July 2009
Vol 17, No. 2

NEWSLETTER
Contents

Pam and you may see their comments, right after Pam’s
article on her involvement with IOHA.

1

Letter from the Editor

1

Pamela Blythe is retiring from IOHA

3

News from the IOHA Board

4

8th IOHA International Scientific Conference

4-6

IOHA Collaborations

7-11

News from Member Associations

12-14

News from WHO Collaborating Centres

15News from EU-OSHA

16-21

Contributions from ReadersThis issue was supposed to be shorter, because it was
decided to have three and not two IOHA Newsletters per
year; however, somehow it got long again, therefore I am
making my letter very short.
Over the years, all of us have worried about obstacles toprevention and an important one is lack of political will on
the part of decision makers at all levels. The
underestimation of occupational health problems and thelack of knowledge on available possibilities for theirsolution have certainly contributed to that. Our next issue(November 2009) will give much attention to this matterand any contribution from readers would be mostwelcome, even if only one example of a proven case ofunderestimation of an occupational disease.

Letter from the Editor
Dear Colleagues,
Pamela Blythe, who has been a key person for IOHA anda good friend to all of us somehow connected with IOHA,
is going to retire. We are all sad but also glad for her
because we are sure she will start a new, happy, relaxed
and rewarding phase of her life. I take this opportunity tothank Pam for all she has done for IOHA and for theincredible work she has done to post (beautifully) ourNewsletter and wish her the very best ! I have asked
some (not all because there would be no place for somany ☺) Board Members to express their appreciation to

Although October 2010 seems far away, time flies, so startplanning your participation at the 8th IOHA International
Scientific Conference (see below the deadline for
abstracts). Not only the programme is excellent, with very
timely topics, but it will be in Rome! no need to comment☺
As always, I would like to thank all of you who sent
contributions, and ask for comments and suggestions forthe improvement of this Newsletter.
Best greetings to all.
Berenice Goelzer
berenice@goelzer.net

Pamela Blythe is retiring from IOHA
IOHA—A Personal History

Sent by Pamela Blythe, E-mail: pamela.blythe@ioha.net

As I approach my final few
months of service to IOHA, I
thought I would chronicle myinvolvement with IOHA since1991.
Way back then, IOHA had only
been formed for four years and,
apart
from
the
inauguralmeeting, had only held one
meeting per year.
Working relationships had not
really been formed and everyone appeared to be blaming
the Secretariat for the fact that nothing much was being

done. One of the first jobs I was asked to do, in order totry to establish the fact that the lack of activity wasn’t
actually the Secretariat’s fault, was to keep a log ofrequests to Board members for information on their actions(quite a long list) and a log of replies of what had actually
been done (quite a short list). All this was in the pre-email
era, so all the communication was by letter, fax or land-line
telephone and, therefore, quite a long-winded process.
The first Board meeting I attended was in Edinburgh in
September 1991, a meeting associated with BOHS’
Inhaled Particles VII conference. I think I was probably
there more as an observer than having a function, and I

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 20091

remember having great difficulty in understanding what
was being said, not just because of the number of different
accents in the room, but because the “language” ofoccupational hygiene was virtually unknown to me.
Having survived the Edinburgh experience, BOHS thendemonstrated its commitment to running the IOHA
Secretariat by funding my travel and accommodation to thenext Board meeting so that I could provide on-site support
for the Board in addition to the regular office based
support. That meeting took place in Brussels in December
1992 and was held in association with the 1st IOHA
International Conference, organised jointly by the Dutch
and Belgian Associations. After that IOHA concluded that
Secretariat support at each of its Board meetings was
crucial and agreed to fund them in the future. I don’t think
I’ve missed one since.
The presence of regular Secretariat support at Board
Meetings, coincided with an improvement in working
relationships between Board Members and led IOHA tocomplete two vitally important forward steps towards
becoming a credible organisation, by achieving NGO
status with both WHO and ILO. Since then these two
NGO relationships have played a central role in IOHA’s
strategy and workplans.

Another crucial IOHA activity is its international
conferences (1st in Brussels, Belgium 1992, 2nd in Hong
Kong 1994, 3rd in Crans Montana, Switzerland in 1997,
4th in Cairns, Australian in 2000, 5th in Bergen, Norway in
2002, 6th in Pilanesberg, South Africa in 2005 and 7th in
Taiwan in 2008). All these conferences have been a great
success and brought a long-lasting impact to themembership organisations who were responsible forputting them together.
Two further conferences areplanned, Roma in Italy in September 2010, and Kuala
Lumpur in Malaysia in 2012.
The Kuala Lumpur
conference will also coincide with IOHA’s 25th anniversary.
So, having been involved with IOHA since 1991, I am now
stepping down and moving on to other things; the Board
meeting in Bilbao in October 2009 will be my last. My
place as Executive Secretary of IOHA has been taken by
Sandi Atkinson (sandi.atkinson@ioha.net). She and I are
working in parallel until Bilbao after which she will assume
full control, and I wish her the very best. I have very muchenjoyed working with IOHA, where I have met people whoare exceptionally dedicated in their promotion ofoccupational hygiene, and I wish them and IOHA every
good fortune for the future.

Some messages from the IOHA President and Board Members, from many different
countries, many of whom are past presidents
From Danilo Cottica, Italy, IOHA President “When I
joined the Board many years ago I had a lot of problems inunderstanding English (you are thinking also now?) but
Pam was very patient with me and explained to me“slowly” about the situation and/or the decisions to betaken; she “interpreted” my sentences and always
understood what my opinion was! What a big help she has
been to me and how patient with my delay in answering to
her request for opinion. Pamela knows all about IOHA; sheis the “historical memory” of IOHA, and has an answer for
every question and a proposal to solve the problems of a“multiple language and countries” Association. Pam, you
are leaving your position in IOHA just now that I am
President... I shall really miss you!!! But I am confident in
the future because you told me that I shall be in “new good
hands”! Hi Pam, take care of you!
From Tom Grumbles, USA, IOHA Immediate Past
President “With Pamela’s retirement I of course have very
mixed emotions. I am very happy and in fact envious ofher being able to enter this next phase of life of “leisurely
retirement”. I am however saddened and wondering how
IOHA will go on without her. She is the “corporate” history
and quite literally a walking history book of all things
IOHA. Her ability to bring me current on any historicalmatter with a simple phone call has been very valuable in
my time on the IOHA Board. She will be missed.”
From Michel Guillemin, Switzerland “Although Pamela
started her work one or two years after I was president of
the IOHA, I have worked with her many times and I haveenjoyed her nice character, as well as her professionalismand efficiency. She helped IOHA to become a more visible
Association, thanks to the website and her fruitful andintelligent contribution.”

From Kurt Leichnitz, Germany“From the very
beginning, I know Pamela very well. I enjoyed thecooperation with her, and I have appreciated her advice formany years. I agree with Tom; Pamela is IOHA’s walking
history. And I really hope she will give us her home phone
number to keep her busy with our tricky questions.”
From TW Tsin, Hong Kong “I remember that the firsttime I met Pamela was in Hong Kong for the IOHA Board
Meeting in 1994. She was always cheerful andhumorous. She was most friendly and knew everythingthat was happening in the Board during meetings. I amvery much obliged to work with her for so many years, inparticular during the period as the Secretary andTreasurer, when she was most helpful and assisted me inworking out all the documents, and of course when I was
IOHA President, in dealing with the formality of convening
the meetings. As she chooses to retire, I believe IOHA will
miss her and so will I. I sincerely, and on behalf ofcolleagues in Hong Kong, hope that she will be forever
happy and cheerful. Good luck and good wishes to her.”
From Rob Ferrie, South Africa “I have been thesouthern Africa representative on IOHA for well over 10
years now and Pamela has been the one constant over
all that time. During all that time and particularly throughmy period on the Executive; as President-Elect, President
and now Immediate Past President, I could always rely on
Pamela to explain why things had been done a certain
way, to efficiently organise the Board's affairs and for her
sage advice on how to handle new issues as they arose. I
wish her a happy and peaceful retirement. Although, forthe life of me, I can't see her being happy to rest on her
laurels for too long. All my very best wishes,
Pamela, wherever your path takes you next.”

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 20092

From Masayoshi Karasawa (JAWE, Japan) “I amdisappointed with Pamela’s retirement from IOHA. It was
my pleasure to meet her in so many IOHA Board
meetings. Since May 2003, when the Japan Association
for Working Environment Measurement (JAWE) wasapproved to join IOHA, she helped us and gave us many
good advices with regard to Occupational Hygiene. On thisoccasion and on behalf of JAWE, I express our sincere
gratitude for her great contributions in the field of
Occupational Hygiene. However, as I heard that her
retirement means to enter her next phase of leisurely life, I
wish her a happy and healthy future.”
From David Zalk, USA “There is no doubt she was a
consummate professional, nose to grindstone with the
IOHA Board, maneuvering until a motion was captured andpassed. Just the same, I remember her quick, dry wit thatwould make capturing a smile from her quite a charming
moment. All good memories that are as well cherished as
the aged, oaked Wild Turkey, a gift for her husband, that I
would willing to trade her for some chocolates. The goodtimes, however, these I would never trade. All the best in
your extended holiday, Pamela !”the professionalism of Pamela. Meetings are always very
well organized and accurately documented. She is a
blessing for the non English-speaking members because
not only she speaks so clearly but she somehow
understands what everybody says  I will remember Pam
as a good friend and I wish her all the best for her newopportunities and I am sure Pamela will be excellent in thismatter too.”
From Zack Mansdorf, USA “I hope when we think of
IOHA, we will always think of Pamela……..the Godmotherand the wind behind the sails. Congratulations to you
Pamela. You can really be proud of what you have done.”From Ton Spee, the Netherlands “While IOHA board
members come and go, IOHA and Pamela have been
together since IOHA’s foundation. It will be strange for
IOHA to move on without Pamela, who has been the
Association’s collective memory. During my presidency I
co-operated closely with Pamela, and I enjoyed very much
her way of working, both professionally and personally.
Very modest, but she always has the right word at the righttime. Pamela, I wish you all the best and do enjoy yournew situation.”

