Sometimes the concept of volunteering can be daunting. It conjures up visions of long hours and hard work in most people's minds. Some opportunities do—and are totally worth it. But there are ways to fit volunteering into even the busiest schedule. Enter…micro-volunteering.
​
A professional association's growth is fueled by members' large and small volunteering projects.

The term "micro-volunteering" refers to volunteer opportunities to complete small tasks necessary for the success of a larger project or goal. The opportunities typically take only minutes or an hour to complete and don't require a long-term commitment.
​
Are any of these micro-volunteering activities just right for your busy schedule?

• Develop educational content for AIHce, e-learning, road courses, etc.
• Attend a Career Day at a local school using AIHA's FREE outreach materials
• Develop publications, guidelines, fact sheets, white papers, best practices, or other media, in accordance with the content priorities, for advancing the profession
• Actively support government relations projects/activities at the state and Federal level
• Support public relations projects/activities
• Present testimony at public, technical, or other hearings
• Gather and submit responses to requests for comments regarding technical or policy issues published by agencies, consensus organizations, and others
• Serve as an AIHA liaison to other organizations or associations
• Work with other institutions (official liaisons) to develop products or services useful to AIHA members and the profession
• Submit articles to the JOEH or The Synergist
• Submit blog posts to the SynergistNOW
• Post on Catalyst
• Provide technical assistance and review when requested by AIHA staff
• Work in conjunction with the Content Portfolio Advisory Group (CPAG) to identify and assist in addressing and/or tracking issues of future importance to the profession
• Evaluate existing content under the CPAG process
• Engage in other activities that benefit the Association and its members

Source:  National AIHA "Get Involved" page

This resource center is intended to provide OEHS practitioners with quick and easy access to the information necessary to evaluate risk and exposure profiles and determine if the risk or exposures are acceptable, not acceptable, or if more data is needed to make the determination of acceptability.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

AIHA is pleased to offer a variety of free e-tools to assist practitioners in enhancing their exposure assessment capabilities.  Visit the website to learn more about the following:

• AIHA Risk Assessment Tools
• NIOSH Apps and Digital Tools
• Emergency Response Planning Guidelines
• Computer-based Tools for Thermal Stress
• Job Safety and Health Programs
• Pandemics
• Business Case Tool
• EPA Risk and Exposure Assessment Tools, and more!

Please consider a donation to the American Industrial Hygiene Foundation to help aspiring young professionals fund their studies. Click here to donate (any denomination is greatly appreciated). Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Source:  National AIHA Public Resources

Recent changes to OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program mean that additional industries may now fall within the program’s parameters. In a press release published last week, OSHA explains that it is expanding the criteria for placement in the program to include violations related to all hazards and OSHA standards. The program previously focused on a limited number of standards. Other changes to program criteria have to do with removal eligibility—employers are now eligible for removal from the program three years after completing hazard abatement rather than three years from the final order date—and minimum duration in the program. Based on OSHA’s updates, employers are now able to reduce their time spent in the program to two years if they come to a settlement agreement with the agency that includes the use of a health and safety management system.

The updated program went into effect on Sept. 15 and will remain in effect until it is canceled or superseded. Further details about the new criteria can be found on OSHA’s website and in a recent agency directive.

The Severe Violator Enforcement Program focuses enforcement and inspection resources on employers who willfully or repeatedly violate federal health and safety laws or refuse to correct previous violations. Employers placed in the program appear on a public list of severe violators and are subject to follow-up inspections by OSHA.

Source:  National AIHA "Featured News"

The PA Department of Labor and Industry's Health & Safety Division is offering free webinars through their Pennsylvania Training for Health and Safety (PATHS) program.  This is a great resource for employers and workers throughout the state.  
(https://www.dli.pa.gov/Businesses/Compensation/WC/safety/paths/Pages/default.aspx

PATHS is a no-fee, statewide service established by the Department of Labor & Industry, Bureau of Workers' Compensation's Health and Safety Division to provide employers and employees with easy access to cost-effective health and safety resources. Services provided by PATHS will enable participants in the workers' compensation system achieve greater efficiencies in their workers' compensation cost-containment efforts by creating safer, accident-free workplaces.

The Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act was amended in 1993 to address health and safety requirements in the workplace. The addition of sections 1001 and 1002 in the act conveys the importance of having a health and safety program in the workplace, and established a 5 percent discount for qualified proactive health and safety programs.
PATHS will provide employers with a single, comprehensive website to view all health and safety related training sessions available through reputable sources. The website will allow employers to maximize training schedules for workers. This training will enable employers to reduce workplace safety- and health-related incidents, resulting in workers' compensation policy premium reductions.

