Industrial hygiene and safety professionals, your mission if you so choose, is to learn the most effective methods of protecting workers and the public against disease and injury -- prevention -- at this year's American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHCE).
More than 200 professional development seminars, approximately 100 technical sessions and nearly 50 roundtables will be available at "Prevention -- Our Mission for the 21st Century."
The conference, sponsored by the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, is expected to draw an estimated 10,000 attendees May 22-25 to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
More than 400 safety and health companies will be represented at this year's exposition. (Stop by Occupational Hazards' Booth 1020).
Conference Highlights
Monday. Keynote speaker for the opening session at 8 a.m. will be Charles T. Morecraft, who was as an Exxon refinery worker and manager of safety for 27 years. Morecraft was critically injured in an explosion that burned more than 45 percent of his body. As he recounts his n personal tragedy, Morecraft will stress the importance of safety standards and the occupational and environmental health and safety profession.
Morning roundtable sessions start at 10 and include "Federal Lead Hazard Control Action Programs," "Hot Topics in Nonionizing Radiation," "Sampling and Laboratory Analysis" and "When the Environment Is a Safety Issue."
Afternoon roundtables begin at 1 and include "Control of Silica Exposure in Construction," featuring speakers from OSHA, the New Jersey Department of Health and NIOSH's Pittsburgh Research Laboratory. "Leadership/Management I" will focus on corporate social responsibility, safety management and global behavioral safety implementation.
Tuesday. OSHA Administrator Charles N. Jeffress begins Tuesday sessions at 8 a.m. by addressing the health and safety of the nation's workers. Also invited to speak at this general session is National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Director Linda Rosenstock.
Roundtables scheduled for Tuesday morning include "Alternative Metrics for Effective Health and Safety Programs," featuring Larry Birkner, McIntyre Birkner and Associates, and D. Woodhull and StephenNewell with Organization Resources Counselors. "Ergonomic Equipment: Issues and Specific Applications" at 10 a.m. will be about how ergonomists select and custom-design ergonomics equipment based on specific application needs. "Emergency Eyewash and Shower Equipment: Understanding ANSI Z358.1 -- 1998," "Forum on Ergonomic Equipment: Issues and Specific Applications" and "Gas and Vapor Detection" end the morning roundtables.
The afternoon roundtables start with a "Forum on Ergonomics: Regulations and Standards in the United States, Canada and Europe." Representatives from Canada, the United Kingdom, Washington and California will talk about the status of ergonomics standards in their areas. "Health Care Industries" will examine timely health issues such as bloodborne pathogens, latex gloves, sharps injuries and infection control.
Wednesday. The morning kicks off at 8 a.m. with Robert F. Kennedy, chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper movement and senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Kennedy will highlight some of his experiences concerning the environment at all levels of the government.
Roundtable discussions start at 10 a.m. and include "Risk Assessment/Risk Management," "A Process for Selecting Ergonomics Equipment," "Evaluation of Protective Clothing Effectiveness and Its Impact on Workers" and "Health and Safety Training Tips for the Industrial Hygienist."
Afternoon roundtables begin at 1 p.m. and feature the "Glen Williamson Forum: Most Interesting OSHA Health Cases, 1997-1999." OSHA representatives from across the country will present 10 cases that depict a wide variety of exposure situations, including tuberculosis, silica, lead and crab asthma.
"Future Impact of Industrial Hygiene: How it May Affect Minorities and Low- Income Workers" will feature speakers from academia, industry and government. They will discuss how safety and health professionals can create both healthier workplaces and community environments.
New Wednesday evening sessions will take place from 6 to 10 and include "Hearing Protection Performance: The Facts and the Fiction," "Ultrafine Particles: A New IAQ Consideration," and "Psychosocial Considerations and Musculoskeletal Disorders."
Thursday. "Cumulative Trauma Disorders Issues," "Critical Review of Health Hazards from Exposure to Mycotoxic Fungi in Indoor Environments," "Gene Therapy Oversight Issues" and "Air Sampling Instrument Performance," among others, are just a few of the morning rountables.
Other morning sessions include "Dermal Hazards in the Workplace I," which will look at occupational dermal exposures to chemicals and methods for assessing risk and developing numerical guidelines for evaluating dermal exposure to surface contaminants. "Mock Trial: Brazado Native vs. U.S. Oil Inc." will contrast the rights of indigenous people against the responsibilities of multinational corporations in a global economy.
"Impact of Industry on Community Environmental Health: Science and Perception" at 1 p.m. will explore public health, risk perception and environmental justice issues associated with community environmental health.
Other afternoon sessions include discussions of "Strange and Unusual Industrial and Environmental Health Investigations" and "Meeting the Digital Information Technology Revolution: Industrial Hygiene and the Internet."