On Thursday, May 28, we will host a social hour via ZOOM where our membership can connect virtually.   
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With the postponement of our AIHA president’s luncheon and April meeting, it is more important than ever that our membership stays in touch - please join us if you are able!
​Register online via the Meeting page.

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​Some topics to cover:

1. Best ergonomic tips for home workstations
2. Fit testing/Masks vs. Respirator
3. Most creative quarantine cocktail (or mocktail for our teetotalers)

The Pittsburgh AIHA Spring 2020 newsletter is now available.  Follow the link below to view in your browser.  

https://static-promote.weebly.com/share/209f855f-bd69-4931-af96-9f911002e0bc
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Thank you to our speakers Andy Maier, PhD, MS, CIH, DABT and Scott Dotson, PhD, MS, CIH, DABT of Cardno ChemRisk who gave a presentation titled: OEL Mysteries - Wait, Wait, Do Not Tell Me!  to a group of 30+ Pittsburgh AIHA members and guests.  Local Section Director, Josh Maskrey, CIH and Pgh. AIHA Member Laura Hallett coordinated this event held in the Cardno ChemRisk offices in downtown Pittsburgh.  Josh also gave a short presentation of the benefits of being a Pittsburgh AIHA Member and Corporate Sponsor before the event and distributed a Member Benefits handout to attendees (thanks Laura H.!).

See the meeting review by Pittsburgh AIHA Secretary Frank Pokrywka, Ed.D, CIH  - click HERE to go to page.

Pittsburgh AIHA Director, Josh Maskrey, has updated the Pittsburgh AIHA Catalyst User Guide -- download the file below for details on how to access this online community to share ideas, start a discussion with your community, create and reply to posts, retrieve library documents, etc.  Visit the Catalyst site at: https://community.aiha.org/home.  

Current Pittsburgh AIHA Members have access to Catalyst.  If you are unable to log in or have trouble accessing the site, please contact Janice Allen at the National AIHA by sending a message through the contact page:  https://community.aiha.org/contactus.  

We would like to welcome the following New Members to the Pittsburgh AIHA:

• David Cuscino - Slippery Rock University (Student)
• Hayley Woodside - Indiana University of Pennsylvania
• Kelly Albamonti - Westinghouse Electric Company (returning Pittsburgh AIHA Member)
• Marcella Donnellan, Lead Industrial Hygienist - Bechtel
• Mary Beth Connors, Safety Manager - FlatIron Corporation
• Zane Frund, Ph.D., Engineering, CIH, MBA - Exec. Director & Global Leader - MSA (Corporate Sponsor)

Thanks to AM Health & Safety for sponsoring the January 30 Event with guest speaker Andy Teague, CIH of Analytics Corporation.  During this event Andy discussed Monitoring and Laboratory Analysis Pros and Cons of Petroleum Distillates/Hydrocarbon Multi-component, Oil Mist/Metal-working Fluids (MWF) and 3D Printing. 

Meeting review and photos by Pittsburgh AIHA Secretary, Frank Pokrywka, Ed.D., CIH are available now - CLICK HERE! 

Pittsburgh AIHA 2020-2021 President-Elect, Laura Hallet of Cardno ChemRisk prepared a presentation highlighting the benefits of Pittsburgh AIHA Membership or Corporate Sponsorship.  Some of the valuable benefits you receive as a member include E-learning credits (up to $1,000+ on continuing ed.), reduced meeting fees (25-30% discount), Catalyst access, and certification credit for EC participation.  As a Pittsburgh AIHA Corporate Sponsor, you receive website advertising, newsletter promotion, 2 local section memberships, and more.  Take a few minutes to look and share with anyone you feel might be interested to join our group!     

Registration is now OPEN for our next event to be held on Thursday, March 26 from 11:30 AM - ~2:00 PM at the LeMont restaurant located on Mt. Washington overlooking the city of Pittsburgh. 

Pittsburgh local section member and National AIHA Director, Lucinette Alvarado, CIH will be the guest speaker for this year's event.  In addition to giving us an update on National AIHA, Lucinette plans to speak on Coronavirus and the role of the IH in a pandemic.  

The 2020-2021 Pittsburgh AIHA Election has ended and results are as follows:

President-Elect:  Laura Hallett, Cardno ChemRisk who will serve a 1-year term as President-Elect followed by 1-year term as President.
Director:  Carol Delfino, CIH, CSP (SE Technologies, LLC) who will serve a 2-year term.
Treasurer:  Maureen Kelly (Transitional Services) who will continue serving the Pittsburgh AIHA for another 2-year term.

Congratulations to these newly-elected Executive Committee members who will take (or continue) office later this summer and thank you to the Pittsburgh AIHA members that cast their vote this year!     

One great benefit provided by our local section is an AIHA eLearning Lite subscription.  As a member of our local section, you can login, view, and obtain credit for up to five AIHA eLearning webinars per year.  Save time, money, and earn credit contact hours towards maintaining your certification.  AIHA webinars can cost $100-200 per individual registration.  By taking advantage of our local section subscription, you can save hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on your continuing education. 

Details will be sent in an email to all 2020 PAID Pittsburgh AIHA Members once the online classroom is set up.  The 2020 Webinars are as follows:

• An Introduction to Big Data and Data Analytics (Archived webinar)
• Asbestos and Nanoparticles: Using Benchmark Dose Methodology for Risk Assessment (Thursday February 27, 2020 from 1:00 - 2:30 pm ET)
• The Ear Poisons: An Introduction to Ototoxicants (Thursday April 9, 2020 from 1:00 - 2:00 pm ET)
• Heat Stress: Assessment and Control (Thursday April 23, 2020 from 1:00 - 2:30 pm ET)
• Webinar selection to be determined.