From Guy Bourgeoisat, France “During my 15 years as
IOHA Board member (starting in 1994), I could appreciate

NEWS from the IOHA BOARD
IOHA Annual General Meeting, 31 May 2009, Toronto
The second Annual
GeneralMeeting(AGM) of IOHA was
heldin
Toronto,Canada on 31 May
2008. The business ofthe meeting, chairedby the President, Tom
Grumbles(pictured
here on the far right),
included accepting the minutes of the first AGM, reappointing the auditors and the outcome of the nomination
process for the posts of President-Elect and SecretaryTreasurer. There was only one nomination for eachposition, so Luc Hamelin of Canada (pictured 2nd from left)
was declared President-Elect for 2009-2010, and Hugh
Dalrymple of the UK (pictured left) was declared SecretaryTreasurer for 2009-2011. (also in this picture is Danilo
Cottica 2nd from right)
Having declared the meetingclosed,Tom
Grumbleshanded the Association’s
gavel over to Danilo Cottica(Italy), who will be Presidentof IOHA for 2009-2010.

Report from the IOHA Board Meeting, 31 May 2009,
Toronto, Canada
1. The meeting was held in Toronto, Canada, chaired byTom
Grumbles(President)
andattendedbyrepresentatives of ACGIH, the Australian, Brazilian, British,
Canadian, Dutch, French, Hong Kong, Italian, Korean,
Norwegian, Southern African, Swiss and Taiwaneseorganisations, with Pamela Blythe from the Secretariat in
attendance and Deon Jensen van Vuuren (Southern
Africa) as an observer. Apologies for absence had been
received from the organisations in Finland, Germany,
Ireland, Japan (JAWE and JOHA), Malaysia and Sweden.

2. The Board received the final report and financial
statement from its 7th International Scientific Conference,
held in February 2008 in Taipei, Taiwan, and thanked theorganisers for a well-organised and very successful event.
3. In addition to Danilo Cottica, three members of theOrganising Committee for the 8 th International Scientific
Conference, to be held in Rome, Italy, 28 September - 2
October, attended part of the Board Meeting to give a
presentation on progress with the organisation. The Callfor Papers for the conference is now available fromwww.ioha2010.org and the deadline for submission of
abstracts is 1 December 2009.
4. Although a representative of the Malaysian Association
was not able to attend, an update was presented of thearrangements to date for the 9th IOHA International
Scientific Conference to be held in Kuala Lumpur,

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 20093

Malaysia in 2012. This Conference will also mark the 25 th
Anniversary of IOHA.

website during July, and a REACH position paper, whichshould also be published shortly.

5. The Board was pleased to agree to a proposal from
Berenice Goelzer, the IOHA Newsletter Editor, to increase
the number of issues of the Newsletter from two/year (April
and October) to three/year (February, July and November).
The next issue of the Newsletter will, therefore, appear
during July 2009.

10. Roger Alesbury gave a presentation on theinternational training and qualifications initiative, which
provoked a lively question and answer session. The IOHA
Board is considering signing a Memorandum ofUnderstanding with those involved in this initiative.

6. The new IOHA website is gradually being populatedwith information and attachments, although any offers ofappropriate, suitably good quality photographs (minimum(w) 300 pixels x (h) 250 pixels @ 72 dpi) would be
welcomed.
7. The problem of falling membership numbers with themember organisations of IOHA
was discussed, with those present agreeing to sharedetails of any membership retaining/recruiting initiatives
they were using.
8. The regular report from the NAR Committee wasreceived and discussed. Minor amendments were agreed
to the Committee’s Charter and this will be publishedshortly on the IOHA website.
9. The Board is in the final stages of approving a position
paper on Control Banding, which will be published on the

11. The British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) has
provided the Secretariat for IOHA since IOHA was formed
in 1987. The Memorandum of Understanding between
the two organisations, last signed in 1998, has beenrevised to bring the procedures up to date and re-signed.
12. IOHA has accepted ICOH’s invitation to participate inreviewing and revising its Code of Ethics and asked Michel
Guillemin (Switzerland) to be its representative on thisinitiative.
13. Some years ago, WHO published a document entitled
Basic Occupational Health Services, of which IOHA has
been critical. Now that the document is under review,
IOHA will be providing feedback to WHO on ways in which
the document could be improved.
14. The next meeting of the Board will be on 8-9 October
2009 in Bilbao, Spain. The meeting will be hosted by theEuropean Agency for Health and Safety at Work.

8th IOHA International Scientific Conference – Rome 2010
HEALTH, WORK AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The occupational hygienist and the integration ofenvironment, health and safety
IOHA will hold its 8th International Scientific Conference inRome, from 28 September to 2 October 2010. The event
is being organized by AIDII, the Italian Association ofIndustrial Hygienists, on behalf of IOHA. The co-organizers
are INAIL and ISPESL - two Italian institutions responsible
for the prevention and insurance of occupational risks. The
official conference language will be English; somesessions will be translated into Italian or other languages.
This Conference will bring together an international panelof experts to discuss social responsibility strategies for the
decade of 2010-2020, as well as occupational hygiene
methods and tools needed in countries with different levels
of industrial development and current occupational
hazards related to new emerging technologies and social
scenarios.

Rome 2010 will represent a fundamental step towards
ensuring that occupational hygienists play a leading role in
the new integrated markets of Environment, Health &Safety, adapting their professional profile to new requests
emerging with Social Responsibility, Sustainable
Development and the increasing complexity of amultidisciplinary scenario.
Specific topics will address both traditional occupational
hygiene and “new frontier” issues, emphasizing innovationand integration of competences.
Further information, including detailed topics, may befound at the Conference website: http://www.ioha2010.org/
that will be regularly updated.
Important Deadlines: The deadline for submission of
abstracts, both for presentations and posters, is 1st
December 2009. The deadline for Early Bird Registration
is 28 May 2010.

IOHA Collaborations
Report on the 5th International Control Banding Workshop (5ICBW)
Sent by David M. Zalk, IOHA
E-mail: j.zalk@comcast.net
Wednesday morning prior to the day’s events at the

ICOH Congress, I was taken by the contrast that split

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 20094

my senses. To my right was the downtown skyline ofCape Town and the Conference Center, dramaticallypresented before the backdrop of Table Mountain.
Immediately diverting my attention, however, was thedistinct odor of ozone. To my left, about 2000 metersfrom the Conference Center, was a fenced off work
area with a compilation of old ships in varying statesof dismantlement. The whiff of ozone immediately letme know that this work area that had piqued myinterest was indeed a site for ship breaking and the
day’s activities had commenced. Curiosity had
gotten the best of me, so camera in hand I followed
my nose until from a distance the noise fromgrinding and the sparks from acetylene torch cutting
confirmed my instincts.
The occupational hygienist in me, or perhaps the CB
in me, looked immediately for the controls and PPEin place. Some respirators were on the worksite,
however they adorned necks and heads rather thenfaces. Dust masks were most likely to be seen,
however even these were not donned appropriately.
Hearing protection was sparse, safety barriers wererandomly in place, fall protection was absent, andergonomics was not even in the picture (Photos
montage below).

day’s schedule, the 5ICBW occurred over threeconsecutive sessions. The first session was titled“Developing simple guidance toolkit for employers.”
Susan Wilburn of WHO was co-chair of the 5ICBW
and spoke on the Global Implementation Strategy for
CB. Tom Grumbles, President of IOHA, spoke
IOHA’s role in the growth and internationalization of
CB beginning 10 year’s earlier in South Africa at an
IOHA Board of Director’s meeting north ofJohannesburg. David Zalk, IOHA envoy and 5ICBW
co-chair, presented on something with potentiallymore controversy in title alone, whether CB can beconsidered better then traditional occupational
hygiene. The focus was on two important aspects
where this may be considered true, when
uncertainties exist (e.g. without OELs or withnanomaterial) and CB’s role in the growth of theoccupational hygiene profession with university
programs in developing countries and international
collaborations. Ayyappan Ramalingam of Sri
Ramachandra University in Chennai India gave an
excellent presentation on the 3-tiered approach tochemical risk management (CB) that has beendeveloped for Southern India. A multi-regional effort
to build a more expert-based CB Toolkit has begun
its validation, a qualitative risk assessment process
for larger industries serves to prioritize funding using
a quantitative to qualitative decision matrix, and theneed for a simpler approach for SMEs that requires
the development of occupational safety toolkits and a
train-the-trainer process to ensure the chemical
toolkit can be put into practice as safety
professionals are far more abundant thanoccupational hygienists in India.
CB as Risk Communication

All at once, the value of CB was in focus. On my way
to a workshop that focuses on the world’s actions
and activities with CB, I could immediately see howmodest local exhaust ventilation could have captured
fumes, Barrier Banding could offer mechanisms toensure safety was implemented, and minor
workstation changes would have greatly reduced
ergonomic stressors. We have come a long way overthe past four International Control Banding
Workshops, but there is still a longer path in store.
International Growth of CB and Occupational
HygieneThe 5th International Control Banding Workshop(5ICBW) was held on 25 March 2009 as part of the
29th ICOH International Congress on Occupational
Health in Cape Town, South Africa. Taking up a full

