The Winter 2023 Newsletter is posted -- click the image below to see recent updates and message from our President, Dane Mitcheson!
0 Comments
![]() We are sad to share news of the recent passing of long-time Pittsburgh AIHA member and friend, Raj Dharmarajan on December 16, 2023. Many of you may know Raj who worked as an Industrial Hygienist with Bayer MaterialScience for over 30 years and more recently as a part-time consultant for AM Health & Safety. Raj always enjoyed participating in our Pittsburgh AIHA events and was a regular at our winter and summer business meetings. We will certainly miss him! Please take a moment to read the obituary posted here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/venkatram-dharmarajan-obituary?id=53882952
![]() They say you never forget your first time and that must be true for many important things in life. As I write this almost 43 years later I still remember getting that phone call early one Sunday morning from a guard at the blast furnace where I worked for less than a year. I had the weekend call for the EH&S Department and the guard was asking me if being exposed to methanol vapors for a brief time posed any hazard. I told him that as long as the workers were not experiencing any dizziness or nausea, they would be fine after getting some fresh air. As I hung up the phone something in my gut didn’t seem right and I decided to go to the plant. Walking into the mill from the parking lot, I ran into the Plant’s Assistant General Manager who asked what I was doing there. I told him I got a call from the guard about workers being exposed to methanol vapors and decided to investigate further. I soon learned that phone call was a big-time understatement. Actually, a lab worker from the water quality lab was on his way to the nearby hospital’s burn unit. The workers reportedly exposed to the vapors were other lab personnel who were able to catch the worker (a burning torch) running down the hall and douse the flames with their coats. They were mostly uninjured, suffering only minor burns to the hands. ![]() Please join us for our 1st event of the New Year 2024! SPACE IS LIMITED TO 25, so register early! Title: The Shocking, Sordid, and Sometimes Tawdry History of Exposure Sampling Strategies" Speaker: Paul Hewett Ph.D. CIH FIOH - Exposure Assessment Solutions, Inc. Date / Time: Thursday - January 11, 2024, 9:00 - 11:30 AM Location: AM Health & Safety, Inc., 5177 Campbells Run Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15205 (412) 429-0560 Register online before January 8, 2024 - details are found HERE: 2024-01-11 Paul Hewett |
Interested in becoming a Pittsburgh AIHA Sponsor? Click HERE for more info!
National AIHA Links:
AIHA Homepage About Industrial Hygiene AIHA Calendar of Events AIHA Catalyst AIHA IH Professional Pathway AIHA Membership AIHA Press Releases AIHA Public Resources Get Involved - Safety Matters, Outreach, Students, etc. Now Collecting Member Dues 2025ATTENTION:
Pittsburgh AIHA Member Annual Dues If you are NOT a National AIHA Member, please pay through the Pittsburgh Local Section using the PayPal link below: Categories
All
Archives
February 2025
|