What a year at AIHA—especially for our SynergistNOW blog. When we first launched in May, our aim was to bring interesting, relevant, and concise content to our readers. We hope we have succeeded, and so far the feedback we’ve received has been very encouraging. One reader wrote, “You're an extremely beneficial website; couldn't make it without ya!” We couldn’t make it without you, either!

With the year winding down, we wanted to take a look back at our five most popular blog posts. Our most read posts covered an array of topics, from exposure assessment to industry news concerning OSHA and NIOSH:

1. Lead Exposure Assessment at Military Firing Ranges

This first installment of our AIHce 2016 exposure assessment series was one of our most read blog posts of 2016. Key insights from presenter Rachel Seymour, MSPH, CIH, of the Army Public Health Center’s Industrial Hygiene Field Services Program, revealed the findings of a lead exposure assessment conducted at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School with Company D of the 1st Special Warfare Training Group.

2. Survey Finds 50 Percent of Companies Unprepared for OSHA’s HCS and GHS Deadline

This article, written by Chris Carragher, discusses OSHA’s GHS requirements outlined under the revised Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) and the failure of many companies to complete the requirements by the deadline. The article also discusses the domino effect that failure to comply has on the occupational safety and health industry. Mr. Carragher is the Communications Director for Actio Software Corporation.

3. If You Think Washington is Unresponsive Now, Just Wait Until January!

In June, Aaron Trippler, AIHA’s previous Director of Government Affairs, predicted gridlock in Congress once again, with a new administration coming into office. The three main issues he discussed were the recently finalized silica rule, finalizing the beryllium rule, and the FY17 federal budget.

4. What's on Tap for NIOSH's Health Hazard Evaluation Program?

Kay Bechtold, Assistant Editor of The Synergist, detailed what’s next for NIOSH’s Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) Program in 2017, including its plans to issue more final HHE reports, publish first findings on exposures to flame retardants in the electronics recycling industry and flavoring chemicals in coffee processing, conduct medical and environmental evaluations at coffee processing facilities, and start a new project to develop educational materials about musculoskeletal risks for Hispanic employers in the food service industry.

5. Bayesian Decision Analysis (BDA) Part 1: Flipping the Profession –“Normalizing” Statistical Analysis

Another popular post was the fifth installment of our AIHce 2016 exposure assessment series. Presenters John R. Mulhausen, PhD, CIH, CSP, and Perry Logan, PhD, CIH, discussed the need to normalize the practice of statistical analysis of data and the advantages that come along with it.

Let us know what else you would like to see in 2017, and thank you for reading. Happy holidays and best wishes for a safe New Year from all of us at AIHA!