Synergist - September 2009

President’s Message
International Aspirations

This month’s Synergist, which focuses on international issues in industrial hygiene, provides a suitable occasion for re-examining AIHA’s commitment to protecting worker health® worldwide. Last year, the Board Committee for International Development was formed to focus on AIHA’s international program development. Under the leadership of AIHA Director Kevin Gara, this committee is implementing key international activities.

AIHA’s strategic plan includes three main long-term goals for international development. This article is a brief report on our progress in meeting these goals and assuming a greater international leadership role in occupational health and safety.

Goal 1: Increase International
Membership

Our international membership has undergone steady growth in recent years. As of early August, AIHA has 1,164 members in 64 countries outside the U.S. Of those members, 689 reside in Canada, which is hosting both AIHce and PCIH this year. In addition, the international affiliate member category, introduced in 2007, has helped expand AIHA’s presence in developing countries. Currently, AIHA has 152 international affiliate members—an increase of nearly 40 percent since November 2008.

AIHA’s educational programs have been remarkably successful in spurring membership growth in China, which has more members than any country other than the U.S. and Canada. Last October, AIHA held a well-received Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene (FIH) course in Shanghai. Nearly 50 EHS practitioners attended the course, and plans are in the works for additional events in China.

AIHA is also exploring the possibility of holding the FIH course in India and conducting on-site training in Kuwait.

Goal 2: Guidelines and Standards

The AIHA Standards Council ensures that AIHA maintains an appropriate level of involvement in international standards development activities. One of its crucial functions is to coordinate communication between the Board and AIHA’s representatives to standards committees.

Currently, AIHA serves as secretariat for American National Standards Institute (ANSI) committees on industrial ventilation systems, respiratory protection, and occupational health and safety management systems. AIHA also maintains representatives to committees in other standards organizations, including ASTM, NFPA, ISO, and IEC.

Now more than ever, standards activities that directly impact practicing IHs in the U.S. are taking shape outside of North America. The AIHA Board believes it is paramount that we remain abreast of these meetings and participate in those that have the most potential to impact our profession.

Goal 3: Strengthen Collaborations
Some of AIHA’s most successful collabo-
rations with related organizations have
involved co-sponsorship of conferences
that bring together practitioners from
around the world to discuss important is-
sues in occupational safety and health.
The most recent example is the June
2009 Occupational and Environmental
Exposure of Skin to Chemicals (OEESC)
conference in Scotland, which AIHA
cosponsored with the British Occupa-
tional Hygiene Society. And next month,
AIHA will sponsor the 9th International
Conference on Industrial Ventilation in
Zurich, Switzerland.

Future Directions

The plight of workers in nations undergoing rapid industrialization represents perhaps the most urgent challenge facing our profession. Bringing the science of industrial hygiene to developing nations is a complicated problem; solving it will require a long-term commitment.

Yet the seeds of success are being sown. The Breakthrough Thinking competition at AIHce 2009 encouraged atten-dees to propose innovative solutions to long-standing problems in the profession. In October, a representative of the winning team from that competition will present ideas for improving international worker health and safety to the Board at PCIH in Vancouver. Whether or not the Board decides to implement the proposal, the Breakthrough Thinking competition and the quality of ideas generated by our members have reminded us that we possess the expertise, vision, and commitment that leaders aspire to.