Global ExposureManager
The newsletter of the International Occupational Hygiene Association

June 2017 | Issue 5

In this issue-- Hazard banding-- Initiative for an European Platform of professionals
in Occupational Hygiene-- SafeYouth@Work Media Competition-- Singapore Certification-- IIHA-CONNECT 2017-- Reform of occupational medicine in France-- AIHce awards-- BOHS Annual Conference-- MIHA Article-- Textile and Shoe Industry Vietnam-- Belgian Society for Occupational Hygiene update-- Stoffenmanager version 7-- News from Chemical Risk Manager

www.ioha.net

Hazard banding tools
draw scrutiny
represents the lowest range of exposure concentrations is selected
as the OEB for the chemical. Users can complete this process toquickly identify highly toxic chemicals for which further banding
should be considered.

The world needs better agreement on
occupational exposure banding and what
constitutes an OEL. Frank Zaworski reports
from the AIHce.

Tier 2 requires the user to examine a number of publicly-available
databases and extract relevant toxicological data to be used in a
banding algorithm. Tier 3 employs expert judgment to criticallyevaluate experimental data and discern toxicological outcomes
thorough evaluation of the chemical.

The process of occupational exposure banding (OEB) sparked
discussion at the recent American Industrial Hygiene Association
Conference & Exposition (AIHce), especially in relation to
substances that do not have an established occupational exposure
limit (OEL).

The proposed Tier 2 process requires the user to search theproposed Niosh-recommended sources for information related
to nine standard health endpoints. Next, the user should compare
the extracted data, which can be either quantitative or qualitative,
to the Niosh Tier 2 criteria. Based on these, the user assigns thechemical to a band for each endpoint for which data exist.

Specifically, the plethora of OEB tools available has brought into
question the ability to agree what the OEL might be and where
substances should be positioned in terms of hazard.
The US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health(Niosh) recently consulted on guidance it has prepared, whichaims to bring some clarity to the process.

As with Tier 1, the band that represents the lowest exposure
concentration range is assigned as the OEB for the chemical,
provided that the available data meets minimum requirements.
This process is more time-intensive than Tier 1 but produces
a band that is based on more reliable data. Tier 3 is employed
if a data sufficiency requirement for Tier 2 is not met and whenexpert judgment is available.

Speaking at the AIHce meeting in Seattle in early June,
Niosh’s Captain Lauralynn Taylor McKernan explained
how the proposed three-tiered system of hazard banding
could be used when a substance lacks an OEL.
Each tier of the process, she observed, has different datarequirements, which allows a variety of stakeholders to use
the exposure banding process in different situations. Selectionof the most appropriate tier for a specific banding situation
depends on the quantity and quality of the available data,
and the training and expertise of the user.

The proposed Tier 3 process is designed in recognition of the factthat not all chemicals can be banded in Tier 1 or 2, because of
a potential lack of available data from the Niosh-recommended
sources. Therefore, Tier 3 requires a detailed survey of therelevant primary literature and an analysis of the resulting
experimental data. The Tier 3 process relies on expert judgment
and a critical evaluation of the available dose-response data.

Tiered approach
Tier 1, according to Niosh, requires the least information andonly modestly-specialised user training. Each of the successively
higher tiers requires more chemical-specific data to assign an
OEB successfully: a primary goal of Tier 1 assessment is to givethe user a quick summary of the most important health effects
associated with exposure to the chemical of interest, and toquickly identify extremely toxic chemicals that should
be considered for substitution or elimination.

Hazard banding tools
With at least twelve hazard banding tools available globallyto the industrial hygiene community, problems may arise
establishing broadly-accepted OELs because there appears
to be a lack of agreement between hazard banding tool results.
“One globally used hazard banding engine may decrease theconfusion that the dozen different engines are now causing for
SMEs and the international occupational hygiene community,”
said Theo Scheffers of the Netherlands-based TSAC consultancy.

The proposed Niosh Tier 1 OEB process is aligned with
the Globally Harmonised System (GHS) of classificationand labelling of chemicals. The user collects GHS hazard
codes and categories from Niosh-recommended sources and thendetermines the corresponding band for each of the hazard codesand categories using certain criteria. The endpoint band that
IOHA Newsletter“The consequence of the differences between hazard banding
engines may be that stakeholders and parties who are notinterested in occupational hygiene, like lawyers and marketing
departments, may go shopping for which tool provides the mostfavourable result for their interest,” Mr Scheffers added.
1

June 2017

Niosh draft OEB process guidance“This is a disgrace for the global industrial hygiene community.”He therefore called for all stakeholders to gather at IOHA’s 2018
meeting in Washington, DC, to hammer out how the alignmentof hazard banding engines can be realised.

www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket/
review/docket290/pdfs/
clean-cib-niosh-oebprocessguidancefortheevaluationofch
emicalhazards_3.8.17.pdf

One of those stakeholders is international chemical company
Solvay, based in Belgium. It handles around 8,000 chemicals
that do not have an OEL, according to its HSE specialist James
Asbury. He told AIHce delegates that there is a strong need forappropriate risk control strategies, and Solvay has developed its
own hazard banding tool to establish in-house OELs. He said
it works just as well as any of the commercially-available options.

