The American Industrial Hygiene Association has announced the top public policy issues that will be of concern for the occupational and environmental health and safety profession over the next two years.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) has released its list of the top public policy issues that will be of concern to AIHA members and the occupational and environmental health and safety (EHS) profession over the next two years.

Based on its biennial membership survey, conducted in October, AIHA’s list identifies the overall top 2011-2012 public policy issues for the association and the professions represented therein:

• Updating Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) — Considered one of the most basic tools needed to protect workers, PELs are consensus-based limits that indicate how long someone can be exposed to a particular substance without experiencing harmful effects. Science in this area has matured, yet many PELs have not been updated since the 1960s and 1970s.
• Injury and Illness Prevention Program (I2P2) — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing a rule to require employers to establish and maintain an I2P2. It involves identifying and controlling hazards as well as planning, implementing, evaluating and improving processes and activities that protect employee safety and health. AIHA supports the need to define effective occupational health and safety programs and that hazard assessment and implementation of a written safety and health program should be part of a minimum professional standard at any work site.
• Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) / Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) — AIHA supports efforts to improve the accuracy of MSDS as well as hazard communication for employers and employees. Such efforts are a key element in protecting workers and others in case of national emergencies. The adoption of the GHS is a big part of improving hazard communication.
• Professional Recognition/Title Protection — Professional recognition/title protection allows industrial hygienists and others who have met minimum educational/experience requirements (such as certified safety professionals) to be legally defined and recognized as competent to perform certain work without needing additional requirements. One concern is the continued influx of specific occupational health and safety titles that are awarded by non-accredited bodies and the attempts to recognize these titles in various policy-making activities.
• OSHA Reform and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Recognition — Each year, Congress introduces and considers legislation to amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act — legislation that addresses criminal penalties, whistle-blower protections, expansion of coverage and the Voluntary Protection Program, among other issues. AIHA supports efforts to review and, if changes provide added protection for workers, amend the OSH Act. AIHA also supports efforts to protect NIOSH from attempts to diminish its importance. AIHA supports appropriations to adequately fund both OSHA and NIOSH.
• Laboratory Accreditation — Accredited laboratories are the best way to ensure that test samples of potential workplace hazards are analyzed correctly. AIHA continues working to see that the AIHA laboratory accreditation program is internationally recognized and noted in federal and state legislation and regulation as a legitimate program.

In addition to these top policy issues, the AIHA survey also identified the most important issues in individual categories pertaining to OSHA, legislative activity and AIHA itself. AIHA will review existing white papers and position statements, as well as draft new position statements, to determine the appropriate response to each of the issues.

Resources

AIHA Top Public Policy Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety Issues
American Industrial Hygiene Association, Dec. 3, 2010

AIHA Unveils Top EHS Public Policy Issues for 2011-2012
by Laura Walter
EHS Today, Dec. 3, 2010