased dialog within our IH community that these issues will be brought to the forefront, creating an opportunity for allocation of resources and promulgation of regulations to protect these populations.

Goals and Objectives

The committee strives to encourage and highlight work within the industrial hygiene community that advances the health of all workplaces, with emphasis on the protection of vulnerable populations.

Identify current industrial hygiene issues affecting vulnerable populations to create a greater understanding of societal factors and how these factors can influence exposures in the workplace and our communities.
Raise the level of awareness on relevant social issues among occupational and environmental health professionals.

Recognition

Upton Sinclair Memorial Lecture

The Upton Sinclair Memorial Lecture on EHS Investigative Reporting is hosted by the AIHA Social Concerns Committee. This year’s lecture, Hot Day: How Data and Documents Shined a Light on Heat’s Mounting Death Toll on Workers in the US will be delivered by Kristen Lombardi, Columbia Journalism School at AIHce EXP on Monday, May 23 at 3:15 p.m. CT. This lecture will walk conference attendees through the "Hot Days" investigation, outlining the main findings and providing a window into the labor-intensive reporting process.