The second session of the 5ICBW was titled“Practical tools for primary prevention”, focusing on
existing processes that other countries can learn
from. Henri Heussen of the Netherlands presented
first on Stoffenmanager 4.0, offering a demonstration
for the audience of the newest version of the Dutch
toolkit which is expanding in scope greatly while
offering a new version which is much more easier touse for SMEs. Henri had also taught a workshop for
the National Institute of Occupational Health in South
Africa in advance of the ICOH Congress and had
already drummed an impressive level of national andregional interest. Stravroula Leka of the University of
Nottingham in the UK presented on the Psychosocial
Risk Management (PRIMA) Toolkit and its latest
stages of development. The need for the PRIMA wasseen throughout the ICOH Congress with multiple
sessions and speakers discussing the topic. Rolf
Packroff of Germany presented the EMKG 2.0 CB
Toolkit model that has become quite popular in his
country. Very interesting was Rolf describing themanner in which the EMKG had become an
excellent risk communicator, promoting the existence

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 20095

of occupational hygiene in Germany to Occupational
Physicians (OP). CB discussions do not involve thequantitative sampling component, which is a legal
obstacle for OPs discussing risk assessments, so it
opens a dialogue on the occupational hygiene scopeof work, as occupational hygiene is still not arecognized profession in Germany. This same
concept of CB as risk communication was also
shared by Dr. Heussen, as the Stoffenmanger
presentations to OPs, who focus on the curative
rather than preventative, often lead to the statement“oh, so that’s what you do!” Additionally, presenting
at the second session on the Ergonomics
Checkpoints was Dr. Kazutaka Kogi of Japan, who
attended almost all of the 5ICBW and was elected
President of ICOH later in the week. In addition, aposter presentation was given by Custodio Muiangaof Mozambique, discussing the many toolkits that heis introducing in his country to determine the mostappropriate design for implementation anddissemination. The third session was titled“Emerging models for control banding toolkits”. The
Korean KOSHA Control Toolkit for Industrial
Chemicals was shown to be quite successful incommunicating the need for engineering controls,
through nice visual graphics, as implementation
requiring upgrades are funded by national programs.
The CB Nanotool was then presented, reflecting how
its qualitative risk assessment approach is growing
quickly and has been included in many national
nanomaterial control programs. Hans Thore
Smedbold of Norway offered an update of the
ChemiRisk approach and the Man, Technology,
Organization (MTO) perspective that CB offers.
Christolph Kowalski of the Netherlands presented on
an OP toolbox to improve cooperation between themand general physicians in communicating workrelated issues to each other in a risk-based matrix.
When Susan Wilburn of WHO complemented thisapproach and asked how an occupational hygienist
can be involved in the matrix, Dr. Kowalski, an OP
himself, said “until this workshop I did not know what
an occupational hygienist was!”Immediately
following the lastpresentations anddiscussions of the
5ICBW,theInternational
Technical Group on
Control
Banding(ITG) met. It was animpressive list of
attendees at the
ITG meeting with 11
attendees from 10
countries(Photoleft)
sharingaunified vision for the occupational hygiene profession
and CB efforts.
This ITG meeting sought to finalize a summary
document their efforts over the past five years and toutilize the outcomes and discussions of the 5ICBW inorder to capture them in a previously developed
document covering the next five years, the ITG Work
Plan for 2009 – 2014. The key item to add to thisnew Work Plan, as learned from the 5ICBW, wasrelating to the delineation and clarification of the term
‘occupational health’. We had discovered that thisterm does not always acknowledge the occupational
hygiene profession, or even its existence, and CB
offers a unique opportunity to overcome thispervasive hurdle. This point became quite prescientat the closing session. Dr. Kogi, in his address to the
ICOH Congress as their new President, outlined his
agenda for the next three years. His first objective isto advance proactive risk assessments and toolkit
approaches. He specifically acknowledged the
5ICBW and how CB can address new and old issues
in a simplified approach. It is recommended that
IOHA pursue collaborations with ICOH on this topic.
Note from the Editor: This activity was held inconnection with the 2009 ICOH Congress. As joining
efforts becomes increasingly necessary, it isimportant to note that the 5ICBW was a WHO, ILO,
IOHA, ICOH and CB ITG collaborative activity, also
including an IEA presentation, therefore it was themost complete ICBW to date. And you may see thatmany important talks also took place on a boat trip –there is also fun in these meetings, as you can see inthe photos below.

Dave Zalk seriously
considering all CB
options

Susan Wilburn, Henri
Heussen, and Rolf
Packroff having great
CB discussions

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 20096

NEWS from MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS
From BOHS, UK

Sent by Anthea Page, Communications Manager, BOHS
Email: anthea@bohs.org

BOHS appoints new Chief Executive
The British Occupational
Hygiene Society (BOHS) is
delighted to announce theappointment of Steve
Perkins as its new – andfirst ever - Chief Executive.
Replacing a long-standing
Executive
Secretaryfollowing retirement, thisnew role will provide theconsistent direction and management required tomaximise the opportunities for growth and development of
the Society and, according to Roger Alesbury, BOHS
President, Perkins “is undoubtedly the right man for thejob”.
As the health issues of public concern shift with time,
technology and societal expectations, so occupational
hygiene has to be prepared to change its focus.
Membership of the Society must continue to evolve andrepresent the full range of disciplines currently active inworkplace prevention, and the Society itself must
demonstrate leadership and relevance within the wider
occupational health field.
“I am excited to have taken on this position, and ambitious
for BOHS to build on its strengths and enhance its
reputation, influence and services,” states Perkins.
“Occupational hygiene has always been at the vanguard ofscience in practice in the workplace, and its relevance isjust as important in today’s workplaces as it ever was. Our
aim is to reduce work-related ill-health; the latest figures
published by the Health and Safety Executive show that an
estimated 28 million working days are lost annually due towork-related ill-health (compared to six million due toworkplace injury) so there is clearly a lot still to be done –both in bringing ill-health prevention higher up the national
agenda and in improving people’s working lives. I lookforward to helping BOHS make a real difference.”
Steve Perkins is 43, and has a degree in Physics from
Oxford University. He began his career at Rolls-Royce
Aerospace in 1987 working in aero-acoustics research,where he became a company specialist. Whilst with RollsRoyce he went on to work in Project Management, IT andBusiness Improvement. In 2002 he moved into thevoluntary sector becoming Operations Manager for EMCF
Ltd, one of Derby’s largest faith-based charities, and hassince held a number of senior management positions with
EMCF.
BOHS Bedford Prize awarded posthumously to leadauthor for paper on occupational hygiene researchamong drug manufacturing workers
BOHS's latest Bedford Prize has been awarded to a teamfrom the University of Leuven in Belgium for a paper about
the protection of pharmaceutical production workers fromthe potential harmful effects of active pharmaceuticalingredients (APIs). The ‘Thomas Bedford Memorial Prize’is BOHS’s oldest award, presented to lead authors of themost outstanding paper published in the Society’s journal,
Annals of Occupational Hygiene. Sadly, the lead author ofthis paper, Nadine Van Nimmen, died of cancer at the ageof 42, and was awarded her PhD posthumously. The paper
was based on part of this work; the Bedford Prize, which
would have been presented to her at the BOHS Annual
Conference in 2009, was sent to her family, also
posthumously.
This paper presents very relevant occupational hygiene
research into worker exposure to APIs, something which
poses a significant challenge for the drug manufacturingindustry. The authors have dealt with a particular agent,opioid narcotic analgesics, from the beginning to the end –by developing analytical methods for analysing bothdermal and air samples at very low concentrations, andthen evaluating actual exposures in the field andrecommending optimal control measures. Commenting on
the paper, the Editor in Chief of the Annals, Dr Trevor
Ogden, said, “This study is a very nice example of what
occupational research is all about and how it should be
performed.” The paper can be read in full or in abstract
on the Annals website: http://annhyg.oxfordjournals.org/
cgi/content/abstract/50/7/665
The Bedford Prize is awarded every other year. Anyone
can nominate papers to the shortlist, and the choice is thenmade by a panel of the journal Editorial Board and recent
presidents of BOHS.

From the USA
ACGIH and AIHA Announce Plans to Develop Strategic Alliance
Sent by Tony Rizzuto, Executive Director, ACGIH
Email: trizzuto@acgih.org
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygienists (ACGIH) and the American Industrial Hygiene
Association (AIHA) announced on 1st June 2009, theirplans to develop a closer alliance with one another. This
proposed alliance is an opportunity for ACGIH and AIHA to
do what each organization does best while cooperating

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 20097

more closely than ever before; it is not a merger, nor is it amove toward unification.
If approved by both Boards and the ACGIH® membership,
it is hoped that the alliance will result in a sustainable
member organization and a scientific orientedorganization. AIHA will administer a single, U.S. IH
membership organization. ACGIH® will autonomously
focus on practice standards and guidelines.
Bothorganizations will share services that will manage costs,
drive efficiencies, and avoid duplication of efforts.
“We do not see this as a step to a full merger or
unification,” said AIHA President Lindsay E. Booher, CIH,
CSP. “In fact, this strategic alliance provides both ACGIH®
and AIHA with appropriate autonomy while simultaneously
giving us the opportunity to share resources.”“We believe that today, more than ever, ACGIH® and AIHA
must do more to work in a more strategic manner in orderto ensure that our resources are utilized to the greatest
degree possible,” said Jimmy L. Perkins, PhD, CIH,
ACGIH® Chair. “This will ensure the future success ofindustrial hygiene.”
The ACGIH® and AIHA Boards approved a Summary of
Principles for the Strategic Alliance on Sunday, May 31.
They agreed that forming a Strategic Alliance which builds
on the strengths of ACGIH® and AIHA is the key to our
long-term success.
The Boards have appointed representatives to work withthe chief staff officers to further plan implementation of thealliance terms. These representatives will report back to

the Boards in the fall of 2009. In the meantime, various
communications vehicles will be put in place to seek input
from the memberships of both ACGIH® and AIHA,
including a specific website devoted to the proposal(www.acgihaihaalliance.org), “town hall” style meetings byconference call, blogging, podcasting, possible articles,
and an “Ask the Leadership” session on Tuesday, June 2,from 10:30 to 11:30 am in the Convention Center, Room
705 South. If our work this summer is successful, an
ACGIH® member vote would occur in the Fall of 2009. It is
our hope to begin implementing changes in 2010.
“A temporary website (www.acgihaihaalliance.org) is being
sponsored by the ACGIH® and AIHA Boards of Directors,”
Booher says. “The purpose of this site is to answer any
questions that you may have about the strategic alliance.
You will find a link to a “Frequently Asked Questions”
document, links to ACGIH®’s and AIHA’s websites, andperhaps most importantly, an opportunity for you to provide
us with your feedback and input during this important
process. We ask that you actively support this strategic
alliance by reaching out to your colleagues and peers in
the profession.”
Perkins added, “We anticipate conducting due diligence
this summer. Assuming this due diligence reflects
appropriate economic, legal, and strategic alignment, it is
ACGIH®’s intent to put forth to its members a vote to shift
the nature of the ACGIH® structure. This action requires a
two-thirds vote of the ACGIH® regular members in order topass and take effect. There is no vote required of the AIHA
membership, as there is no substantial change anticipatedin its mission, vision, structure, or governance.”