At the PATHS website you can:

• View . . . health and safety training PowerPoint briefings.
• Review . . . course descriptions, objectives and schedules.
• Participate . . . Employers can register online to participate in webinars and training sessions. The Health & Safety Division will host training sessions and conferences on a broad range of health and safety-related topics, including safety culture workshops. Most sessions are free and are open to everyone.
• Learn... about health and safety in the workplace, including accident & illness prevention programs/program elements and the cost benefits associated with a proactive program and forming a certified safety committee to qualify for the 5-percent workers' compensation premium discount.

"Health & Safety Rules & Regulations"

visit the website at: https://www.dli.pa.gov/Businesses/Compensation/WC/safety/paths/Pages/default.aspx

Contact for more information:
RA-LI-BWC-PATHS@pa.gov

Ever wondered what "industrial hygiene" or "occupational and environmental health and safety" careers were all about? Commonly referred to as "IH" and "OEHS," these STEM-oriented jobs are in demand - and can be quite lucrative. (For more information about these careers, visit https://www.oehscareers.org)

In this video, Vishal Nathu, Senior Manager of Workplace Health & Safety at Amazon Logistics, shares how he got started in this rewarding field of work, as well as what his typical day looks like, and how the profession's wide variety of focus makes each challenge new and interesting. Sharing a passion for science while protecting people from work-related health risks – that’s the power of a career in the fields of IH and OEHS.

Take a few minutes to view the video and share with anyone who may be interested!

https://youtu.be/g7PQIHP5Jig

Synergist Webinars are presentations by sponsoring companies on topics of importance to industrial hygiene and occupational health and safety professionals.  There are three types of Synergist Webinars: 

• Educational: a traditional webinar format in which a presenter delivers prepared material on a topic of interest to the IH/OEHS community. These presentations are typically 45 minutes long followed by a 15-minute Q&A session. AIHA updates webinar participants’ educational transcripts to reflect their attendance. Participants can use their transcripts for certification maintenance (1 contact hour for a 60-minute webinar).
• Town Hall: similar to an educational webinar, a Town Hall presentation is created from questions submitted by IH/OEHS professionals. These presentations are typically 60 minutes long. AIHA updates webinar participants’ educational transcripts to reflect their attendance. Participants can use their transcripts for certification maintenance.
• Product Demo: a short presentation of practical tips for using a specific product, similar to the demonstrations that take place at conference exhibits. These presentations are 20 minutes long followed by a 10-minute Q&A. AIHA does not update participants’ educational transcripts for Product Demos.

Attendance at all Synergist Webinars is free.
Visit the page linked here for the long list of archived webinars available for viewing:
​   https://www.aiha.org/publications/the-synergist/synergist-webinars

Keep track of educational transcripts for educational and town hall webinars.  The Synergist team updates these to reflect participation approximately once per month.  You must have an AIHA.org account, but can create a FREE account to be able to track participation for transcripts - use the link below:  
Create a free AIHA.org account

Transcript updates include participants who have watched recorded webinars. The transcript update process has a manual component and can take up to 3–4 weeks to complete. Please take this timeframe into consideration when planning to participate in Synergist Webinars to meet recertification deadlines. Webinar participants will receive an automatic email when their transcripts have been updated.

On Thursday, June 9, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences will host a free webinar about opioids and the workplace with a focus on risk factors and solutions. The webinar, which is sponsored by AIHA, will highlight potential strategies to reduce the negative impact of workplace factors on the opioid crisis and reform punitive policies into supportive ones. Scheduled presenters include AIHA members, Jonathan Rosen and Aurora Le. 

Free Webinar to Focus on Addressing Opioids and the Workplace - ​Click here to learn more.

How Machine Learning Can Improve Worker Health Research: An FAQ  (By: Jennifer Shin)
Industrial hygienists have been collecting personal air monitoring data to characterize worker exposure for decades. And while this data has been, and continues to be, invaluable for ensuring the health and safety of workers in the workplace, it is typically not linked to worker health or clinical data, such as injury and illness statistics, occupational exams (for example, hearing test results), and so on.

• Cost-Effective Education at Your Fingertips
• Catch Up On Contact Hours With OnDemand
• Get Ahead of Emerging Health Hazards
• Access Interactive Case Studies in Product Hazard Assessment
• Use of Direct Reading Instruments Certificate Program – Update Released!
• How to Improve the Safety Climate on Your Construction Site
• Technical Framework: A Resource for Respiratory Protection Programs
• Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene Course

Read more on this page:  https://www.aiha.org/newsletters/education-connection-2022-june