Tuesday, October 30

Breakfast Discussions (BD)

7:00 a.m.–8:30 a.m.
Tickets are limited. A continental breakfast is included; note special dietary requirements when registering. Tickets are $35 through October 12; $45 after October 12.

  BD 4
Evaluating Literature and Research Data – Applying the Critical Appraisal Approach

Moderator: Jan Chappel, MHSc, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Hamilton, ON Canada

With millions of documents available by the click of a mouse, the need to know when you have found reliable, credible information has never been greater. Learn how to apply critical appraisal methods – the process of systematically examining research evidence to assess its validity, results, and relevance before using it to make an informed decision – to all your research needs. Highlighted will be appraising chemical and toxicological research data to make informed chemical classification decisions.

  BD 5
Technology Transfer: WEELs Are Just the Start

Moderators: Andrew Maier, PhD, DABT, CIH, Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment, Cincinnati, OH; Susan Ripple, MS, CIH, The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI; Robert Roy, PhD, DABT, 3M, St. Paul, MN

Occupational exposure limits such as the Workplace Environmental Exposure Levels (WEELs) remain a key resource for industrial hygienists. The traditional role of industrial hygiene is expanding and is requiring fluency in new methods and tools. This session will discuss venues for information exchange and technology transfer for enhanced occupational risk assessment.

  BD 6
SDS and Label Author Registry: Expanding the Value of the Profession

Moderator: Denese Deeds, CIH, Industrial Health & Safety Consultants, Huntington, CT

AIHA Registries Programs LLC and the Society for Chemical Hazard Communication have collaborated in the development of the SDS and Label Author Registry. This registry is the first credential for hazard communicators and is in a position to elevate the practice of SDS and label preparation. Development began with a small group of volunteers from both associations in 2011, and the first proficiency was offered in March 2012. This registry impacts many outside the traditional practice of industrial hygiene and expands the influence of AIHA. The registry already has more than 50 registrants, and many individuals have applied for the exam. AIHA has been approached by companies and individuals from Europe and India to discuss possible administration of the exam there. Join us to discuss the how the registry was conceived, the development of the proficiency and the future of this registry as we look to an international future.

 

General Session

9:00 a.m.–9:45 a.m.

 Incorporating Prevention through Design Methods into the Design and Redesign Process

Frank M. Renshaw, PhD, CIH, CSP, Bayberry EHS Consulting, LLC, Cherry Hill, NJ

This presentation summarizes a recent NIOSH-sponsored project to develop a Model Prevention through Design (PtD) Program. The purpose of the program is to assist organizations in assessing and addressing the health and safety impacts of new and modified facilities, equipment, processes, work methods and products during the design and redesign stage. The program includes: (1) a model environmental, health, and safety policy statement and management system language that defines PtD and commits an organization to PtD methods; (2) strategic guidance in the form of model work processes and procedures to integrate PtD with the design and redesign process; and (3) tactical guidance in the form of tools and practices to assist business leaders, designers, engineers, industrial hygienists, and safety professionals in applying PtD methods.

9:45 a.m.–10:00 a.m.
Business Meeting

10:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Exhibit Hall Break

 

Concurrent Sessions

10:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m.

 

 Concurrent session 1
Nanotechnology: Protecting Workers from the Smallest Hazards

Betsy Shelton, MSIH, Applied Nanotech, Inc., Austin, TX; Kevin H. Dunn, MSEE, CIH, NIOSH, Cincinnati, OH

Nanotechnology is a rapidly emerging industry that has been identified as a critical U.S. scientific and commercial enterprise with global economic benefits. As nanomaterials are being introduced into the marketplace, it is vital that worker safety and health be protected to ensure responsible development and growth. In this session, a safety and health manager for a nanotechnology company and a NIOSH engineer will discuss approaches to addressing workplace safety and health at the facility level. The presentations will provide a general overview of the risks associated with using nanomaterials in an R&D laboratory environment. Nanoparticle behavior and associated hazards will be discussed with emphasis placed on evaluating and controlling exposure to nanomaterials.

