Join the Pittsburgh AIHA on October 18 for Rivers of Steel - Steel Heritage Tour -- This tour gets to the heart of the Steel Town story, getting to know the people, places and historic events that put Pittsburgh on the map as the steel making capital of the world. This itinerary will connect travelers with the melting pot of cultures that powered the industrial success of the region, and explore the technology and process of making iron and steel.

Included in this event is a visit to Bulgarian Macedonian Educational and Cultural Center where the group will meet and have an "immigrant-inspired" lunch with regional specialties (stuffed cabbage, pierogies, halushki and Pittsburgh Cookie Table) while viewing a presentation on The Story of Steel.  The second part of the event includes a tour of the Carrie Blast Furnaces in Rankin, PA.  Declared a National Historic Landmark in 2006, Carrie, as it’s affectionately known, entices visitors to marvel at the scale and legacy of its industrial might. A remnant of the legendary U.S. Steel Homestead Steel Works, the Carrie Blast Furnaces are a vestige of Pittsburgh’s 20th-century domination of the steel industry.   See the next meeting page for additional details and online registration form.

Minutes from the July 2019 meeting are posted on the Meetings page and linked HERE.  Any questions or comments can be directed to info@pittsburghaiha.org or any member of the Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee met in July for the Summer Business Meeting and developed the proposed schedule of events listed below.  There are still OPEN dates - if you have any suggestions or ideas for a local section event, send email to info@pittsburghaiha.org, or contact any member of the Executive Committee. 

• September 26, 2019 - recommended event:  MASHA Safety and Health Conference, Cranberry RLA
• October 2019 - Rivers of Steel - Carrie Blast Furnaces - Guided Tour, Presentation, Lunch (details coming soon!)
• November 2019 - OPEN; propose ASSP Western PA collaboration for Nov. 13th (at IUP this year)
• December 2019 - Winter Business Meeting
• January 2020 – I.H. Analytics – AM Health & Safety Offices
• February 2020 – President’s luncheon 
• March 2020 - NIOSH Modeling/Asbestos/IAQ Food Trucks – Cardno ChemRisk office
• April 2020 – SHE Ethics
• May 2020 – recommended event: AIHce 2020
• June 2020 – OPEN
• July 2020 - Summer Business Meeting

The Executive Committee held their annual Summer Business Meeting on Tuesday, July 23 from at Atria's in Fox Chapel.

Thank you to all who attended!  Your support and participation is what keeps the Pittsburgh AIHA going strong!!  Meeting minutes will be posted when they become available.

Click HERE to see the most recent newsletter -- 

We are planning the Summer Business Meeting for July - will post an update when the details are finalized. 

Thanks to all for your support and involvement!  

Have a Safe & Happy 4th of July!

Special thanks to John R. Moore, III  who presented to the Pittsburgh AIHA on Friday, June 21.   John is President and Principal Consultant with Control EHS in Atlanta, GA.   John is currently the Vice-Chair for the Local Section Council of the National AIHA.

During John's presentation, he discussed with the group the following:

• National AIHA Updates
• Exposure Assessment in a Manufacture Setting (Metals, VOCs, Dust, Noise, Mold, Dermatitis) 
• Risk Assessment in a Manufacture Setting (Ergonomics, Robotics, Noise, Machine Guarding, LOTO) 

Thank you to the Keystone Mountain Lakes Regional Council of Carpenters who sponsored the event by providing the Council Building Meeting Room at no charge!  

The Pittsburgh AIHA congratulates Ms. Linda H. Martin from Indiana University of PA who was awarded the 2019 Pittsburgh AIHA Local Section Scholarship by the American industrial Hygiene Foundation. Linda is a tenure-track faculty member at Keene State College and the program coordinator of Keene State College's M.S. in Safety and Occupational Health Applied Sciences degree program. Linda is the 2018 and 2019 President of the Board of Directors for the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, the 2018 and 2019 Chair of the Board of Trustees of the BCSP Foundation, and a BCSP Ambassador. She is a professional member of the Greater Boston and Granite State chapters of ASSP and a professional member of AIHA. 

Linda was recognized during this year's AIHce along with all other AIHF scholarship recipients at the AIHF Donor and Scholarship Recipient Reception at Crave Minneapolis and The Mark of Excellence Breakfast on Wednesday, May 22 at Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC).

On Tuesday April 30, Pittsburgh Section members were the guests of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dashields Locks and Dam in Crescent Township on the Ohio River.  Our hosts were Pittsburgh Local Section Member Ashlyn Landgraf,  Lockmaster Mark Eberle and Assistant Lockmaster Steve Ceriani of the USACOE. 

