Additional sessions have been selected!  See the updated list below -- The eLearning team at AIHA will update online classrooms for our members.  Email will be sent once content becomes available.

We are excited to announce that the Pittsburgh AIHA renewed the eLearning Subscription for 2021.  Member feedback has been positive regarding the value of the eLearning events which can be accessed through the Catalyst site/online classroom. 

The 2021sessions selected include:

• AIHce OnDemand: Sampling and Analytical Challenges in Meeting Ever Lower OELs for Metals and Metalloids.
• AIHA Webinar: Lessons Learned from Quantitative Exposure Assessments Conducted Globally.
• AIHce OnDemand: Communicate Science Effectively by Using Risk Perceptions, Narrative, and Persuasion Theory
• AIHA Webinar: Methemoglobinemia Resulting from Work in a Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate (MDI) Tank (upcoming August 26. 2021)
• AIHA Webinar: The Role of OEHS Professionals in Continuity Planning: A Practical Application (upcoming September 2, 2021)

The E-Learning roster has been updated with National AIHA for the 3rd Quarter of 2021 --
All 2021 members in good standing (dues paid/membership renewed for 2021) should receive an email from National AiHA with details and login steps.  If you did not receive the email, please contact Christy Kirsch at ckirsch@pittsburghaiha.org to confirm your membership status.

On Wednesday, July 28, the Pgh. AIHA held their local section summer business meeting via ZOOM.  Thank you to the members who participated in the event.   The DRAFT meeting minutes are currently being compiled and will be posted when complete.   

The meeting agenda is linked HERE.   Items discussed during this meeting included:
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 - Treasurer and Secretary reports
 - Local section committee updates
 - Local section scholarship 
 - Meeting topics / speakers / venues, etc.   
 - Student sections 
 - Corporate Sponsors/Advertisers 

The 2021-2022 Executive Committee is pleased to announce the formation of a new committee: the Pittsburgh Local Section Historical Committee.

The purpose of the Historical Committee is to document, preserve and curate information about our rich history and impact on the local community as a local section since our formation as one of the inaugural local sections of AIHA in October of 1939.

Josh Maskrey will chair the committee for 2021-2022.

If you are interested in getting involved the committee, or if you have historical documents, meeting records, photographs, or other information that pertain to our section’s history, please e-mail PittsburghAIHAhistory@gmail.com.

​Our initial points of focus will be gathering information on the formative years of our local section (1939-1945) and developing a timeline of significant IH contributions through the present day. However, we welcome any and all historical information!

The Pittsburgh AIHA is pleased to announce that Alina Schlichtkrull of Slippery Rock University is this year's recipient of the Pittsburgh AIHA Local Section Scholarship awarded through the American Industrial Hygiene Foundation.   

Alina Schlichtkrull is an undergraduate at Slippery Rock University and she is currently studying Safety Management with minors in Human Resources and Psychology. Alina is involved in multiple student organizations, one of them being AIHA. She participated in the meetings conducted by the student section and plans to stay an active member in the upcoming school year. This past year, Alina was the ASSP Student Chapter President at Slippery Rock University. SRU's ASSP Student Section conducted online meetings to keep students involved in the organization throughout the pandemic and from their accomplishments, they were awarded the ASSP Outstanding Student Section of the Year Award. Alina is currently interning with The Cincinnati Insurance Companies over the course of the summer and plans to graduate in the spring 2022 semester.  Continue reading the post by clicking below....

Thank you to speaker Jeffrey Komrower from Noise Control Engineering who was the presenter for our June 22, 2021 virtual event titled "Quieter is Better:  Basic Noise Control Concepts".  

The presentation was fantastic and well-received by the 27 Pittsburgh AIHA Members / Guests who participated in the virtual event.  A special thank you to Jeff for supporting the Pittsburgh AIHA by taking the time to present to our group.    

Pittsburgh AIHA Secretary Frank Pokrywka, Director Laura Hallett, and Past-President Tak Pajak volunteered to be judges on behalf of the Pittsburgh AIHA for the annual Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair held as a virtual event on March 24, 2021.

Our judges reviewed hundreds of science abstracts to find those relevant to Industrial Hygiene.  They each chose 5 or 6 favorites and proceeded to narrow their choices down to six projects for further review during the Fair on March 24.  The choices were submitted to Nicole Wood, Science Fair Director, who scheduled each student for a 20 minute virtual interview.  Project write-ups for Pgh. AIHA selected students were available for review online prior to the virtual interview.  In addition, a rubric was included for each project category to enable the judges to rate various characteristics of the project and develop a score for the students experimental design, work product, and presentation skills.  The student projects selected included one from the junior division (grade 6), three from the intermediate division (grades 7 and 8),  and two from the senior division (grades 9-12).   (Continue reading below)

The 2021-2022 Executive Committee Election has ended.  62 ballots were submitted. Thank you to all the members who participated and took the time to vote. Congratulations to our newly elected Executive Committee Members who will begin their term in July 2021:

• President-Elect: Lt. Timothy Beck, MPH
• Secretary: Renee Cowell, CSP
• Director: Thomas L. Blank, CIH, CSP, FAIHA

MSA has a current Job opportunity for an EHS Specialist position in Cranberry Twp.  The Environmental Health & Safety Specialist is responsible for the day to day support as well as the continuous improvement and maintenance of a comprehensive EHS Management System in the departments with an emphasis on product testing safety and processes.  