 

 Concurrent session 2
Performance Metrics for EHS – The Good, Bad and Ugly

Glenn Barbi, CIH, Becton Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ; Deborah Martin, CIH, MPH, Pacific Biosciences, Menlo Park, CA; S. Zack Mansdorf, PhD, CIH, CSP, QEP, Sustainability Consultants, Boca Raton, FL

The GRI is the acknowledged gold standard for public reporting of EHS performance within the realm of sustainability. It sets the minimums for public reporting, but not all the indicators meet the stated goals of the GRI. What’s wrong and what’s important for now and the future version of the GRI and public reporting in general?

 

Luncheon Discussions (LD)

11:45 a.m.–1:15 p.m.

Tickets are limited. A light lunch is included; note special dietary requirements when registering. Tickets are $45 through October 12; $55 after October 12.

  LD 4
Incorporating Prevention through Design Methods into the Design and Redesign Process – NIOSH perspective

Moderator: Donna Heidel, MS, CIH, CDC/NIOSH, Cincinnati, OH

A key component to the successful organizational implementation of Prevention through Design (PtD) is the development of a process to identify the occupational health and safety hazards and assess/minimize the associated risks of new processes, products and facilities in the design/redesign stage. ANSI’s Z10 Standard on OHS Management Systems and OSHA’s Process Safety Management Standard also call for such a process. While the principles are clearly articulated by these authoritative sources, the methodology to address health and safety impacts at the design stage has been left to the health and safety (H&S) professional, engineer, and operations manager. Integrating PtD into an organization’s OHSMS and engineering design and project delivery using a life cycle approach will be covered. Inclusion of prevention considerations in all designs will be reinforced with examples. The H&S activities to support each design stage along with the stage gate approach of capital projects will be presented for open discussion. Management of change and linking the level of OHS review to the magnitude of change will be discussed. OHS deliverables such as H&S performance specifications and design deliverables such as costs and benefits will be stressed. Checklists and other hazard assessment techniques will be discussed as options in conducting project reviews. Finally, the need for ongoing performance testing of controls will be discussed.

  LD 5
High Tech Devices

Moderator: Mark Rollins, CIH, CSP, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA

This discussion will center around the proliferation and use of "smart devices" in the industrial hygiene /EH&S profession. Participants are encouraged to share best practices and use scenarios that may benefit all attendees.

   LD 6
Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics – Why Mark Twain Got It Wrong

Moderators: Paul Hewett, PhD, CIH, Exposure Assessment Solutions, Inc., Morgantown, WV; Cheryl Metzler, CIH, BP, Seadrift, TX

This discussion will examine the role of statistical analysis in retrospective exposure assessments, prospective risk assessment (i.e., occupational hygiene decision making), and in litigation support. Participants will be encouraged to share their own experience and opinions.

  LD 7
Championing Industrial Hygienists, Changing Industrial Hygiene - The Future of Certification and the Profession

Moderator: Lydia Renton, CIH, ROH, Chair, ABIH Board of Directors and WESA, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

ABIH's organizational purpose is to increase the number of Certified Industrial Hygienists, maintain the global value of the CIH, and ensure that CIHs act ethically and professionally. While the challenges and opportunities for practicing industrial hygiene keep expanding, the numbers of CIHs do not.  Is our profession morphing? Are we too comprehensive? Too specialized? Do you agree or disagree? Help us with solutions—give us your ideas— conservative and simple, wild and crazy, irrational or not—to promote our profession and our certification.

 

Platform Session, Concurrent Sessions, Workshops and Technical Tour

Registration for these sessions, except the technical tour, is included in the conference fee. There is a nominal fee for the technical tour. Registration is required for workshops and the technical tour.

12:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m.

 Technical Tour 2
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas, Inc. (TMMTX) (registration required)

Tickets are $35 through October 12; $45 after October 12.