Check out the meeting review and photos posted under the meeting page.  It was a great event - Thank you to our attendees pictured at left.  

The Pittsburgh AIHA would like to congratulate Ms. Summer Hartman, a 6th grader from the Baden Academy Charter School, and Ms. Grace Hall, a 6th grader from the Falk School in Oakland, for their selection as award winners at the 2019 Covestro Science Fair!
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On March 29th, Barb Cummings, Tad Pajak and Frank Pokrywka represented the AIHA Pittsburgh Local Section as Sponsor Judges. They reviewed more than 500 abstracts and narrowed the field down to several students who they interviewed about their research projects. This year, they selected Summer and Grace as the award winners!

Submitted by Pittsburgh AIHA Secretary, Frank J. Pokrywka, Ed.D, CIH

Thank you to the attendees and guests that attended the National AIHA President's Luncheon with speaker Cindy Ostrowski. Cindy presented A Field Practitioner’s Collaborations to Produce the Best Sampling Results and also provided an update of National AIHA news.  Special thanks to U.S. Micro-Solutions, Inc. for sponsoring the bar again this year!   The handouts from the event are posted on the Pittsburgh Local Section Catalyst page in the Library.

We are pleased to announce the results of our recent elections for the AIHA Pittsburgh Local Section executive committee.

Sarmed Shareef, CIH, CSP - University of Pittsburgh ran uncontested and secured the necessary votes for the position of President-elect.  

Frank Pokrwyka, EdD, CIH (retired) - University of Pittsburgh ran uncontested and secured the necessary votes to remain in position as Secretary.

Josh Maskrey - Cardno Chemrisk, in an extremely close election secured the necessary votes to win the position of Director over Ashlyn Landgraf, GSP - US Army Corps of Engineers.

AS a PAID Pittsburgh AIHA Member, you can take advantage of the Pgh. AIHA's E-Learning Subscription allowing access to five National AIHA Webinars.  These are available to view / download at your convenience throughout the year.  Note that webinar availability is dependent upon the recording being archived.  Details will be sent in an email to all 2019 PAID Pittsburgh AIHA Members.  For 2019 we have selected the following webinars:

• 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.

​The Carnegie Science Center is currently recruiting sponsor judges for the 80th Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science, Engineering & Technology Fair (PRSEF) which connects nearly 1,100 students in grades 6-12 with our area’s scientists and engineers.  Mark your calendar for Friday, March 29, 2019!  The competition takes place at Heinz Field – Club Levels!

Each year, the Pgh. AIHA sponsors two $500 awards - we need two more members (two have already registered) to participate as judges.  As a judge, you will help to choose the recipients of our LS Awards.  To register to be a sponsor judge, please go to https://www.scitechfestival.org/mainsf/Registration/sponsorjudge.aspx. 

There will be an orientation for new sponsor judges on Tuesday, March 12 from 11a - 2p at the Carnegie Science Center.
For those who are not comfortable judging, a variety of other science fair volunteer opportunities are also available at https://www.volunteersignup.org/8QEPF.  

​By Frank Pokrwyka, Secretary, Pittsburgh AIHA 
(Photos and Attendee List provided - click post to view)

Who says you can’t teach and old dog new tricks? This local section presentation on IH air modeling by Laura Hallett and Josh Maskrey from Cardio ChemRisk has convinced me of the fallacy of this adage. I must admit, when Josh threw up his first slides showing integral calculus equations I almost headed for the exit. But as he went further into his talk, the subjects of exposure modeling and computerized software to do the math, the topic became less intimidating, even cool.  

As the SHE professional’s world becomes more complicated, the role of ethics becomes increasingly important. There has been little discussion about the ethical dilemmas that SHE professionals face and how to resolve them. Please plan to join us as we welcome Dr. Lon Ferguson, CSP, CFPS and Dr. Jan K. Wachter, CIH, CSP who will discuss ethical theories, decision frameworks and codes of ethics that can aid in ethical decision-making. These will be applied to real-life SHE cases in this 2 hour class.   Register online by Feb. 15.

​EHS Manager - Integrated Solutions & Services (14467) 
Apply today to join our 4000 professionals around the world as we pursue our purpose: Transforming Water. Enriching Life.  Evoqua is hiring! We’re seeking an experienced EHS Manager to join our team at our Corporate Headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA.

You’ll manage the company's EHS functions in accordance with corporate policies and procedures to meet company’s business requirements. This is the mid-tier EHS position for our Integrated Services and Solutions Segment but performs work within policies and frameworks established by the larger corporation. 
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Read more in the online job description - CLICK HERE