Dr David Michaels of OSHA is the recipient of the William Steiger Memorial Award which honors individuals from the socialpolitical sphere whose efforts have contributed to advancements in occupational health and safety

AIHce 2013: AIHA and ACGIH Celebrate Professional Excellence and Contributions

May 20, 2013
Thousands of industrial hygienists and other EHS professionals celebrated the accomplishments of leaders in the EHS field at AIHce 2103 in Montreal.

The best way to start off AIHce 2013 in Montreal is  a celebration of industrial hygiene professionals and others who have made significant contributions to EHS.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) and the American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists announced the following 2013 Award recipients:

The William Steiger Memorial Award honors individuals from the social/political sphere whose efforts have contributed to advancements in occupational health and safety. Initiated in 1979, this award is not limited to occupational safety and health professionals. The 2013 winner is Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor, OSHA. Since his appointment as assistant secretary in December 2009, Michaels has worked to strengthen the agency’s enforcement in high risk industries, improve OSHA’s whistleblower protection program, promote common sense worker protection programs and standards, expand compliance assistance provided to small employers and increase outreach to the vulnerable populations who are at greatest risk for work-related injury and illness. He has also increased OSHA’s focus and capabilities in the areas of data analysis and program evaluation.

Michaels is an epidemiologist, currently on leave from his position as professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at the George Washington University School of Public Health. He is the author of studies examining the health of construction workers, printers, bus drivers and other occupations, as well as of numerous publications on science and regulatory policy. From 1998 to 2001, Michaels served as assistant secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety and Health. In that position, he was the chief architect of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, the historic initiative to compensate nuclear weapons workers who contracted occupational illnesses as a result of exposure to radiation, beryllium and other hazards.

The Edward J. Baier Technical Achievement Award is given to the individual or group of individuals, company, academic institution, organization or association that has made the most significant contribution to industrial hygiene in recent years. The 2013 recipient is Norman W. Henry, III, CIH, who has been a contributing member of AIHA for over 30 years and is one of the leading technical experts on chemical protective clothing. Since his retirement from DuPont after 37 years, Henry continues to operate his own industrial hygiene consulting company and teaches at the Delaware Technical School and Community College.

The Distinguished Service Award recognizes distinguished service in the advancement of industrial hygiene and unique technical contributions to the aims and goals of the American Industrial Hygiene Association. The 2013 recipient is S. Z. (Zack) Mansdorf, PhD, CIH, CSP, QEP, who has had a distinguished career in industrial hygiene with a record of service that has advanced both the profession and the associations that represent those members. His professional career is unique, having served his country as an Army Bioenvironmental Engineer in Seoul, Korea; educating students as an adjunct associate professor on the Cleveland State faculty; starting his own business that provided industrial hygiene service to clients; and working for L’Oreal in Paris as the senior vice president of safety, health and environment.

The Donald E. Cummings Memorial Award is given for outstanding contributions to the knowledge and practice of industrial hygiene. The recipient presents the Cummings Memorial Lecture at the AIHCE. The 2013 recipient is Lindsay E. Booher, CIH, CSP. Booher’s contributions to the professional practice are extensive, resulting in a significant and sustained reduction of worker exposures across the petrochemical industry. He played a major role in the development of the AIHA Exposure Assessment Strategy, and he is commonly cited as the global subject matter expert in the identification and control of potential benzene exposures in the petrochemical industry.

The Kusnetz Award honors a certified hygienist who has not reached his or her 40th birthday by May 1 of the year in which the award is presented; currently employed in the private sector; exhibits high ethical standards and technical abilities; has provided for the highest standards of health and safety protection; and who shows promise of leadership in the industrial hygiene profession. The 2013 recipient is Melissa Ling Cheszek, CIH, CEM, LEED-AP. In addition to her role in founding the Green Building Working Group, Cheszek has been involved in the Strategic Advisory Board for the AIHA Registry Programs. Cheszek is skilled in developing and presenting high-impact training programs to a wide range of audiences.

The Alice Hamilton Award is presented to an outstanding woman who has made a definitive, lasting achievement in the field of occupational and environmental hygiene through public and community service, social reform, technological innovation or advancements in the scientific approach to the recognition, evaluation and control of workplace hazards. The 2013 recipient is Susan D. Ripple, MS, CIH, has more than 25 years of professional, technical and management expertise in industrial hygiene, exposure assessment, risk management and regulatory product safety. As the Dow Chemical Co.’s senior manager of Industrial Hygiene Expertise Center, she manages a team of 43 ABIH-certified industrial hygienists who provide their expertise, risk management strategies and product stewardship for approximately 52,000 employees in over 200 manufacturing facilities in 20 countries.

The Yant Award is presented annually for outstanding contributions in industrial hygiene or allied fields to an individual residing outside the United States. The 2013 recipient is Jukka Takala, PhD (DSc), BSc, MSc, who is an adjunct professor at the Tampere University of Technology in Finland and the secretary general of the International Panel for Working Life. He has served the European Union as the director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, and was appointed executive director of the Workplace Safety and Health Institute in Singapore in December 2011. Takala recently agreed to serve on the Advisory Council for the Center for Safety and Health Sustainability.

About the Author

Sandy Smith

Sandy Smith is the former content director of EHS Today, and is currently the EHSQ content & community lead at Intelex Technologies Inc. She has written about occupational safety and health and environmental issues since 1990.

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