During the tour you will hear and see what goes into the manufacturing of the Toyota Tundra and Tacoma as they roll off the line each day at the 2.2 million square feet facility. Participants will visit the Body Weld Shop to watch a team of computer-controlled robots use state-of-the-art technology to weld stamp steel pieces together. The visit will also include the Plastics Shop where critical components, including the vehicle bumpers and instrument panels, are made. Also see overhead conveyors transport the trucks from Paint to the Final Line in assembly.

Restrictions: No carry-on items are permitted in the plant facility, including purses, backpacks, briefcases, or bags of any kind. A valid photo ID will be required for each adult scheduled for the tour. Cameras are allowed in the Visitor Center but must be checked at the registration desk before the plant tour. No cameras or camera phones are allowed in the manufacturing facility. Long pants must be worn by guests (no skirts or shorts. Capri pants are allowed. Shirts must have a sleeve. Short sleeve is acceptable. (No tank tops or sleeveless shirts permitted). Close-toed shoes are required. No sandals, flip-flops, or Croc-type shoes permitted.

 

1:30 p.m.–3:00 p.m.

  Concurrent Session 5
LEED and Safety: Is it Leading Anywhere?

Matt Gillen, CIH , CDC/NIOSH, Washington, DC; Sathy Rajendran, PhD, CSP, CRIS, LEED AP, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA

With the advent of the LEED® (US Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system, green building design and construction has become more prevalent in the U.S. construction industry. Recent studies have investigated the impacts of green design and construction on construction worker safety and health. Green construction represents an opportunity to promote worker safety and health as a fundamental dimension of true sustainability. This presentation will focus on: (1) the impacts of LEED rating system on worker safety and health; (2) some of the changes needed to improve worker safety and health performance on LEED projects; and (3) current efforts and perspectives on engaging the green building community. 

 

1:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

  Platform Session 2
Product Stewardship Defined: Regulatory and Public Opinion Impact on the Practice

Tom Grumbles, CIH, Nexeo Solutions, LLC, Spring, TX; Susan Eastridge, CIH, Solvay Flourides, LLC, Houston, TX; John Mikan, CIH, Experien Health Sciences, Inc., Kingwood, TX; Susan Ripple, MS, CIH, The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI

The public and business to business pressures for product stewardship are growing. The definitions and elements of a good program are becoming better defined as regulatory content and Industry Association programs grow.  Industrial hygienists are well suited to perform the functions needed for these activities. This session will review current trends and issues associated with product stewardship programs and how industrial hygienist can contribute.

 

Workshops (WS)

Workshops include electronic handouts; internet access is not provided.

 WS 4
A Continuum of Exposure Guidance Resources: Relating Hazard Bands, DNELS, and OELs (registration required)

Andrew Maier, PhD, CIH, DABT, Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment, Cincinnati, OH; Donna Heidel, MS, CIH; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH; Robert Roy, PhD, DABT, 3M, St. Paul, MN; Susan Ripple, MS, CIH, The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI

Description
The sheer number of chemicals in commerce makes the development of a traditional occupational exposure limit for every chemical an overwhelming goal. This reality does not require the industrial hygienist to forgo a robust risk assessment for chemical handling in their workplaces. The fundamental core of the occupational risk assessment process is the comparison of an estimate of exposure potential with a chemical’s toxic potency – often called a hazard quotient. At its root this basic comparison can be done using qualitative and quantitative methods and can use exposure guidance in many different forms.
Together, the available tools provide a continuum of resources that can cover most occupational risk assessment needs.

Upon completion, the participant will be able to:

• Discuss the array of different sources and types of chemical exposure guidance, their uses and limitations, and the linkage between them.