AIHce Keynotes Provide Attendees with Firsthand Education on“Discoveries Beyond Borders”
Sent by Melissa Hurley Alves, AIHA Communications
Email: mhurley@aiha.org
The 70th annual American Industrial Hygiene Conference
and Exposition (AIHce), held in Toronto, Canada, and cosponsored by the American Industrial Hygiene Association(AIHA) and the American Conference of Governmental
Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), kicked off its conference
program on Monday, 1 June 2009, with an opening
address by Peter H. Diamandis, MD, chairman and CEO of
the X PRIZE Foundation.
Following Monday’s keynote speech, Edward L. Quevedo,
JD, special counsel and chair for the Sustainability
Practice Group and faculty member for Green MBA
Program in Sustainable Enterprise at Dominican Universityof California, presented his discussion Sustainable
Development Beyond Borders: Taking an Active andMeaningful Role in Advancing Sustainability and Corporate
Responsibility in Your Organization. The final generalsession presentation, Taking Science Beyond Borders:Global EHS Issues of Nanotechnology, was given by
Kristen Kulinowski, PhD, faculty fellow with the Departmentof Chemistry at Rice University in Houston, Texas, directorof external affairs at the Center for Biological andEnvironmental Nanotechnology (CBEN), and director at
the International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON).

In Monday’s opening general session, Diamandis
discusses the challenges that inspire creativity and spur
innovation in Challenges, Progress, Innovation: Predicting
the Future by Creating It. Through the X PRIZE
Foundation, Diamandis is revolutionizing the way the world
thinks about its problems and their solutions. Diamandis
believes that challenge, properly structured, canencourage progress in eliminating current obstacles thatseem impossible to breach.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself,”
Diamandis said. He used the examples of historicalbreakthroughs, such as space exploration, and technicalinventions to motivate attendees to make their own
technological advances and urged them to “think beyond
the boundaries you’ve set and that society has set.”
Quevedo’s address on Tuesday, June 2, focused on whatsustainability is and how it relates to business and theworld of health and safety. In his presentation, Quevedo
used a variety of case studies as examples of how
occupational health and safety and industrial hygiene
professionals can play a significant role in creating
sustainability initiatives or helping their organization
navigate a strategy for the benefit of maximum risk

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 20098

management.
Quevedoalso tackled sustainable
development,
addressing the need for businesses to take environmental
and social responsibility for their actions. According toQuevedo, “Sustainable development is living well andintentionally taking care of those who depend on you as
though tomorrow mattered.”In the final general session discussion presented on
Wednesday, June 3, Kristen Kulinowski, PhD, examined
the present information that exists concerning the healthand safety impacts surrounding the use and production of

nanomaterials. Though a reasonable amount of
information regarding the hazards of nanomaterials exists,
Kulinowski claims that it isn’t sufficient information to use
for making management decisions. “There is a robust
global community now working to improve knowledge
about nanomaterials,” Kulinowski said.
For more information, contact AIHA (Infonet@aiha.org),
Carol
Tobin,
AIHA
Meetings
andEducation(ctobin@aiha.org) or Melissa Hurley Alves, AIHA
Communications (mhurley@aiha.org).

From JAPANJapan Association for Working Environment Measurement (JAWE):
General Meeting of the fiscal year 2009
Sent by Masayoshi Karasawa, Special Adviser, JAWE
E-mail: m19419k@yahoo.co.jp
and Shigeru Asuka, Executive Director, JAWE
E-mail: sasuka@jawe.or.jp
The
Japan
Associationfor
Working
Environment
Measurement heldan
Ordinary
General Meetingof the fiscal year
2009, on 27 May
2009, in Tokyo. In
the Meeting, Mr.
Shigeru
Oshita,Managing Director, Nippon Steel Corporation, (pictured
right) was elected as the New President of JAWE,
succeeding Mr. Kizoh, Hirayama, Director, Nippon SteelCorporation, (pictured left) Immediate Past President,
whose dedicated work for over one and a half terms (3years) was highly appreciated. At the same time, theBoard of Directors of JAWE, decided to have Mr. Kizoh,
Hirayama as JAWE Chief Adviser, because of his great
achievements in the field.
The Meeting was held with the objective of approving thebusiness report and the accounting report for the fiscal
year 2008, the JAWE programme and the budget for the
fiscal year 2009, as well as holding a new election of
President and other Directors of JAWE, who retired fromtheir positions in the middle of their term. These subjects
were approved unanimously in the General meeting.
The Meeting was attended by 688 full members of JAWE,
including the ones who entrusted the proxy vote to the
President.
At the beginning of the Meeting, Mr. Kizoh Hirayama(Director, Nippon Steel Corporation), President of JAWE,
presented the opening address and stated that JAWE
conducted successfully all the projects that were planned
for the fiscal year 2008, including the General Accuracy
Cross Check Project.
Next, Mr. Shigeru Asuka, the Executive Director of JAWE,
explained the business report and the accounting report for
the fiscal year 2008 as well as the business programme

and the budget for the fiscal year 2009 of JAWE. He stated
that, in the fiscal year 2008, JAWE:
1) Trained 966 (about 7% decrease compared with the last
fiscal year) Occupational Hygienist in the field of
Working Environment Measurement as the activity of theRegistered Training Institution under the Working
Environment Measurement Law, Japan.
2) Under the trust of the Ministry of Health, Labour andWelfare, Japan, JAWE trained, with regard to asbestos,
762 Licensed Industrial Hygienists in the field of Working
Environment measurement or other competent analyticalspecialists (about 8 % increase compared with last fiscal
year), belonging to 464 analytical agencies, in theoreticaltraining courses, and, 208 ones (about 8 % decrease
compared with last fiscal year), belonging to 183 analyticalagencies, in practical training courses.
3) JAWE conducted the Accuracy Cross Check Project
concerning the Evaluation of Asbestos in Bulk andAirborne Samples (see article on this subject on the April
2009 issue of the IOHA Newsletter, under Contributions
from Readers)4) Conducted a new course, namely the “Specialized
Continuing Education and Training Course on Risk
Assessment and Risk Management of Chemical
Substances and other Environmental Factors” for a total
number of 59 participants.
Moreover, he explained that, in the business programme
for the fiscal year 2009, the following projects have been
incorporated:
A. For the first time in Japan, to complete a newContinuing Education Training Course, using the“Handbook for Risk Assessment and Risk Managementof Chemical Substances and other Environmental
Factors” consisting of a total number of 93 hours/points,
and conduct a completion examination for the saidcourse.

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 20099

B. To launch the New Certification System entitled“Certified Occupational Hygienists by the Japan
Association for Working Environment Measurement(JAWE)”, which JAWE aims to have certification in thenear future by the National Accreditation Recognition
System of IOHA.
C. A General Accuracy Control Project conductedindependently by JAWE.
D. An advanced training course on the Evaluation ofAsbestos in Bulk Materials, as well as an accuracy control
project, by cross-check of bulk blind samples (e.g.,construction materials containing asbestos) and airborne
blind samples.
At the end of the General Meeting, the new election of the
President of JAWE as well as supplementary Directors of

JAWE was held; Mr. Shigeru Oshita was elected as the
President of JAWE.
Finally, Mr. Hideo Ozawa, Director General, Department ofOccupational Safety and Health, Labour Standards
Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan,
who attended the General Meeting, as a distinguishedguest, addressed congratulatory message.
JAWE, as an association, would like to contribute as muchas possible to the improvement the Working Environment,
the prevention of occupational diseases as well as the
success of the 11th Occupational Accident and Disease
Prevention Plan from the fiscal year 2008 to 2012, which
the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan,
announced in the fiscal year 2009 based on the
Occupational Safety and Health Law.

From SOUTH AFRICA

Celebrating 25 years of organized occupational
hygiene in Southern Africa
And, as a result, the few (approximately 15) persons
actively practicing in this field took it upon themselves toestablish an occupational hygiene Association. It was
officially launched in March 1983.
It was gradually recognised that a more ambitious system
was needed that would examine and register hygienists
meeting acceptable professional standards. A separate
Institute was finally established in February 1992 to carryout this function. This Institute was subsequently granted
membership of the International Occupational Hygiene
Association in Stockholm in 1996.

