While there are still a few days before the actual traveling begins, AIHA and ACGIH have enabled attendees to virtually head to AIHce 2009 by visiting www.aiha.org/expo2009.htm. There you'll find tools useful not only for planning your time and setting schedules for booth visits during the actual conference but also for "visiting" participating companies by categories and viewing press releases, new product information, and announcements of show specials.
Whether you regularly travel internationally or AIHce 2009 will provide your first opportunity to make "discoveries beyond borders," knowing the latest currency exchange rates, customs rules, and passport law changes is a good idea.
It is no secret that more and more of today's conferences are working to become "green," incorporating environmental considerations in the events to minimize as much as possible any negative environmental impacts. But even among proactive organizations, the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists are standing on a verdant level apart in light of the initiatives they are implementing for AIHce 2009, which promises to be the greenest gathering in the event's history.
Next week this time, we--and hopefully many of you, especially if you're a professional in the occupational and environmental health & safety industry--will be in multifaceted Toronto, Canada's economic capital and, with more than 2.5 million residents, its most populous city. While the 70th anniversary of AIHce is the draw, plenty will be going on outside the walls of the Toronto Convention Centre, so while the bag packing is still a few days away, now is a good time to consider some of the extracurricular options on the agenda.
More than a million toys have been voluntarily recalled by the company due to the possible presence of lead in the paint; the items are being stored at its facilities in Illinois and Iowa.
The facility failed to report many hazardous chemicals stored at the site including sulfuric acid, lead, zinc, and hydrochloric acid, EPA said.
Attendees planning to make the most of AIHce 2009 by arriving for the weekend preceding the conference proper will be able to take advantage of a number of pre-conference offerings scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, May 30-31.
Continuing the momentum fueled by X Prize Foundation creator Dr. Peter H. Diamandis' headlining presentation on Monday, June 1, AIHce 2009 keynote speakers Edward L. Quevedo, J.D., and Kristen Kulinowski, Ph.D., will share their expertise from the Toronto Convention Centre's main stage Tuesday and Wednesday, June 2-3, respectively.
Celebrating 70 years of being the largest annual gathering of industrial hygienists, AIHce organizers have upped the educational ante for the 2009 version of the event, taking place in Toronto, May 30-June 4. Not only will an unprecedented five types of certification maintenance options be offered, but new electronic features will be available for the majority of pre-conference professional development courses (PDCs).
The last time the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists held their annual conference and exposition in Toronto—for AIHce 1999—most American participants did not have to worry about remembering to pack their passport just to attend the show and return home without a hassle. This year, they do.
It has been 10 years since the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists last held their annual conference and exposition in Toronto, but in honor of the 70th anniversary of the event, the show returns to this "City of Creativity" at the end of the month. Appropriately, the theme for AIHce 2009, happening May 30 through June 4 at the Toronto Convention Centre, is "Discoveries Beyond Borders."
How can industrial hygienists begin to use some of the energy, inspiration, and creative thinking described in Dr. Peter Diamandis' opening session and apply it to longstanding challenges faced by the profession?
A special, day-long set of panels on improving working conditions in global supply chains will be held on Tuesday, June 2, at AIHce 2009 in Toronto.
"OSHA's process safety management regulations are designed to reduce or eliminate workplace hazards associated with the catastrophic release of highly hazardous chemicals," said Patricia Jones, director of OSHA's area office in Avenel, N.J., which conducted the investigation.
The recent H1N1 influenza epidemic has raised many questions about how animal viruses move to human populations. One potential route is through veterinarians, who, according to a new report by University of Iowa College of Public Health researchers, are at markedly increased risk of infection with zoonotic pathogens--the viruses and bacteria that can infect both animals and humans.
President Obama has chosen Dr. Thomas Frieden, commissioner of New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for seven years, to replace Julie Gerberding atop CDC, according to news reports today.
This year's awards recognize research that made ambulances safer for EMS workers and passengers and also EMS protective clothing recommendations used in the 2008 edition of the NFPA 1999 standard.
A secondhand smoke Health Hazard Evaluation triggered by confidential requests from non-poker dealers at Bally's, Paris, and Caesars Palace casinos found evidence of exposure to a known carcinogen from tobacco smoke, based on measurable levels in their urine.
Recipient Erik P. Delaney, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who specializes in EH&S, hazmat, and safety management, "has distinguished himself by the breadth and depth of his knowledge regarding the management of hazardous materials, and through the professionalism he exhibits in dealing with the public, his co-workers, and other industry professionals," said IHMM Board of Directors Chair Elizabeth Pfeiffer.
The manufacture of PCBs was banned in 1979. "These federal rules are intended to protect human health and the environment from risks posed by these toxic chemicals," said Daniel Duncan, EPA's regional PCB program coordinator in Seattle.