Respond through Adecco employment agency link  below:
https://www.adeccousa.com/jobs/ehs-specialist-cranberry-township-pennsylvania/?ID=US_EN_99_023427_1604799             

Thank you to the participants from this event held on March 23, 2021 -- we appreciate the support from our members and the speakers for this event!

Dr. Gary A. Morris, CSP Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Safety & Health at Murray State University will be our first speaker for this event on Pandemic / Infectious Disease Plans.

Olivia Messina Leleck, MPH, CPH, Senior Associate Health Scientist with Cardno ChemRisk (Pittsburgh) gave a presentation on COVID-19 Vaccines: Safety, Goals, and Strategies. 

The Local Section Election will take place beginning March 12, 2021 when the e-ballots will be distributed to all Pittsburgh AIHA members in good standing (current dues / membership 2021).  Please take the time to vote!  The deadline is March 19, 2021 at 11:00 PM.

Candidates for 2021-2022:

President-elect: 

• LT Timothy Beck is an Engineer Consultant in the Health Hazards Prevention Branch of CDC-NIOSH Pittsburgh Mining Research Division.  He is also an engineer officer in the Commissioned Corps of the US Public Health Service. He joins over 6100 other public health officers serving throughout the federal government to protect, promote, and advance the health and safety of the nation.

Secretary:  

• Renee Cowell, CSP is Senior Safety Representative at Energy Transfer Partners and Past-President of the Pittsburgh AIHA. She has 25 years of experience in the field of environmental, health and safety (EHS) specializing in behavioral based safety, safety cultural change, compliance and assurance programs, lean, corporate standards, auditing, and management system development.

Directors: 

• Thomas L. Blank, CIH, CSP, FAIHA has over 45 years of leadership, mentoring, and professional recognition in safety and health research, education, toxicology, safety, industrial hygiene, regulatory processes, management of environmental, health, and safety (EHS) programs, EHS compliance, and process safety/risk management.  Tom is a Past-President of the Pittsburgh AIHA and a National AIHA Fellow.

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• Nick Ravotti, GSP is an EHS Specialist at Kennametal in Pittsburgh. He graduated summa cum laude from Slippery Rock University in December 2020 with a major in Safety Management and a minor in Business Administration.  While at SRU, Nick was President for the inaugural SRU student section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association.

Thank you to the 30 Pittsburgh AIHA Members that participated in the Pittsburgh AIHA event on Tuesday, February 23 from 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM.  There were two parts to this virtual meeting:

​​Verifying Engineering Controls - The Critical Role of Emerging Technology (11:30 AM - 12:00 PM) - Speaker Erik Malmstrom, SafeTraces
​
Current and Overlooked IEQ Topics (12:00 - 1:30 PM) - Speaker Joe Hughes, IAQ Training Institute
Joe Hughes shared his presentation which can be found here:  joe_hughes_2021-02-23_pgh_aiha_presentation.pdf 

SKC, Inc. is looking for an Instrument Specialist. Follow the link below for more information: 
https://recruiting.myapps.paychex.com/appone/MainInfoReq.asp?R_ID=3370387&B_ID=91&fid=1&Adid=0&ssbgcolor=273A5B&SearchScreenID=13289&CountryID=3&LanguageID=2

Northrop Grumman’s Advanced Technology Laboratories (ATL) in Linthicum, MD, is seeking a Principal/Sr. Principal EHS Engineer to support occupational health programs.  Full details regarding the position are available at the Northrop Grumman Career page, https://www.northropgrumman.com/careers/experienced-professionals/.  To find it, select "SEARCH ALL US JOBS".  Then search by keyword "Industrial Hygienist".   You can also reply to johnlparker@juno.com if interested.
 
Key roles and responsibilities include:

• Develops, implements, and maintains occupational health programs to ensure compliance, injury prevention, and risk mitigation.
• Oversees the following occupational health programs: asbestos/lead abatement, hearing conservation, respiratory protection, hazard communication, ventilation, non-ionizing radiation (lasers and radiofrequency), and chemical hygiene plans.
• Conducts qualitative and quantitative hazard assessments to include exposure monitoring for physical and chemical agents.
• Completes industrial and office ergonomic evaluations to reduce risk factors that cause musculoskeletal disorders.
• Conducts internal compliance inspections and identifies actions necessary to meet regulatory requirements.
• Reviews and interprets existing and proposed environmental, health, and safety (EHS) regulations to determine applicability and impact for site. 
• Partners with engineers, scientists, and management to support the integration of EHS into the design of new or altered processes and operations and building construction projects.  
• Works to continuously improve the culture, awareness and accountability of EHS programs.
• Interfaces with regulatory representatives, senior management, the site EHS Committee, and the Emergency Response, and Crisis Management teams. 

 

The current Pittsburgh AIHA Newsletter is posted in multiple formats - please view here:
https://www.pittsburghaiha.org/newsletter.html.

The next Pittsburgh AIHA Newsletter is expected to be published late February 2021.  Submit any announcements, events, items of interest, etc. to info@pittsburghaiha.org.

The Pittsburgh AIHA does not have a January 2021 event scheduled and would like to share an invitation extended by the Yuma Pacific Southwest (YPSW) AIHA to participate in their annual meeting.  

YPSW Program Chair, Fred Boelter, has assembled an excellent program and slate of speakers in line with the current times aptly named:  "Resiliency Through Change" 

Two 2-hour Sessions to be held Thurs./Fri. (Jan 21 and 22) from 4:00-6:00 PM Eastern Time.

The meeting Agenda is found here:  46th Annual Meeting Agenda

REGISTER ONLINE BY JANUARY 15:  2021 YPSW Registration Form (Download, Fill-in, & Email)