The Southern African Institute for Occupational Hygiene(SAIOH) recently held a Gala Evening to celebrate 25
years of the profession in southern Africa.
At the ceremony SAIOH’s
longstanding representativeon the IOHA Board, Rob
Ferrie, (pictured right) waspresented with a special
award for his contribution to
the Institute over the past 25
years.
In 1976 a Commission ofInquiry into Occupational
Health in South Africa
identified an urgent need for
occupational hygiene skills.

The merger of the Association and the Institute in March
2000 created a single organisation for the promotion ofoccupational hygiene awareness and the certification of
professional hygienists in the region.
Thanks to SAIOH the profession of occupational hygienein southern Africa has continued to grow. There are now
some 476 members registered in the Assistant,
Technologist and Hygienist categories.
SAIOH successfully hosted, the IOHA 6th International
Scientific Conference in 2005 at the Pilansberg Game
Reserve.
In 2006 the certification procedures put in place by the
SAIOH Certification Board were formally recognised by the
IOHA National Accreditation Recognition Committee.
Rob Ferrie, who had represented SAIOH on the IOHA
Board and the IOHA National Accreditation Recognition

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 200910

Under the guidance of the new
President,
MelindaVenter,(pictured left) SAIOH expects tocontinue to grow and to continue
to take its rightful place in IOHA
over the next 25 years.

Committee for many years, was elected as President of
IOHA from 2006 till 2008. Rob will be stepping down fromIOHA at the Toronto meeting in June this year but Deon
Jansen van Vuuren who has represented SAIOH on the
NAR Committee of IOHA will be taking his place.

Congratulations SAIOH!

From BRAZIL
Brazilian Association of Occupational Hygienists (ABHO)
Sent by José Pedro Dias, E-mail: Jdias10@its.jnj.com
The IV Brazilian Congress of Occupational Hygiene and of
the XVI Brazilian Meeting of Occupational Hygienists,
events accomplished annually by the Brazilian Associationof Occupational Hygienists (ABHO), will be held in São
Paulo City, from 19 to 23 August 2009. As in previous
years, lectures, conferences and professional development
courses will be offered, as well as exhibition of products
and services.
The lectures and conferences, as well as the products andservices exhibits will happen from 19 to 21 August, in the
Fecomércio Events Center, located at Dr. Plínio Barreto
St, 285 - São Paulo. The courses will be held at Novotel
Jaraguá-SP Convention Center, located at Martins Fontes
St., 71, during the weekend of 22-23 August 2009.
This year, the main theme of the event is “ABHO 15
YEARS - Occupational Hygiene adding value to asustainable world”. A society that struggles to have ahealthy population should not have to waste resources
with medical treatments and compensation to victims. It is
important to invest in technology, in order to be moreproductive and competitive in the international market, butnever overlooking the protection of people and theenvironment. Considering the importance of prevention,
ABHO is committed to play its role in the sustainability
process and, for this reason, this theme was selected forthe event.

•Free themes

Four courses are programmed:
1 - Introduction to the Occupational Hygiene
2 - Economical Engineering Applied to the Prevention
3 - Applied Ventilation in Confined Spaces
4 - Emerging Issues in Environmental Evaluation
The lecturers and teachers will be professionals of wellknown competence. Not only Brazilian, but also European,
Canadian and USA occupational hygienists will participate.
Danilo Cottica, president of the International Occupational
Hygiene Association (IOHA) and Steve Bailey, president of
the British Association of Occupational Hygiene (BOHS)
will attend the conference.
Registrations can be made on the ABHO site:www.abho.org.br

The sub-themes of the IV Congress and XVI Meeting are
the following:

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Occupational Hygiene in the Context of
Sustainability
Sustainable Occupational Hygiene Programs
Occupational
HygieneExperiencein
Anticipation
Valuing Industrial Ventilation in Brazil
Updates in GHS and REACH
Nanotechnology
TLV Documentation

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 200911

NEWS from WHO Collaborating Centres
University of Illinois at Chicago Great Lakes Centers for Occupational and Environmental
Health, USA
GeoLibrary - a global electronic library of occupational and environmental health training
materials and practice tools
Sent by Leslie Nickels E-mail: lnickels@uic.edu
and Amy Melvin E-mail: abowli@uic.edu
The training of occupational safety and healthprofessionals in the low resource countries is one of thepriority areas under the World Health Organization (WHO)Collaborating Centres’ Work Plan to achieve the WHO
goal of “Occupational Health for All.” Obstacles to training
include lack of in-country training programs, lack of training
materials, costs of training, and intellectual property
protection of many training materials. The Internet provides
a mechanism for occupational safety and health educatorsand practitioners to rapidly access and download training
materials for self-instruction or training of others.

environmental health. The GeoLibrary currently contains
5300 occupational health training tools and practice guides
along with 800 environmental tools and materials. A new
branch, Specialty: Road Safety at Work, was added in2008 and currently has 1055 entries. These resources areavailable in many forms some of which include: complete
courses, webcasts, tutorials/modules, factsheets,
databases, and sample/ model programs and guidelines.
Most recently, the Pan American Health Organization(PAHO) named the GeoLibrary as the primary databasefor information related to H1N1 influenza A.

Under the auspices of the WHO Occupational Healthprogram, the University of Illinois at Chicago Great Lakes
Centers for Occupational and Environmental Health, acollaborating center, developed a global electronic library(GeoLibrary) of occupational and environmental healthtraining materials and practice tools. The key features ofthis library include: 1) free access; 2) public domain; 3)interface in six languages (English, French, Spanish,
Russian, Arabic, and Chinese); 4) easy to follow,
branching index; and 5) search ability. The GeoLibrary canbe accessed via the internet at www.geolibrary.org.

During May 2009, Germany, the United States and theUnited Kingdom were the top three countries accessing
the site most often, although over 92 countries haveaccessed the library over the past 3 years. The top five
entries viewed during the previous month include: Safer
Driving Manual, Driving at Work: Managing Work-RelatedRoad Safety; Driving for Work; Safe Driving Policy; andOccupational Health a Manual for Primary Healthcare
Workers.

Training materials are placed in the library through a
network of contributing editors, which includes WHO
Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health, national
institutes, university programs, and non-governmentalorganizations working in the fields of occupational andLibrary resources are submitted by contributing editorsfrom occupational health programs around the world. If you
would like to become a contributing editor please contact
Leslie Nickels at 312-413-1113 or lnickels@uic.edu or
University of Illinois at Chicago, 2121 W. Taylor St.
Chicago, IL 60612

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), USA
Educational Institutions, Workers and Employers Join Forces to Prevent Occupational
Transmission of Bloodborne Pathogens among Health Care Workers in South America
Sent by María Sofía Lioce-Mata (NIOSH) E-mail: cru6@cdc.gov
Walter A. Alarcón Puente (NIOSH) E-mail: wda7@cdc.gov
Susan Wilburn (World Health Organization) E-mail: wilburns@who.int
The World Health Organization (WHO) found that amongthe 35 million healthcare workers (HCWs) worldwide, there
were 3 million percutaneous exposures to bloodborne
pathogens in 2000. Worldwide, the burden of hepatitis B,
hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)infection among HCWs attributable to occupational
exposure to percutaneous injuries fraction is 39%, 37%,
and 4% respectively, with wide regional variation.1
Furthermore, in Latin America the attributable fraction in
health care workers, due to sharps injuries, is about 83%

for HBV, 55% for HCV and 11% for HIV.2
To protect healthcare workers from occupationaltransmission of bloodborne pathogens, the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) andWHO started a project in South Africa, Tanzania, andVietnam.
The project developed a toolkit entitled“Protecting Healthcare Workers: Preventing Needlestick
Injuries Toolkit”, available both as a CD (Figure 1) and

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 200912

from the WHO website (direct link: http://www.who.int/
occupational_health/activities/pnitoolkit/en/index.html).

Figure 1 - CD
“Protecting
Healthcare Workers:
Preventing
needlestick injuries
toolkit”
In collaboration with the
Pan American HealthOrganization (PAHO) thisproject is now being implemented in South America.3,4,5
The two key elements of this project include a toolkit in
Spanish titled “Protección de la Salud de los Trabajadoresde la Salud: Prevención de Lesiones por Pinchazo deAguja”, presented on a
CD
(Figure2),
available from WHO
and PAHO websites
andaconceptualmodel(Figure3)
aimed at developing
sustainable expertise
withinacademic
institutions, employers
andfrontline
workers.5,6

Figure 2 – CD “Protección de la Salud de los
Trabajadores de la Salud: Prevención deLesiones por Pinchazo de Aguja”

Figure 3 - Conceptual model for the prevention of occupational transmission of bloodborne pathogens

The implementation of this global initiative in Latin America
began with a pilot project in Venezuela and has expanded
to Peru. The factors that contributed to the success of thisproject include:1) existence of general and specific regulations for theprotection of the health of workers;3) active occupational safety and health committees;4) international technical cooperation; and5) a model for implementing technical cooperation
projects.

2) involvement of occupational health educational
institutions, healthcare workers, and employers;
IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 200913

Indicators of Success
Since its beginning in 4 hospitals in the Aragua State in
Venezuela in 2007, this project has reached 210
healthcare facilities in the hospital network, the outpatient
network, and occupational health centers in 12 states. This
project is lead by the Autonomous Service Institute ofHigher Education in Public Health "Dr. Arnoldo
Gabaldón" (IAES) and CORPOSALUD Aragua State in
Venezuela. Eight national institutions have joined theseleaders including: the Venezuelan Ministry of Health; theVenezuelan Institute of Public Health; the National Instituteof Health, Prevention and Labor Safety (INPSASEL);
Petroleum of Venezuela (PDVSA); the Venezuelan Red
Cross; Petrochemicals of Venezuela (PEQUIVEN); and theCentral University of Venezuela (Universidad Central deVenezuela).

