AIHce EXP 2018 was held May 21–23, in Philadelphia, Pa. Conference news from The Synergist is published on this page.
Friday, June 1, 2018
With Legalization Imminent, Canadian Cannabis Industry Unprepared for Occupational Protections
With the legalization of recreational marijuana throughout Canada slated to take effect this year, a surge in the cannabis work force is expected as growing operations shift from small shops to large factories. Encompassing tens of thousands of acres, these facilities will present health and safety problems for which the emerging cannabis industry is unprepared, according to a presentation delivered at AIHce EXP 2018 in Philadelphia. READ MORE
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Closing Session Speaker Charts Path to Individualized Worker Protection
At the closing session of AIHce EXP 2018, retired Air Force Colonel Kirk A. Phillips, BSC, praised the potential of Total Exposure Health, a holistic approach to occupational health and safety that proposes to capture workplace, environmental, and lifestyle exposures in order to create individualized protection for all workers. READ MORE
Cummings Lecture: What Industrial Hygienists Do When They Can’t Sample
At the Donald E. Cummings Memorial Award Lecture yesterday, Mark Stenzel, CIH, FAIHA, argued that industrial hygienists should place greater emphasis on estimating exposures relative to conducting sampling. Stenzel, an industrial hygiene consultant and the 2018 recipient of AIHA’s Cummings Award for outstanding contributions to the knowledge and practice of industrial hygiene, made his remarks on the final day of AIHce EXP 2018. READ MORE
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Reporter Goes Undercover to Expose Hazards Facing Temp Workers in Ontario
Sara Mojtehedzadeh of the
Toronto Star, the latest reporter to present the annual Upton Sinclair Lecture for Outstanding EHS Investigative Reporting at AIHce EXP, shared what it was like working undercover inside one of North America’s largest industrial bakeries with a history of fatalities among temporary workers.
READ MORE
Researchers Call for Improvements in Infectious-disease Protections at Healthcare Facilities
Emergency rooms need to make significant improvements to adequately protect both patients and healthcare workers from hospital-acquired infections, according to a presentation at AIHce EXP 2018 by researchers from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Rachael Jones, PhD, CIH, an assistant professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at UIC, and Lin Phan, MS, a PhD candidate at UIC, discussed the challenges of managing exposures to infectious diseases on Monday, May 21.
READ MORE
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
AIHce EXP Panel Addresses Dangers of Opioid Crisis for First Responders
AIHA Past President Steven E. Lacey, PhD, CIH, CSP, set the tone for Tuesday morning’s general session on mitigating opioid exposure risks to first responders with some sobering statistics: in 2016, more than 65,000 Americans died of drug overdose, which means that overdoses killed more people in one year than the number of Americans killed in the entirety of the Vietnam War. Two-thirds of those deaths were attributed to opioids. The opioid crisis carries an economic burden as well: Lacey noted that in 2015, the U.S. spent 2.8 percent of its GDP to fight the opioid crisis. READ MORE
Dunn Lecture Addresses Hazards of Impulse Noise
Elliott Berger, a scientist with 3M’s Personal Safety Division, delivered the 2018 Derek Dunn Invited Noise Lecture at AIHce EXP 2018 yesterday. Berger’s thorough address recounted current research on the hazards of impulse noise and recommended approaches to protecting the hearing of exposed workers, particularly military personnel. READ MORE
Monday, May 21, 2018
Panel Raises Concerns about OSHA, NIOSH Under Trump
On Monday morning at AIHce EXP 2018, a panel of experts shared their perspectives on how OSHA, MSHA, and NIOSH are faring under the Trump administration. The tone was serious, and the panel—including speakers Jordan Barab, who was the deputy assistant secretary of OSHA under the Obama administration; Peg Seminario, director of occupational safety and health for AFL-CIO; and Mark Ames, AIHA’s director of government relations—focused on OSHA’s regulatory activity, enforcement, and budget in a passionate discussion about the agency’s current status and future under the new administration. READ MORE
AIHce Keynote: Forbes Publisher Predicts Sustained Growth
Forbes magazine publisher Rich Karlgaard opened AIHce EXP 2018 today with an optimistic summary of economic trends affecting businesses in America. Karlgaard, who has worked as an economic forecaster, author, and television commentator, argued that the stagnating effects of the Great Recession are wearing off and that recent strong growth is likely to continue, helped along by technological developments and the Trump administration’s efforts to limit regulations. READ MORE