IMPORTANT - YOU MUST BE CURRENT 2020 DUES-PAYING MEMBER.  Our Pgh. AIHA subscription roster includes only members current on their 2020 dues.  Pgh. AIHA 2020 Corporate Sponsors and students / retired members (dues waived) are already included in the roster.  If you are unsure of your membership status, please contact Christy at ckirsch@pittsburghaiha.org

The Winter 2020 Newsletter is posted and can be found at this link, or on the Newsletter page.

Thank you to our newsletter advertisers - SKC, Inc., RJ Lee Group, and U.S. Micro-Solutions, Inc. who continue to support the Pittsburgh AIHA year after year!  We greatly appreciate it! 

The Executive Committee held their annual Winter Business Meeting on Wednesday, December 18, 2019 from 11:30 AM - ~2:00 PM at Aracri's Greentree Inn located in Greentree.  Thank you to the members who attended and provided committee updates and valuable input regarding Pgh. AIHA activities and 2020 program calendar.  Meeting minutes are available now to review - please see the file posted on the Meeting page.

Every year, the AIHF awards qualified students and young professionals with scholarships of varying types to help offset costs in their pursuit of a career in industrial hygiene.  

With a variety of scholarships available (PIttsburgh AIHA sponsors a scholarship), students in undergraduate and graduate degree programs that lead to a career in industrial hygiene can find varying levels of awards and assistance to further their educational opportunities.  Click here for scholarship application information.

• Endowed Scholarships
• Active AIHA Local Section and Volunteer Group Scholarships
• Corporate Scholarships
• Upcoming Scholarships

Pittsburgh AIHA Member and Past-President Dennis Kelly (Energy Transfer Partners) provided a great write-up / meeting review of our recent event on Cannabis EHS and Security Concerns.  Thanks to Andy Wright, CIH owner and President of ProTect-All Solutions, LLC for presenting to our members/guests!  Thanks to Pittsburgh AIHA President Renee Cowell, CSP (Energy Transfer Partners) for coordinating the event.  Take a few minutes to read Dennis' meeting review and check out the photos taken at the event found on the meeting review page... 

Thanks to the following companies / members who have renewed their corporate sponsorship or advertising for 2020:

• AM Health and Safety, Inc. (Barry Momyer and Barb Cummings)
• Cardno ChemRisk (Josh Maskrey and Laura Hallet)
• Colden Corporation (Mike McIlhenny and Chris Wesley)
• Energy Transfer Partners (Dennis Kelly and Renee Cowell)
• FedEx Ground (Matt Zock and Mike Grumley)
• FirstEnergy Corporation (Darrick Bertig and Michelle Baber)
• Premier Safety & Service, Inc. (Steve McGough and Matt Dennis)
• Repsol Oil & Gas USA (Shawn Sunderlin and Donald McCarty)
• RJ Lee Group, Inc. (Keith Rickabaugh and Don Ewert) 
• SKC, Inc.
• U.S. Micro-Solutions, Inc. (Deanna Kiska and Sharon Fanchalsky)

The Pittsburgh Local Section of the AIHA has nominated Bernard (Bernie) Quinn, M.S., CIH, for designation as an AIHA Fellow through the National AIHA. The AIHA Fellows Designation recognizes those who are full members in good standing, have 15 years of continuous Full membership, and have made recognized contributions to industrial hygiene or related disciplines, either through research, leadership, publications, education, or service to AIHA.

Bernie has recently retired as President and CEO of AM Health and Safety, Inc. 20 years after establishing and running the company along with his partner, Barry Momyer, CIH. He is a Masters Degreed CIH, who has served the IH profession since 1979, and has been a continuous member of the AIHA since 1979. In addition to working in government, and the steel and chemical industries in the early part of his career, he has provided HES consultation services throughout the United States for over 28 years. (Click "read more" to continue)

Reminder that the 2019 E-Learning deadline to view / submit for credit is JANUARY 31, 2020!! 

One great benefit provided by our local section is an AIHA eLearning Lite subscription.  As a member of our local section, you can login, view, and obtain credit for up to five AIHA eLearning webinars per year.  Save time, money, and earn credit contact hours towards maintaining your certification.  AIHA webinars can cost $100-200 per individual registration.  By taking advantage of our local section subscription, you can save hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on your continuing education. 

Details were sent in an email to all 2019 PAID Pittsburgh AIHA Members.  The 2019 Webinars are as follows:

• Take Charge of Your IH Career: Road Map to Success​ (archived)
• Air Sampling Strategies and Analysis​​​​ (archived)
• ​Industrial Hygiene Statistics- The Next Generation (archived)
• Preparing the I/OH​: Why Highly Hazardous Communicable Disease Responses Need Us ​​(February 28, 2019)
• Overview of the Chemistry, Uses, and Exposure Assessment of Peracetic Acid​ (April 4, 2019)

IMPORTANT - YOU MUST BE CURRENT 2019 DUES-PAYING MEMBER.  Our Pgh. AIHA subscription roster includes only members current on their 2019 dues.  Pgh. AIHA 2019 Corporate Sponsors and students / retired members (dues waived) are already included in the roster.  If you are unsure of your membership status, please contact Christy at ckirsch@pittsburghaiha.org.