The content of the project has been incorporated in the
curricula of regional graduate programs in Public Health in
8 states; in Epidemiology programs in 3 states; in the
Occupational Health program in the IAES; and in thegraduate program in Occupational Hygiene of the“Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela.” Technicalexpertise was transferred to about 800 graduate students
and 500 trainers at the national level using themethodology of the 3–day “train–the–trainers” workshop. It
is estimated that about 30,000 healthcare workers havebeen reached with this project. The lessons learned withthis pilot project in Venezuela will allow the expansion ofthis initiative to other countries of the Americas Region andother regions of the world.

How can you become involved?
For information on how to implement this project in your country, please contact Susan
Wilburn (WilburnS@who.int) at the World Health Organization, the Pan American HealthOrganization representation in your country and send a copy of your message to Maritza
Tennassee (PAHO, Washington DC, tennassm@paho.org), Maria Lioce (NIOSH,
cru6@cdc.gov) or Walter Alarcon (NIOSH, wda7@cdc.gov)

References:
1

Pruss-Ustun A, Rapiti E, Hutin Y. 2005. Estimation of the global burden of disease attributable to contaminated sharps
injuries among health-care workers. Am J Ind Med. 48 (6): 482-49. Also available from http://www.who.int/
quantifying_ehimpacts/global/7sharps.pdf

2

Annette Prüss-Üstün, Elisabetta Rapiti, Yvan Hutin. 2003. Sharps injuries. Global burden of disease from sharps
injuries to health-care workers. World Health Organization. Environmental Burden of Disease Series, No. 3, 40 pages.
http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/publications/en/sharps.pdf
http://www.who.int/whr/2002/chapter4/en/index8.html#box_4_4

3

Susan Wilburn, Thebe Pule. 2007. World Health Organization. National occupational health programmes forhealthcare workers (Programas nacionales de salud ocupacional para trabajadores de salud) GOHNET de WHO. 13,
4 -8 http://www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/newsletter/gohnet13_26nov07.pdf

4María del Carmen Martínez, Walter A. Alarcón, María Sofía Lioce, Maritza Tennassee, Susan Wilburn. Prevención deaccidentes laborales con objetos punzocortantes, y exposición ocupacional a agentes patógenos de la sangre en el
personal de salud. Salud trab. (Maracay) 2008, Ene-Jun., 16(1), 53-62. http://www.iaesp.edu.ve/index.php?
option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=515&Itemid

5

Organización Mundial de la Salud / Organización Panamericana de la Salud. 2006 Prevención de lesiones por
pinchazos por aguja. http://www.who.int/occupational_health/activities/pnitoolkit/es/index.html
http://www.bvsde.ops-oms.org/pinchazo/files/main.htm
http://www.cepis.ops-oms.org/pinchazo/files/main.htm
In English: Protecting Healthcare Workers: Preventing needlestick injuries toolkit
http://www.who.int/occupational_health/activities/pnitoolkit/en/index.html

6Organización Panamericana de la Salud. 2006. Manual de Salud y Seguridad de los Trabajadores del Sector Salud.
Manual para Gerentes y Administradores. http://www.bvsde.ops-oms.org/ssmanual/Sinterface.htm
http://www.cepis.ops-oms.org/ssmanual/Sinterface.htm

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 200914

NEWS from EU-OSHA
Sent by Jukka Takala, Director EU-OSHA E-mail: takala@osha.europa.eu
and Birgit MÜLLER E-mail: muller@osha.europa.eu
20 Years of Prevention Based on Risk Assessment
On 12 June 1989 the EU adopted an OSH
framework directive to ensure a higher
degree of protection of workers at work,
covering all European workplaces basedon the principle of prevention based on a prior risk
assessment. The framework is based on implementation of
preventive measures, and information, consultation, andtraining of workers and their representatives.
The Council Directive 89/391/EEC is available online at:
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/
employment_and_social_policy/
health_hygiene_safety_at_work/c11113_en.htm
Fieldwork starts on European survey of enterprises on
new and emerging risks (ESENER)
In the April 2009 issue of the IOHA Newsletter, theEuropean survey of enterprises on new and emerging risks(ESENER) was presented. This is a major European-wide
establishment survey on health and safety at theworkplace, including new and emerging risks. Managers
and health and safety representatives are being asked
about how workplace risks are managed, particularly
focusing on psychosocial risks. As a result a picture ofthese practices will be available including detailed analysis
on what measures are taken in which countries.
The survey aims at assisting workplaces to deal more
effectively with health and safety and promote the healthand well-being of employees. It will provide policy makers
with cross-nationally comparable information relevant forthe design and implementation of new policies in this field.

New European Risk Observatory Literature Review on
Nanoparticles
The “Literature Review - Workplace exposure tonanoparticles” reviews the most recent publications on
nanoparticles and focuses on the possible adverse healtheffects of workplace exposure. The report presents theregulatory background and activities taken to manage thisemerging risk.
This Literature Review is available online at:
http://osha.europa.eu/en/news/publications/
literature_reviews/
workplace_exposure_to_nanoparticles/view
EU-OSHA Annual Report 2008: health and safety inhard times
The Agency’s Annual Report for 2008 argues that
European organisations cannot afford to cut back on
workplace safety in the current economic downturn. The
Report also highlights significant Agency achievements
over the year, including the Healthy Workplaces campaign
on risk assessment and the new Agency Strategy for
2009-13, which sets out how the Agency will work in theyears ahead to reduce occupational accidents and workrelated diseases.
The full Annual Report in English and its summary in all
EU languages will be soon available at the EU-OSHA web
site: http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/annual_report

Continued information on this ongoing and important EU
effort can be found at: http://osha.europa.eu/en/
riskobservatory/riskobservatory/enterprise-survey/aboutthe-survey

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 200915

Contributions from Readers
INTERNATIONAL
International Training Modules for Occupational Hygiene - status report June 2009
Sent by Roger Alesbury E-mail: roger.alesbury@uk.bp.com
Steve Bailey E-mail: steve.r.bailey@gsk.com
Brian Davies E-mail: bdavies@uow.edu.au
For the time being, we are using the name Occupational
Hygiene Training Association (OHTA) to identify the group
working on the development of the international training
modules for occupational hygiene. Since our article in the
April IOHA Newsletter, the programme has continued to
expand and there is growing interest from organisations
and companies around the world. We are in discussion
with a number of IOHA member organisations and someother countries about use of the training modules. Detailsof the scheme and its development were discussed at the
BOHS conference in Eastbourne, during a meetingof Presidents of European Occupational Hygiene
Societies.
During the AIHCe in Toronto, Roger Alesbury attended the
IOHA board meeting to provide an update on progress andto answer queries from the board. The Board agreed to
discussions being held with OHTA with regard to thepossibility of signing a Memorandum of Understanding
between the two organisations (IOHA and OHTA). In
addition, the possibility of providing some funding towards

the cost of an OHTA website was raised, and when
additional information is provided, the matter will be
brought back to the Board for further discussion.
Toronto also provided an opportunity for a workshop tolook at the future development of the scheme andalignment with activities underway in AIHA, ABIH andAAIH.
The Occupational Hygiene Society of Ireland (OHSI), theSouth African Institute of Occupational Hygienists(SAIOH), the Hong Kong Institute of Occupational andEnvironmental Hygiene (HKIOEH) and the French
Occupational Hygiene Society (SOFHYT) have joined
BOHS, AIOH and AIHA in signing the Memorandum ofUnderstanding and plans are being developed for themto run the scheme in their countries. Many other countries
have expressed an interest in the MoU and there are
ongoing discussions that are likely to lead to morewidespread adoption of the scheme.

BELGIUM
The SOBANE Strategy
Sent by Jacques Malchaire E-mail: jacques.malchaire@uclouvain.be
The SOBANE strategy for the management ofoccupational risks was developed in 2000 and isrecognized worldwide. Its aim is to make risk prevention
faster, more cost-effective and more effective incoordinating the contributions of the workers themselves,
their management, the internal and external Occupational
Health (OH) practitioners and the experts. It comprises
four levels of intervention: Screening, Observation,
Analysis and Expertise.

•••

Screening: the risk factors are detected by theworkers and their management and obvious
solutions are implemented.
Observation: the remaining problems are studied in
more detail, one by one, and their reasons andpossible solutions are discussed in detail.
Analysis: when necessary, an OH practitioner iscalled upon to carry out appropriate measurements
and develop specific solutions.

•

Expertise: when dealing with very complicated andrare problems, which require sophisticatedmeasurements and solutions, the assistance of anexpert is called upon.

A guide for the participatory screening of the risks (inFrench: Dépistage Participatif des Risques), Déparis, is
proposed for the first level of the strategy: the Screening.
The guide is used during a 2 hour meeting of key-workers
and technical staff. The work situation is systematicallyreviewed and all the aspects conditioning the easiness, theeffectiveness and the satisfaction at work are discussed, insearch of practical prevention measures. The points to bestudied more in detail, at the level 2 - Observation, areidentified.
This method has proved to be simple, time saving and witha good cost-benefit, therefore it may play a significant role inthe development of a dynamic plan for risk management
and for a culture of dialogue in enterprises.