News
Plan for European OH platform progresses
Seven national occupational hygiene associations in EU
countries have decided to launch a project to establish
a common European OH platform.
The associations and project representatives are:
• Belgian Society for Occupational Hygiene (BSOH),
Tom Geens;• Société Française des Hygienistes du Travail (Sofhyt),
Antoine Leplay;• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Arbeitshygiene (DGAH),
Christian Schumacher;• Associazione Italiana Degli Igienisti Industriali (AIDII),
Paulo Sacco;• Nederlandse Vereniging voor Arbeidshygiëne (NVvA),
Margreet Sturm;• Asociación Española de Higiene Industrial (AEHI),
Rudolf van der Haar; and• Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Arbeitshygiene (SSHT),
Catherine Tomicic.

Karen Niven, immediate past president of the IOHA,
welcomed the project and said that its existence would
strengthen the occupational hygiene community in Europe,
particularly in terms of enhancing collaboration.
Lawrence Sloan, CEO of the American Industrial Hygiene
Association (AIHA), also encouraged the initiative. He notedthat the AIHA board is in the process of adapting a morecomprehensive strategy and would consider advocating thisapproach in other regions aligned with its own geographicalpriorities.
The intention is for the the European platform to be customerdriven, working on “what the market wants from industrial
hygienists, understanding the country and the environment
the discipline is operating in,” said Sofhyt’s Antoine Leplay.
After the project was described to Dr Thomas Fuller, the AIHA
representative at the IOHA, during the Preventica occupational
health and safety meeting in Paris in June, he commented: “I thinka collaborative European occupation hygiene association would
be very beneficial as a means to bring more professionals together
and build synergy.”
A project team drawn from each of the seven members
has started to list and to prioritise the expectations of eachof the corresponding national associations.
Technical topics in the chemical risk domain, such as REACH
regulations and occupational exposure level setting, have also
been identified in the context of the collaborative process andwere prioritised during a planning teleconference meeting in June.
These include:• alignment of hazard banding models;• improved EU collaboration on EN689, a draft standard on
the measurement of exposure to chemicals and occupational
exposure limit values• exposure modelling versus exposure monitoring in chemicalrisk assessment;

IOHA Newsletter

2

June 2017• review and feedback on EU semi-quantitative risk assessment
tools for chemicals;

Professional certification for industrial
hygienists in Singapore• quantitative efficacy of risk management measures for exposure
mitigation from REACH; andSome 16 practising industrial hygienists have been registeredso far under a scheme introduced by Singapore’s Occupational
and Environmental Health Society (OEHS).

• collecting and enabling the visibility of practical examples
of success stories in the implementation of risk management
measures, according to the principle of hierarchy of controls.

The scheme itself was originally launched in 2013, with theaim of giving industrial hygienists recognition, raising standards
and improving practices in the profession.

More associations will be invited to join this year; the platform
will be open to associations in EU member countries and thewider European region.

A Registered Industrial Hygienist (RIH) Board was set up in 2015
to administer it. The OEHS is an affiliated member of the IOHA,
and is working to secure the national accreditation recognition forthe scheme, known as RIH (SG).

The decision to launch the project was taken in April at the
British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) conference inHarrogate. Tracey Boyle, immediate past president of BOHS,
said that the British association has not joined yet, due to otherpriorities, but it is anticipating doing so in the future.

OEHS says the scheme, “will further enhance the professionalismof the occupation and provide impetus for individuals to consider
IH as a career. With this certification, expectations for industrial
hygiene professionals in Singapore will inevitably rise. The RIH(SG) have a duty to show employers, employees and the public
the impact and difference they can make to the industrial hygiene
landscape in Singapore.”

