The Mid-Atlantic Safety and Health Alliance, Inc. (MASHA) is pleased to announce the date of the 2019 Safety and Health Conference: Thursday, September 26, 2019. The 2019 Conference is the 11th annual conference and will be held at the Regional Learning Alliance Center in Cranberry Township, PA.

The 2019 Conference will again feature an Opening Keynote Speaker and special sessions in the morning, including the OSHA Pittsburgh Area Office. The afternoon will consist of separate tracks for Construction and General Industry and Oil and Gas. Attendees are encouraged to choose sessions from any of the topic tracks.

Continuing education credits will be available for conference attendees.

We are pleased to include an Exhibit Area in the Atrium featuring local safety and health organizations. The Exhibitor Area will be open throughout the conference.

Conference details and on-line registration will be available on the web site at www.mashasafetyconference.org in the coming weeks.  An email announcing open registration will be sent to past attendees.
​
Organizers welcome input on topics and speakers for the 2019 Conference. If you are interested in presenting a session or have a suggestion for a topic or speaker, please contact MASHA at w.bernhart@comcast.net. 

Safe + Sound Week is a nationwide event to celebrate the successes of businesses that have implemented safety and health programs in the workplace. Throughout the year, businesses show their commitment to safety by focusing on management leadership, worker participation, and a systematic approach to finding and fixing hazards in workplaces.  Get started by taking our Check on Safety Challenge!  Each August we invite them to celebrate their safety successes and efforts to be #SafeAndSoundAtWork.

Why Participate?
Safe workplaces are sound businesses. Successful safety and health programs can proactively identify and manage workplace hazards before they cause injury or illness, improving sustainability and the bottom line. Participating in Safe + Sound Week can help get your program started or energize an existing one.

Who Participates?
Organizations of any size or in any industry looking for an opportunity to celebrate their commitment to safety to workers, customers, the public, or supply chain partners should participate.

How to Participate
Participating in Safe + Sound Week is easy. To get started, select the activities you would like to do at your workplace. You can host an event just for your workers or host a public event to engage your community. After you've completed your events, you can download a certificate and web badge to recognize your organization and your workers.
Need ideas? Review activities and events from past years.

 Safe + Sound is a year-round campaign to encourage every workplace to have a safety and health program.  Find out more on the Safe + Sound website.

The Product Stewardship Society is pleased to announce that registration for the annual conference is now open. Product Stewardship 2019 will be held in Columbus, Ohio on September 10-12, 2019, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.  

The Product Stewardship Conference brings together professionals to share expertise, best practices, challenges, and developments in product stewardship. Building on its previous successes, Product Stewardship 2019 looks to deliver more training and hands-on experiences. Based on feedback from attendees, the day pattern of this year’s conference has changed to Tuesday through Thursday, avoiding the weekend. The Exchange, the central location for attendees to gather, will be returning with an expanded space offering the perfect setting to network among fellow professionals and partner companies. New and returning partners will be there to showcase innovative products and help attendees find the right solutions to their work challenges. 

“The Product Stewardship Conference is always a great source of inspiration. It brings together such a variety of professionals from different industry sectors and provides a structure where they can connect and share experiences.” says Adam Seery, CAE, Director of the Product Stewardship Society.   

The Product Stewardship Society encourages professionals to not only attend, but to be part of the conference as well. From networking with colleagues to sharing ideas, the Product Stewardship Conference is centered on collaboration. For more information about Product Stewardship 2019 and to register visit the conference website (www.ProductStewardsConference.org). 

NIOSH is celebrating 100 Years of Respiratory Protection during Respiratory Protection Week, September 3-6, 2019.   2019 marks the 100th anniversary of respirator approvals granted by the federal government!  This is an exciting time for NIOSH and NPPTL, and we will recognize this event with a week-long observance this September. Click this link for a brochure that outlines our objectives and opportunities. 