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 200916

The Déparis guide contains 18 tables, covering the majorityof factors that influence, not only safety and health (absenceof diseases) but also well-being, professional satisfaction
and productivity for all. These 18 tables cover the following
topics: Premises and working areas; Work organization;Work accidents; Electricity, fire and explosions; Controls andsignals; Work material, tools, machines; Work postures;
Efforts and handling operations; Lighting; Noise; Chemical
and Biological risks; Thermal environments; Vibration;
Autonomy and individual responsibilities; Work content;
Time constraints; Relationships between workers and withthe hierarchy; Psychosocial environment.
Versions of this guide have been developed for some 30
types of industrial sectors or jobs.
The Observation guides for the level 2 of the SOBANE
strategy were developed for 15 domains of risks, namely:
1. Social facilities
2. Safety (accidents, falls…)
3. Machines and hand tools
4. Electricity
5. Fire and explosion
6. Lighting
7. Work on VDUs
8. Noise
9. Thermal environment
10. Chemical agents

11. Biological agents
12. Musculoskeletal disorders
13. Whole body vibration
14. Hand-arm Vibration
15. Psychosocial factors.
All documents were developed in the two official
languages of Belgium: French and Dutch. Many of them
however have been translated in various languages:
English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic and Chinese.
These documents, as well as many exemples, articles andprogrammes are available from the website of Prof. J.
Malchaire: www.deparisnet.be.
With the translation programmes now available, all
documents can easily and quite reliably be converted from
French to English.
The website www.deparisnet.be is regularly updated as it
intents to share all the experiences with SOBANE and
Déparis in the world.
If you are interested, if you want to produce a document of
the SOBANE series in another language, if you needassistance understanding and using these guides, pleasecontact
Jacques
Malchaireattheaddress
jacques.malchaire@uclouvain.be.

CANADAThe IRSST’s Summary on Cleaning and Decontamination of Workplaces Containing Beryllium
Sent by Maura Tomi, Communications Division, IRSST, Canada
E-mail : mautom@irsst.qc.ca
The IRSST has just published a summary of good cleanup
and decontamination practices for workplaces where
beryllium (Be) is found.
The present study will allow industries where beryllium ispresent to be supported in developing a cleaning and/or
decontamination protocol so that they can achieve
acceptable levels of beryllium. The project’s objective is to
produce a decontamination guide that will be acomplement to the publication “Summary of good cleanup
and decontamination practices for workplaces withberyllium containing dust” to meet specific needs (Dion,2005). The research report presents the laboratory andfield studies that will improve knowledge about theevaluation of cleaning solutions, three surface samplingtechniques, and the cleaning and decontamination
techniques used in the field. A decontamination guide will
be published separately.

During decontamination of premises where beryllium ispresent, as with other contaminants such as asbestos andlead, safety measures must apply for maintenance workers
and for the people working close to the decontamination
zone. The techniques used during maintenance ofcontaminated zones or equipment must prevent thedispersion and re-suspension of the dust. Two cleaning
principles are generally used: vacuum cleaning using avacuum equipped with a high efficiency (HEPA) filter, andwet cleaning with detergent.
To download the report, please visit: http://www.irsst.qc.ca/
files/documents/PubIRSST/R-614.pdf

Good cleaning practices for premises where beryllium isused or handled are necessary in preventing theaccumulation of beryllium on work surfaces. Such an
accumulation can result in resuspension of the beryllium
particles in the air of the work area where these particles
were.

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 200917

INDIA
Deaths of Workers in Sewage Repairs
Sent by Chandranshu Pandya E-mail: cgpandya@yahoo.com
Off and on we have been getting newspaper reports ofdeaths of workers in sewage repairs. Whether it was in
Delhi, Hyderbad, Bangalore or Ahmedabad, the problems
have remained more or less the same. One of the reports
in 2007 says that in the last 5 years, there were some 80
deaths of such workers in one of the states in India.
Considering the whole country, this figure could obviously
be in thousands. As late as in May 2009, a press reportfrom Bangalore says that some 10 workers in sewage
manholes had died of asphyxiation in one year. While theHigh Courts in some of the states in the country havegiven specific directions to municipalities to make use of
mechanical systems for sewage cleaning operations, mostof the work is still being done manually throughcontractors.
The principal cause of these deaths is the inhalation ofhydrogen sulfide gas generated by sewage. This
colourless gas, which smells like rotten eggs in low
concentrations, has the unfortunate ability to paralyze theolfactory perception at higher concentrations (above 225
mg/m3, or 150 ppm), hence odour can no longer be awarning signal. When workers inhale high concentrations,
usually found in sewage lines inside manholes, they
become unconscious in a matter of seconds. Unable tobreathe oxygen, they face almost immediate death.
It is rather unfortunate but the fact remains that for all suchtypes of “dirty” manned operations, there are hardly any
norms laid down in municipalities to ensure systematictraining, proper inspections and full range of equipment
and systems. In this type of work, it is essential to haveportable measuring direct-reading instruments to test theatmosphere before entering and, if needed (which isusually the case), portable ventilation systems, as well as
adequate and well maintained respiratory protective
equipment and harnesses so that a worker standing
outside may pull the worker inside, should he collapse.
It is very important that in carrying out these tasks, no
shortcuts are employed and that safety, health andenvironment aspects are fully taken into consideration anddocumented accordingly at every stage.

KENYA
Safe and Healthy Workplaces are Created through Continuous Training and Evaluations
Sent by Charles B. Odhiambo (DOHSO – Malindi)
Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety Services
Mombasa, Kenya.
E-mail: nyawawa@hotmail.com or cbodhis@yahoo.com“To ask men in such underdeveloped traditional societies
why they work is similar to asking why they stay alive. This
is not true for modern industrial man. To ask him what heseeks from his work is to ask a reasonable question, forwork has more meaning than mere survival or maintaining
tradition…” Anonymous
Introduction
Training means helping people to learn how to dosomething, telling people what they should or should notdo, or simply giving them information. Training is not justabout formal ‘classroom’ courses. Concerning our interest
herein it would involve transfer of information geared
towards saving lives, particularly on safety and health ofboth skilled and unskilled workers. Worker training in
occupational safety and health may serve many different
purposes. Too often, worker training is viewed only as away to comply with governmental regulations or to reduce
insurance costs by encouraging individual workers tofollow narrowly defined safe work behaviours. Worker
education serves a far broader purpose when it seeks toempower workers to take an active part in making theworkplace safe, rather than simply to encourage worker
compliance with management safety rules.

Whether one is an employer or self-employed, are theysure that they are up to date with how to identify thehazards and control the risks from their work? Do theyknow how to get help from their health and safety
enforcing authority or any consultant in their country? Do
they know what they have to do about consulting theiremployees, or their representatives, on health and safetyissues? If not, as been observed with many employers,
especially in Africa, then one would probably benefit fromoccupational health and safety training.
Why Occupational Health and Safety Training?
Today’s workplace is quite different from those of ten years
ago and vastly different from those of twenty years ago.
New technologies and new attitudes have all contributed to
produce a workplace where safe practices and proceduresmust be followed to ensure the safety of all. Yet, how manyof us have ever received comprehensive job-specificsafety and health training? More importantly, how many of
us are ever required to review and update this essentialtraining?
All too often, workers are ushered into the new job with
only a brief mention of basic safety procedures, because it
is assumed that they “come equipped” with information
about the specific hazards they are likely to encounter.

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 200918

This can be a big mistake, because failure to train and/or
adequately train continues to be among the workplacesafety “regulators” most frequent grounds for citations.
Employers can never assume that their employees share
their beliefs about safety unless they take an active role inseeing that they are properly trained.
OHS Inspectors should act as precursors in training
Few of us have first-hand accident investigation
experience and techniques, but when we walk into any
worksite, we are likely to note even the most basic safety
guidelines being ignored. Specifically, doors are left open,
protective clothing and equipment are not being used,
work areas are cluttered with improperly stored materials,
and unauthorized personal items seem to be everywhere.
Why is it that people ignore basic safety and healthguidelines designed to protect them?
One factor is that most workers feel that safety is such asimple and intuitive thing that “everyone” will know what to
do if an accident occurs. Also, there is denial (orignorance?), as evidenced by the repeated “it’s not goingto happen to me” remarks voiced to safety trainers. The
longer workers perform the same tasks, the more routine
the tasks become. In time, perceived “mastery of theobvious” breeds disregard for the possibility of hazard. As
it happened recently in at a dry dock area in Mombasa
when the jib of crawler crane collapsed without being
exposed to any load. At that particular moment a driverwith 20 years experience was handling it. Experienced andfamiliar workers tend to become complacent, overlook therisks, take shortcuts, and assume that they are performing
in a safe manner when the exact opposite might be true.
The first step in safety and health training design is to
identify the problems, which need to be addressed. Thismay be done for the entire organization, for a particularlocation or for a particular job. Alternatively, the analysis oftraining needs may have a specific focus, for example,
compliance with safety and health legislation or the
performance of the joint safety and health committee.
The behavior of the manager and supervisor plays a bigrole in establishing the overall “safety climate”. If thesupervisor never wears personal protective equipment
when working and never enforces these practices withothers, then why should we expect others working in thesame area to do any differently? As you might imagine,
age and gender also play a role. Those who are most likely
to adhere to safety procedures and practice “defensive
safety habits” are more likely to be female and some“seasoned” employees, while those least likely to adhere
to safety procedures and take excessive risks are “young”
and male.
As indicated earlier in this paper the rate at which
workplaces change with new innovations is so rapid that, if
an inspector does not keep pace with the relevant required
information as concerns the inherent hazards brought by
new inventions, then his work becomes obsolete, period.
This is a situation which is made worse by the fact that theprescriptions offered by national legislation on
occupational health and safety take even longer time tochange with prevailing circumstances. All these combined
militate against the inspector from being a precursor in
occupational health and safety training among the workers.
This is manifested by the fact that the inspector himself

