Thank you to the attendees of the February 15, 2024 event -- both AIHA and Western PA ASSP members attended, over 40 in all!   Thanks to Dr. Caporali-Fihlo for his time and efforts to present to the group!  The 4-hour session included a combination of presentation and hands-on learning.  Thank you to the SRU Safety Department and Dr. Rona Smeak for hosting the event and assisting with planning and coordination!   

NEW this year, we would like to thank CNX Resources for their 2024 Pittsburgh AIHA Corporate Sponsorship!   CNX Resources members include Shawn Sunderlin, MS, CSP, Director-QHSE and Timothy Huffman, Director of Operational Excellence, who is also a new member of the Pittsburgh AIHA.  

For more information on corporate sponsorship, please visit the Corporate Sponsorship page.

The Winter 2023 Newsletter is posted -- click the image below to see recent updates and message from our President, Dane Mitcheson!

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

THANK YOU to returning 2024 corporate sponsors, we greatly appreciate your continued support!

• Amazon
• AM Health & Safety, Inc.
• Atlas Technical Consultants
• CSC, Inc.
• Intertek PSI
• MSA Safety
• ​U.S. Micro-Solutions, Inc.

Support the Pittsburgh AIHA as a Corporate Sponsor!  The benefits of a Corporate Sponsorship contribution of $250 include:
​

• 2 free individual Pittsburgh AIHA annual memberships,
• Pittsburgh AIHA Homepage sidebar logo link.
• 1-year listing on the Pittsburgh AIHA Corporate Sponsors page,
• 1-year listing on the Pittsburgh AIHA Consultants List page,
• Recognition in Pittsburgh AIHA local section newsletter. 

Corporate Sponsorship is renewable on an annual basis.  Visit the Corporate Sponsors Page for current sponsors and application information - You can sign up online, or print the form to complete and mail.

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    

The students welcomed Mr. Barry Momyer, President of AM Health and Safety and President-Elect of the Pittsburgh AIHA to speak about IH Sampling on November 9, 2023.  

The Meeting was opened by the SRU AIHA Student Section President Shayla Wilkinson who updated the attendees on current events and planned tours. 

She then introduced the SRU AIHA Student Section Executive Committee members: 

• Annalyse Hoover-Vice President,
• Tanner Williams, Treasurer,
• Emily Szczesny, Secretary,
• Sophia Naugle-Social Media.  

Sophia spoke about the I AM IH project they have going on. The program encourages the SRU Safety Management Students to take selfies or videos of them using or near the IH Lab or equipment to promote IH and to hold up I AM IH stickers.  A very fun way to engage the students with the focus on IH. They then post onto the SRU AIHA Instagram and Facebook pages. The SRU ASSP group and SRU Safety Instagram reposts this for maximum distribution and followers.
 
The Spring plans for the SRU AIHA Student Section is to attend the Annual Meeting for the Pittsburgh Section and numerous tours at Berry Global and, hopefully, NIOSH.

Thank you to the SRU AIHA Student Section and Dr. Rona Smeak for providing this update!  The Pittsburgh AIHA is proud to support this amazing group of rising safety/IH professionals!   Please consider following the SRU AIHA Student Chapter on Instagram at sru_aiha.

NOW COLLECTING - Membership dues for 2024 are due December 31, 2023.   If you are a National AIHA member, remember to check the box for Pittsburgh Local Section to include your LS annual dues of $35 for your Pittsburgh AIHA membership.  All NON-National AIHA members should pay dues directly to the Pittsburgh AIHA.  See the highlighted sidebar link on this homepage to process payment through PayPal -- Note you do not need a PayPal account to pay this way.  Any questions, please contact Christy at [email protected].   

Thank you to MaryAnn Hoff (PPG) and Andy Maier (Stantec) for their presentations at the event "The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in the Workplace" held on August 31, 2023 at PPG Industries located in Monroeville, PA. 

Pittsburgh AIHA President-Elect, Barry Momyer (AM Health and Safety, Inc.) did the introductions and local section announcements for the group of 23 attendees (both in person and remote).

Thank you to Carol Delfino, CIH, CSP (Pgh. AIHA Secretary/Delfino Health & Safety) who provided the presentation summary below.

​Reviewing New Chemicals Under the Toxic Substances Control Act:
The EPA reviews new chemicals under TSCA to ensure their safety and to protect human health and the environment. TSCA was updated in 2016 to provide the EPA with more comprehensive authority to evaluate and regulate chemicals. Their process for evaluating is summarized below (click the read more​ link):