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS (Deadline July 8, 2019):  You are invited to submit an abstract for the virtual poster session. The poster session will take place September 4, 2019.  All poster presentations will be pre-recorded via Adobe Connect and linked via the NIOSH NPPTL website with full project descriptions.  Click this link for more information / Call for Abstracts form.

For more information contact:   
Judi Coyne, MBA, MA
Health Communication Specialist
NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
412 386 5224
jcoyne@cdc.gov

The Safety and Health Historical Society is a newly-formed safety and health organization devoted exclusively to the history of safety and health. 

The Safety and Health Historical Society (SHHS) is open to participation by individuals and organizations. SHHS is a non-profit, educational and charitable organization. Its mission is to compile and publish information about the events, individuals, organizations, products, methods and contributions of many who advanced safety and health practice to what it is today. The safety and health field has a rich history and much of it has been lost.  Please see attached documents and visit their web site to learn more about their mission and activities. The web site is: www.safetyandhealthhistory.org.

This information was provided by Roger Brauer, Ph.D., PE Founder and President Safety and Health Historical Society.  Note that Pittsburgh AIHA Member Dr. Joel Haight, Ph.D. from The University of Pittsburgh is also Board Member of the SHHS

​Pittsburgh AIHA Members are invited to The Sustainable Workplace Alliance's popular Hazardous Materials Instructor Training (HMIT) Program in Pittsburgh.
 
Beginning in February, The SWA will be hosting the first of 3 modules available in the program, a 1-day “Best Practices in Teaching Technical Subjects”. Then returning in April with a 2-day “Hazardous Materials Instructor Training (HMIT)-49CFR” class, followed by a 3-day “HazMat Prep & Response class in May.
 
Please see the flyer with more information found HERE.
 
The classes to be held in Pittsburgh are as follows:

• February 26, 2019 [1-day “Best Practices”]
• April 1 – 2, 2019 [2-day “HMIT”]
• May 1 – 3, 2019 [3-day “HazMat Prep & Response”]

 
This is a great opportunity for members and clients who are CAIH and CIH to earn 6 technical contact hours of CEU’s for the 1-day class, 12 technical contact hours of CEU’s for the 2-day class, and 18 technical hours of CEU’s for the 3-day class. 36 contact hours’ in total! And since the training is funded by a federal training grant, there is absolutely no cost to attend!
 
Please feel free to contact Bryan Heard if you have questions or would like more information:
 
Bryan Heard
Outreach Training Director
863.676.4100
The Sustainable Workplace Alliance

AIHA: While the President is right to celebrate our economic and other successes, American workers need more than just a paycheck. ​

Tonight, President Donald J. Trump delivered his State of the Union address, honoring one of the great traditions of our nation that peacefully brings together the three separate, co-equal branches of government for a shared moment that celebrates American freedom and democracy, with much of the nation watching.

During this moment, the President laid out his vision of an America united, proclaiming the strength of the economy, and speaking to the importance of safety and security. However, it is with tragic irony that the President seems to have missed a critical – but often silent – problem that impacts his priorities of economic growth and national security: America’s workers are not safe at their jobs. Healthcare, construction, manufacturing, law enforcement, and emergency response – all of these sectors and more are affected. Many of these professionals go to work fearing an injury, illness, or worse. Their fear is well-founded.

Each day, approximately 150 people will die , and millions more throughout the year will suffer a nonfatal injury or illness from work. While America’s leaders should be raising the alarm when enough people to fill a football stadium die each year from their jobs, far too many are silent. Worse, President Trump and others are actively rolling back hard-fought regulations and seeking to cut funding for key government programs that protect workers.

This is not the direction our country should go in. We can – and must – do more to protect our workers. 

This year, AIHA unveiled a 15-point Public Policy Agenda that lays out a vision with concrete actions to address some of our nation’s most important worker health and safety issues. While the President is right to celebrate our economic and other successes, American workers need more than just a paycheck. Opportunities abound to make progress on worker health and safety. There is much we can do today.