would not be competent enough to pinpoint theinadequacies concerning health and safety in a new
innovation because he is not well informed in the related
matters. When the employer and some of the workers
know much more about the safety issues of theinnovations than the inspector, then the inspector would
have great difficulties in doing thorough inspections andwould not be even in a position to provide useful advice toneither the employer nor the workers.
Training can and will produce positive results if it is basedon clearly defined needs specific to the workplace and if it
is delivered with a view to those needs and the ways inwhich adults learn. This is, of course, true for safety andhealth training as well. The principles of safety and healthtraining are no different from those, which apply to any
form of industrial training. Indeed, a good case can bemade for the integration of skill training along with safety
and health training wherever possible.
Training objectives must be specific because, if they are
not, evaluating whether the training has been successful
will prove difficult. Specifically defined objectives also help
determine appropriate training contents and delivery
methods. Training objectives or goals establish the resultsthat training should achieve. Instructional methods include
a number of techniques such as lectures, problem-solving
exercises, small group discussion and role-playing. The
way in which adults learn differs from the way children
learn in several important aspects. Adults approach thetask of learning in possession of life experiences and adeveloped concept of self. Above all, adult training
involves change. As with any change, acceptance isdependent on the learners’ belief that they have some
control over the change and that the change is not
perceived as threatening.
Careful consideration should be given to the selection oftrainers and the scheduling of training. In selecting
trainers, two equally important abilities must be sought:
knowledge of the subject and teaching ability. On thewhole, it is easier for people to acquire knowledge thanteaching ability. In most workplaces, including the shop
floor, there will be a number of people who have a natural
teaching ability, and they will have the advantage ofknowing the workplace and being able to understandpractical examples. They can be used to convey
information to fellow colleagues easily. In small grouplearning, a “group learning facilitator” may be used in placeof a trainer. In this case, the facilitator is learning alongwith the group but has responsibilities for the learning
process.
Conclusion
No matter how successful training is in meeting objectives,
its effect will decline with time if reinforcement is notprovided in the workplace on a regular and consistentbasis. Such reinforcement should be the routine
responsibility of supervisors, managers and joint safety
and health committees and sometimes the inspectors. It
can be provided through regular monitoring of performanceon the job, recognition of proper performance and routine
reminders through the use of short meetings, notices andposters.

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 200919

PORTUGAL
Indoor air quality - an occupational hygiene concern
Sent by Olga Mayan, ISMAI - Instituto Superior da Maia, Portugal
E-mail: olgamayan@netcabo.pt
Ambient air quality (outdoor) has improved greatly inrecent decades. During this same period, indoor air nonindustrial settings has declined partly because of theintroduction of new building materials, furnishings andequipment, namely electronic devices, and partly because
the reduction of ventilation rates. High energy prices andcomprehensive energy conservation campaigns havemotivated people to isolate dwellings and it is known that
ventilation is necessary to remove indoor-generated
pollutants (including human bio-effluents – CO2) fromindoor air, or dilute their concentration to acceptable levels.
These developments and the fact that people inindustrialized countries spend on average 90% of theirlives indoors, makes the quality of indoor air an importantenvironmental issue with far-reaching implications forhuman health and comfort (Wargocki 2001; Sundell 2004).
Known health effects of indoor chemical and biologicalcontaminants include allergies, other hypersensitivity
reactions, airway infections and cancer. In recent years,
the effects of IAQ on productivity also became an issue asa result of extensive research and an understanding of thestrong connections between poor indoor quality andreduced personal ability to perform specific mental
activities requiring concentration, calculation or memory(Shaughnessy et al. 2006).
Complaints about IAQ range from simple complaints, suchas “the air is “smelling odd”, to more complex ones, where
the air quality causes illness and loss of work time. Twoterms have been coined to classify the symptoms andillness, namely, “Building Related Illness” (BRI) and “Sick
Building Syndrome” (SBS).
“Building-related illnesses” (BRI) are classified as noncommunicable illnesses that may be objectively diagnosedand clearly associated with pollutants or contaminants
inside buildings. These include toxic diseases, infections
and allergic lung diseases. Persons affected may needprolonged recovery times after leaving the building.
The term “sick building syndrome” (SBS) refers to aheterogeneous group of work-related symptoms, including
irritation of the skin and mucous membranes of the eyes,
nose, and throat, headache, fatigue, and difficulty inconcentrating. These are considered illnesses because of
the occurrence of symptoms, even though affected
workers do not have objective clinical or laboratory
abnormalities and causative agents cannot be found. The
majority of persons with this type of syndrome report relief
soon after leaving the building.
SBS is considered an important occupational healthproblem, in view of the fact that 50% of the entire
workforce in industrialized countries works in this type ofbuilding, and that typically 20-60% of occupants sufferfrom symptoms associated with SBS.
Three major reasons for poor IAQ are the following:i) the presence of indoor air pollution sources;ii) Unforeseen or poorly planned uses for the building,when it was designed or renovated;iii) poorly designed, operated and/or maintained ventilation
systems.
IAQ problems in schools may be even more serious thanin other categories of buildings, due to higher occupantdensity and to the frequent poor construction and/or
maintenance of school buildings. Consequently, increased
incidence of allergic and infectious diseases, as well as
comfort complaints, has been related to IAQ problems inschools (Ekmekcioglu and Keskin 2007). Poor indoor
environment may also affect intellectual performances(teaching/learning activities) and group behaviour(Wargocki et al. 2005). Therefore, schoolteacher teams
have been a focus of recent interest in occupationalsettings.
A recent study was developed in Portuguese schools,
located in Oporto city (n=11), in order to evaluate theimpact of IAQ in schools on the prevalence of healthsymptoms among teachers (Madureira et al, 2008). A
sample of teachers was selected, that fulfilled theseinclusion criteria: no indication of chronic diseases(respiratory and/or dermatologic), full time employment,
and more than two years working in the same school witha labour agreement (n=177; response rate: 66.8%).
Complaints and symptoms were collected by using a selfadministrated Indoor Air Questionnaire based on the
Swedish basic MM-questionnaire (Andersson et al. 1993).
Walk-through surveys of school grounds, buildings andindividual classrooms (n=76), as well as indoor air
monitoring, were performed.
The results demonstrated a high prevalence of teachersreporting health symptoms mainly fatigue (69%), headache(63%) and mucosal irritation/upper respiratory symptoms(60%). Significant increase in symptoms among teachers
was related to poor IAQ. The concentrations of carbon
dioxide (CO2), suspended particulate matter (PM), total
volatile organic compounds (TVOC) and bioaerosols were,respectively, 4.4, 2.8, 2.4 and 4.3 times higher indoors
than outdoors. CO2 concentrations widely exceeded theguideline reference value of 1000 ppm (reference for
acceptable ventilation rates) for more than 75% of theclassrooms. Higher PM concentrations were associatedwith the use of chalk and indoor activities like cleaning or
moving during breaks. Schools located nearby traffic lanes
presented higher benzene and toluene levels. Healthcomplaints and safety issues rise in schools, whenchemicals or other toxic substances are in use (e.g., inscience laboratories, art classrooms, cleaning activities)
and cannot be vented out. The guideline for total viablemicroorganism concentration was exceeded in 35.6% of
the classrooms. Comfort climate parameters (temperature,
relative humidity and air velocity averages) were within
acceptable ranges.
These results indicate the need for proactive indoor air
quality audits in schools as well as in other non-industrial

IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 200920

workplaces. The IAQ audits should be undertaken bycompetent professionals (e.g., occupational hygienists) atregular intervals. The audit should involve both a physicalinspection of representative items and measurements of
IAQ parameters. Items inspected should include building
maintenance, rooms divisions and occupancy, andventilation systems. An IAQ audit should include
evaluations of parameters such as temperature andrelative humidity (to check for thermal comfort), carbon
dioxide (to indicate whether the amount of fresh air issufficient), and airflow (to indicate whether the volume of
supplied air is adequate). Other indoor air quality
parameters, e.g., suspended particulate matter, VOC andbioaresols, should also be evaluated in order to better
understand health complaints.
Note: In the European Union, the Directive 2006/32/EC on“energy end-use efficiency and energy services” willcontribute to better IAQ, as it deals with energy
performance of buildings and measures to reduce building
impacts on human health through better design,
construction, operation and maintenance.
References:
Andersson K, Stridh G, Fagelund I, et al. 1993. The MMquestionnaires-a tool when solving indoor climate
problems. Department of Occupational and Environmental
Medicine, Örebro University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden

Ekmekcioglu D and Keskin SS. 2007. Characterization ofIndoor Air Particulate Matter in Selected Elementary
Schools in Istanbul, Turkey. Indoor Built Environ. 16: 169176
Madureira, J; Alvim-Ferraz, M. C. M; Rodrigues,
S; Goncalves, C.; Azevedo, M. C; Pinto, E; Mayan, O,
2009, Air Quality in Schools and Health Symptoms among
Portuguese Teachers, Human and Ecological Risk
Assessment, 15 (1); 159-169(11)Shaughnessy RJ, Haverinen-Shaughnessy U, Nevalainen
A, et al. 2006. A preliminary study on the association
between ventilation rates in classrooms and student
performance. Indoor Air 16: 465-468
Sundell J. 2004. On the history of indoor air quality andhealth. Indoor Air 7;51-58
Wargocki P. 2001. Measurements of the effects of air
quality on sensory perception. Chem. Senses 26: 345-348
Wargocki P, Wyon DP, Matysiak B, Irgens S. 2005. The
effects of classroom air temperature and outdoor air supply
rate on the performance of school work by children. Indoor
Air 1: 368-372

The Call For Papers can now be found at http://www.ioha2010.org/
The deadline for submission of abstracts, both for presentations and posters, is 1st December 2009.
The deadline for Early Bird Registration is 28 May 2010.
Disclaimer: While great care is taken with the compilation of this Newsletter, IOHA, its Directors, the Editor and theauthors of articles accept no responsibility for opinions, errors and omissions that may be made in this Newsletter. The
responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles rests solely with their authors and does not constitute an
endorsement by the IOHA.

International Occupational Hygiene Association
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IOHA Newsletter, Vol 17, No. 2, July 200921