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 Thank you to Pittsburgh AIHA Members Frank Pokrywka and Rick Mason who participated as Judges in the 83rd Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair that took place on March 22/23, 2022. Once again this year, the Pittsburgh AIHA sponsored two $500 awards. Congratulations to Tai Luangkesorn of Marshall Middle School and Ronald Bushnell of Hopewell Junior High who are this year's recipients! Abstracts of their presentations are provided below - click "Read More":
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Submitted by Frank Pokrwyka Finally!! A non-virtual gathering in the COVID 19 era. On October 28 the local EH&S community gathered in person for the first time in almost two years in person at the MASHA Safety and Health Conference held at the Cranberry Regional Learning Alliance. Many thanks to Bill Bernhart, Christy Kirsch and others for organizing this gathering of more than 120 Safety and health professionals, students and vendors. A few masks were seen early on but were soon discarded and smiling faces shown forth. The Pittsburgh Section AIHA was well represented with more than 20 members present. After a moving opening session on Servant Leadership, Six excellent presentations were offered throughout the morning and afternoon. Time was allowed in between the technical sessions to allow attendees to visit the vendor booths that included MSA, SKC, PTA, AM Health and Safety, Premier Safety among others (see MASHA website: mashasafetyconference.org). Our AIHA local section also had a booth staffed by Frank Pokrywka and Sarmed Shareef. Several new members from Thiel and Slippery Rock Universities were signed up. Plenty of AIHA swag was available for all visitors to our booth. Tom Blank, one of our LS Directors, headed up a panel discussion on mentoring to close out the conference. Also on the panel were Del Kubeldis, Lucinette Alverado and Frank Pokrywka who each gave a personal account of mentors and mentees throughout their careers who made a difference in their lives. Many comments were heard that this was a great conference and great day!
 The School of Public Health is now home to West Virginia University’s Master of Science in Industrial Hygiene program – one of 20 programs in the country accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
Formerly housed in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, the master’s program officially transitioned to the School of Public Health’s Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences following a vote of approval during a recent WVU Board of Governors meeting (April 23). The industrial hygiene program is designed for students with undergraduate training in the areas of engineering, chemistry, biology, medical sciences, animal sciences or the physical sciences who have an interest in occupational and environmental health and safety. Through this program, working professionals and full-time students learn to address modern day occupational health issues as they gain the ability to anticipate, recognize, evaluate and control occupational health hazards. (read more below)...  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)  A mentor can be a valuable career and personal development resource for students and early career professionals. And, becoming a mentor to help others advance in their career can be a rewarding experience. If you are an AIHA member and you are interested in obtaining or becoming a mentor, information can be found on the AIHA website at https://www.aiha.org/get-involved/mentoring-program. If you are an AIHA local section member, or a student or non-member in the Pittsburgh area and you are interested in local mentor/mentoring opportunities, please contact Matt Zock. matthew.zock@fedex.com
 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) Sponsor Judges Needed - 80th Covestro Pgh. Regional Science, Engineering & Technology Fair2/10/2019  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.
 Julie Panko, CIH is the newest Pittsburgh AIHA member to be named National AIHA Fellow -- Congratulations to Julie on this well-deserved honor. Julie will be recognized at the 2018 AIHce in Philadelphia in May.
The Fellow designation (FAIHATM) was established to recognize members who are full members in good standing, have 15 years of continuous membership, and have made recognized contributions to industrial hygiene or related disciplines, either through research, leadership, publications, education, or service to AIHA. The Fellow designation is limited to no more than five percent of the membership. Earlier in September we sent out a survey request to gather information on member preferences related to event topics, meeting venues/locations and more. The information gathered from this survey will help the Program Committee plan future events. Thank you to President-Elect Lucinette Alvarado, CIH for coordinating this survey AND the 36 members who responded to the request! The results are below -- Click "read more" for a summary.
Tuesday, Sept. 19 - 1:00-2:00 PM. Earn 1 Contact Hour. Recent changes in regulations from OSHA and other governing bodies concerned with workplace safety have driven a renewed adherence to safety standards when it comes to occupational hazards, but misleading and incorrect information continues to circulate. This webinar seeks to refute erroneous information and answer questions regarding the proper selection, wear, care, and maintenance of flame-resistant/arc-rated (FR/AR) clothing.
This webinar is sponsored by Bulwark and is free of charge for participants. Register today to stay up to date on the regulations, standards, and program implementation "best practices" regarding FR/AR garments for arc flash and flash fire hazards.  Welcome members, corporate sponsors, and advertisers to a new year for our local section. The executive committee (and some members) held a productive business meeting in July and we are excited for the near future. Three main focus areas were discussed for this year:
1. Promote and facilitate community outreach. It’s about the kids! In the spring newsletter and following the president’s luncheon, we discussed the AIHA/NIOSH partnership - Safety Matters, a program for educating our youth on safety and health in the workplace. Most students and new graduates beginning part-time or full-time jobs have never been taught about workplace hazards. We have the ability to directly talk to kids about how to not get hurt, sick or killed at work! Our local section director from RJ Lee Group, Inc., Keith Rickabaugh, CIH lead the way by promoting this program during a recent presentation to the Pennsylvania Association for Middle Level Education (PAMLE). As a result, PAMLE plans to post the Safety Matters content on the Pennsylvania List Serve, a messaging center used by all schools in PA.
Aaron Trippler, Director of AIHA Government Affairs has posted his latest report (May 4, 2016). Headlines are below:
The 2016 American Industrial Hygiene Foundation (AIHF) Scholarship Application is now available. Every year the AIHF provides support to students completing an undergraduate or graduate studies in Industrial Hygiene or a related field. One application qualifies students for up to 30 different awards.
 The American Industrial Hygiene Association's - Government Affairs Department recently published the Happenings On The Hill newsletter. Headlines this issue include:
Congress Settles In To Do Some Work
Regulatory News Bits Click here to view the report.
The September 2014 newsletter is available now. Take a few minutes to check it out- click here!
Information and Articles in this issue:
The next newsletter will be out in November - please submit any articles, announcements, member news, etc. to Christy by November 7, 2014. |
Member Dues 2022ATTENTION:
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: 
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. Categories
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