As President Trump said, the state of our union is strong, and he readily acknowledges that much of that strength is thanks to our workers. With that in mind, together, let’s take the next step. Let’s make this the year of the American worker. AIHA is ready to help. Let’s get to work.

Release No. WNT 19 0205
CONTACT:
Sue Marchese
smarchese@aiha.org    
(703) 846-0742

NIOSH’s new nanotechnology research plan stresses the need for an “expeditious approach for controlling exposure to the continuously growing number of nanomaterials used both in science and in commerce.” Through 2025, the agency plans to fill gaps in information and knowledge related to five strategic goals that NIOSH identified in its 2013–2016 strategic plan. NIOSH intends to increase understanding of new nanomaterials and related health risks to nanomaterial workers; expand understanding of the initial hazard findings on engineered nanomaterials; support the creation of guidance materials to inform nanomaterial workers, employers, and others about hazards, risks, and risk management approaches; support epidemiologic studies for nanomaterial workers; and assess and promote national and international adherence with risk management guidance.
“The development of nanotechnology has reached a point of wide application, and numerous nanomaterials and nano-enabled products are in commerce,” the NIOSH publication reads. “Workers are among the first to have contact with (exposure to) potential health hazards from new technology and products, and their exposure to any new material is often greater than for the general population. Therefore, worker safety and health are at the core of responsible development.”
According to NIOSH, agency investigators have already identified adverse health effects in animals exposed to various engineered nanomaterials; assessed worker exposures; initiated epidemiologic research; and provided guidance on occupational exposure limits, control technologies, and medical surveillance. NIOSH’s Nanotechnology Research Center will continue to coordinate research in “critical areas” such as toxicity and internal dose, measurement methods, exposure assessment, engineering controls and personal protective equipment, and fire and explosion safety.
NIOSH’s full nanotechnology research plan for 2018–2025 is available for download from the agency’s website.

Tackling America’s Greatest Worker Health and Safety Challenges and Opportunities
Each day approximately 150 people — more than 54,000 a year — die unnecessarily from work-related injuries and illnesses. Many more suffer nonfatal injuries and illnesses. As part of the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s continuing efforts to address these problems, today it has released its first-ever Public Policy Agenda . 
 
“The story of America’s workers is the story of America itself,” said AIHA President Cynthia A. Ostrowski, M.S., CIH, FAIHA. “Our collective history has and continues to be made on the backs of the hardworking men and women found in our great country’s factories, construction sites, health care facilities and mines, and in every other location imaginable. Truly, everywhere you look, America is at work.”

“Tragically, this also means that our parents, children, brothers, sisters and friends are also being placed in harm’s way. Addressing a problem of this scale calls for bold actions that are driven by scientific knowledge. That is why AIHA is proud to unveil its inaugural Public Policy Agenda,” added Ostrowski.

Covering the years 2019 through 2020, this plan focuses attention on 15 of the nation’s most important worker health and safety issues:

• Big Data 
• Cannabis Industry Health and Safety    
• Disaster Planning, Response and Recovery 
• Hazard Banding and Occupational Exposure Limits 
• Hearing Protection 
• Opioids in the Workplace 
• Professional Title Protection 
• Sensors 
• Teen Workplace Health and Safety 
• Temporary and Contract Workers 
• Total Worker Exposure 
• Transportation Safety 
• Worker Fatigue 
• Workforce Development 
• Workplace Violence  

Each of these issues is critical, and together they play an important role in realizing AIHA’s vision of a world where all workers are healthy and safe. The heart of this vision is one that is shared by the millions of American workers, the companies they work for and the governments that serve them. Resources and in-depth expert interviews pertaining to each area of its new Public Policy Agenda are available from AIHA upon request.

Moving forward, AIHA is confident that it can meet the challenges outlined in its Public Policy Agenda, rise above past divisions and stand unified in a common desire to protect America’s workers. 

Press Release No. WNT-19-0107-01
National AIHA CONTACT: Sue Marchese, smarchese@aiha.org, 703-846-0742