Synergist - June/July 2011

INSIGHT | DEPARTMENT
Volunteers Sought to Advance IH Ethics

from exposures to chemical and physical hazards that are less common today in developed nations. But we need to ask, who sent the ships in the first place? Who creates much of the need for large volumes of cheap clothing? The U.S. and other “ developed countries.” Who’s responsible? The appropriate response is that we all—developed and developing nations alike—are responsible on a global basis. This is why ethics, that moving target, is such a critical issue for workplace health and safety professionals. As we cross borders, we must respond with a foundation of practice that is based on an ever-evolving but critical code.

Code of Ethics

What can the industrial hygiene profession do to improve the situation? What is in our control, as individual practitioners, to improve the health and safety of global work conditions?

American industrial hygienists, as well as certified industrial hygienists (CIHs) in other parts of the world, have a very well developed professional code of ethics, via the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH), by which we practice. This code is the result of ongoing scrutiny and hard work on the part of ABIH executive director, diplomates and board of directors, so that an enforceable set of standards of industrial hygiene practice functions to protect the integrity of the profession. Whether we approve or disapprove, the ABIH Professional Code of Ethics has in the past, and will in the future, be used as a benchmark by other nations, especially by those with nascent national industrial hygiene associations. Even though the U.S. is no longer the only world power and the European Union is a major force in shaping global health and safety, the U.S. and its policies and codes are still used as the template or boilerplate for many other parts of the world.

AIHA® and ABIH fully support many global initiatives. Both organizations work closely with the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), the International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA) and the Occupational Hygiene Training Association (OHTA), and have strong relationships with occupational hygiene organizations in many countries, including Canada, India, Bulgaria, China and Taiwan. We support these organizations by working collaboratively on global industrial hygiene education and training, international occupational exposure standards, certification standards, and interactive committees such as the International Affairs Committee. Our organizations’ support for the OHLearning.com global training program allows ABIH and AIHA to interface with more than two dozen national occupational hygiene associations. These intermediate industrial hygiene training modules, created and maintained by developed nations and taught by CIHs and ROHs, will indeed positively influence the professional ethics of future industrial hygienists. (For more information, refer to “Meeting Global Industrial Hygiene Needs” in the May 2011 Synergist.)

Moving Forward

While engaged in collaborative work throughout the world, many AIHA and ABIH volunteers are in a position not only to affect ethical considerations of worker health and safety, but also provide feedback regarding the cultural implications of our code in other parts of the world. Constructive feedback will hopefully continue to shape and guide our professional ethics. Ethics may be a moving target, but our profession is up to the task if we continue to listen and communicate effectively. The health and safety of workers everywhere depends on each of us acting diligently and ethically, and continously moving forward.

Nancy McClellan, MPH, CIH, CHMM, is a self-employed consultant and a past director and committee chair on the ABIH board of directors. She currently represents ABIH as liaison to JIHEEC and the global Occupational Hygiene Training Association (OHTA) of the International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA). She was recently selected to serve on the OHTA board of directors. She can be reached at (224) 357-8028 or nancy.mcclellan@comcast.net.

THANK YOU!

We couldn’t have done it without you!

www.aiha.org/syntestseries

Attendees
Exhibitors
Presenters
Session Arangers,
Monitors, Moderators
Permanent Conference Committee
Continuing Education Committee
Vendor Partners
Advertisers
co-sponsored by AIHA® & ACGIH®