 WS 5
Integrating Risk Assessment into Cost Benefit Analysis for Decision Making (registration required)

Frank Hearl, PE, CDC/NIOSH, Washington, DC; Cristina McLaughlin, Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD; Rene Pana-Cryan, PhD, NIOSH Economics Program, Washington, DC

Description
Risk analysis is the framework for decision makers and regulators to use risk assessment, risk management, cost-benefit analysis (CBA), cost effectiveness analysis (CEA), and risk communication in order to reduce the public impact of risks, especially, health and safety risks. Decision making is complicated by the need to balance the interests of the different stakeholders affected by the decision. Risk assessment provides methods on how to use probabilistic techniques instead of deterministic calculations when deciding among options. Economic analysis provides methods to characterize trade-offs and provide decision makers with better information when making difficult choices among options. This workshop is designed to provide attendees with tools to help them interpret health outcomes estimated in risk assessments, understand how those outcomes are used in a CBA, and use that information to make risk-based decisions. In particular, the workshop will focus on currently used techniques to integrate risk assessment into CBA and how they can be used to arrive at a decision.

Participants will work through a simplified case study in which they will have the opportunity to use information about risk and economic consequences of various policy/decision alternatives.

Upon completion, the participant will be able to:

• Understand different models for estimating the impacts of decisions.
• Apply these models to predict market or consumer behaviors that affect risks.
• Understand how decision models integrate risk and economic information for CBA and CEA.

 WS 6
30,000 Censored Occupational Samples: Diving into the 2012 Deep Water Response Data Sets (registration required)

Paul Hewett, PhD, CIH, Exposure Assessment Solutions, Inc., Morgantown, WV; Cheryl Metzler, CIH, BP, Houston, TX

Description
During the Deepwater Horizon Response, over 31,000 and 1600 personal samples were collected by BP and three federal agencies, respectively. Each sample was typically analyzed for five analytes, resulting in a combined database consisting of over 160,000 records. Analytes represented in the database include total hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (e.g., benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene), active ingredients of oil dispersants, and numerous other compounds and substances. The majority of the measurements were non-detects, complicating the statistical analysis. Even so, the database is extraordinarily rich in information on the actual (and potential) occupational exposures experienced by the more than 50,000 workers involved.

This workshop is designed to familiarize the participants with the various occupational exposure datasets collected during the Deepwater Horizon Response. All four raw datasets will be shown, as well as a combined database to which uniform location/vessel names, job/task names, and exposure zones (offshore, nearshore, and beach) variables have been added. Statistical and graphical analyses performed to date will be briefly presented, as well as a discussion of the issues involved when statistically analyzing datasets that consist primarily of non-detects. Emphasis will be placed on the extraction of data necessary to address research questions.

Participants will practice extracting and statistically analyzing occupational exposure data, using data analysis questions suggested by the moderators and participants. This dataset is unique given the level of effort that went into collecting the data, the quality of the data, and overall number of personal samples devoted to a specific incident. Every dataset has a story to tell, and the focus of this workshop will be on illuminating the story by developing the skills and understanding necessary to extract and analyze the data required to address specific research questions.

Upon completion, the participant will be able to:

• Recognize the difference between datasets needed to answer prospective, real-time, and retrospective questions regarding 2010 Deepwater Horizon Response.
• Understand the occupational exposure datasets developed by OSHA, NIOSH, the U.S. Coast Guard, and BP during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Response.
• Establish a framework for interpreting the database analysis outcomes.
• Use the combined database to address research questions regarding the measured occupational exposures for specific combinations of analyte, location/vessel, job/task, exposure zone, and time frame.
• Extract specific data from the combined database for statistical and graphical analysis.

 

3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

  Concurrent Session 6
Leading with Lagging Indicators: How API 754 Leveraged the Heinrich Pyramid for Personal Safety to Improve  Process Safety

Karen Haase, American Petroleum Institute, Washington, DC; John Grabowski, CIH, CSP, QEP, CITGO Petroleum Corp, Houston, TX, Kelly Keim, ExxonMobil, Houston, TX; Shakeel Kadri, Air Products, Allentown, PA

The now-familiar Heinrich accident pyramid model represents a predictive relationship between lower and higher consequence personal safety events.  It is believed that a similar predictive relationship exists between lower and higher consequence events that relate to process safety. It is hoped that API 754, Process Safety Performance Indicators for the Refining and Petrochemical Industries, will drive process safety improvement much like the personal safety improvements witnessed during the last few decades.