For more information, please contact the coordinatorof the initiative, Antoine Leplay at Sofhyt in France:
aleplayconsult@gmail.com
BOHS presentation: www.oh-2018.com/files/2017/05/
OH2017-Eu-OSH-Platform-initiative-final-8c-Leplay.pdf

SafeYouth@Work launches media competition
The International Labor Organization (ILO) SafeYouth@
Work Project, which seeks to promote occupational health andsafety for young workers worldwide, is launching a global media
competition for young people in the 15-24 age range. The aim
is to help to “put youth vision and voice at the centre of
discussion on preventing workplace accidents and diseases”.
The competition is being carried out in conjunction with theInternational Media Festival for Prevention and the XXI World
Congress on Safety & Health at Work, which is taking placein Singapore on 3-6 September. The project is supported by
the US Department of Labor’s Office of Child Labor, Forced
Labor & Human Trafficking and forms part of the ILO’s Global
Action for Prevention on Occupational Safety and Health(OSH GAP) programme.

Seminar publicity and feedback session on the RIH (SG) scheme
The RIH scheme is benchmarked against other establishedmodels like the American Certified Industrial Hygienist andthe UK’s Chartered Occupational Hygienist schemes. To be
certified as a RIH (SG), an individual must meet rigorous
standards of education and experience by proving competency
in the comprehensive practice of industrial hygiene through oral
and/or written examinations.

Winning entries will be featured at the congress and will
be presented at a special awards ceremony. Some winners
will also be invited to Singapore to share their ideas on safety
and health. Submission categories include film, photography,
drawing, music and writing. Young people with a creative ideathat does not fit into one of these categories can submit theircreation through the ‘Surprise Us!’ category.

Professional ethics, peer acceptance and an established reputation
are essential qualities for certification.
In addition, the RIH (SG) scheme aims to offer industrial hygiene
networking opportunities and build a culture of continual learning
to keep abreast of rapid changes in industrial and environmental
health science.

For more information, go to: www.ilo.org/safeyouth/en/
OSH GAP: www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/how-the-iloworks/WCMS_495278/lang--en/index.htm

IOHA Newsletter

It complements the Singapore Ministry of Manpower’s
Occupational Hygiene Professional Development Framework,
which is part of the national strategy to galvanise stakeholders’efforts towards continuous improvement in the managementof workplace health hazards and exposure risks.
3June 2017

Indonesia: Integrating industrial hygiene
into HSE

with feedback from members. Attending the training gave
participants credits for further professional certification.

Just under a year after it was founded, the Indonesian Industrial
Hygiene Association (IIHA) has held its first major seminar.
Under the banner ‘2017 IIHA Connect’, the 6 May meetingat Depok, south of the capital Jakarta, attracted 200 industrial
hygiene and health, safety and environmental (HSE) practitioners
from various industries and institutions.

In terms of qualifications, speakers at the seminar agreed thatthe industrial hygiene profession requires specific qualifications
that cannot be achieved only through a short course and via
exams. It requires gradual competency development programmesthat are internationally recognised, and adequate professional
experience. Another issue is the importance of conducting risk
assessments and using the results to develop risk-based industrial
hygiene programmes.

IIHA president Elsye As Safira delivering the opening remarks
at IIHA Connect
With the theme “Managing industrial hygiene as an integrated
element of HSE”, the event provided participants with accessto education sessions and a broader network. As such, IIHA
said that it kept them updated on standards and technology
in the field of industrial hygiene in order to improve theirprofessional competency.

France reforms occupational medicine
France introduced a new labour law relating to occupational
medicine on 1 January, according to Luc Decosse, vice-presidentof Sofhyt, the French Society of Occupational Hygienists.
The law is designed to address a shortage of occupational
physicians and will have a significant impact on the activityof occupational health services. Key details include:

Related to the main theme, two keynote speakers explained
strategies in managing industrial hygiene programmes andintegrating them into overall HSE programmes based on theirown experiences. The speakers were:• ending systematic medical examination;• increasing the time between visits; and• developing the role of occupational nurses.

• Brian Eva, secretary of the Australian Institute of Occupational
Hygienists; andCombined with the 2016-2020 National Health At Work Plan,
which emphasises prevention instead of cure, the new law clearly
demonstrates the need for experts in the promotion of occupational
health in the medium and longer term, Mr Decosse believes.
This competence may be fulfilled internally within a company
or with support from external occupational health services.

• Norhazlina Mydin, president of the Malaysian Industrial
Hygiene Association.
Other speakers during the plenary session were:• Sjahrul M. Nasri, on IIHA professional certification;• Wenny Ipmawan, on industrial hygiene risk management; andFrance has had a highly developed programme of medical
surveillance in place for the past 50 years. As a result,occupational hygiene has been more or less part of occupational
medicine and there have been relatively few occupational
hygienists. However, because the number of doctors has been
in decline, medical surveillance has been reduced. Sofhyt sees thisas an opportunity to develop a prevention-based approach.

• Soehatman Ramli, on HSE risk management programmes.
A day before the conference, IIHA had conducted four industrial
hygiene training sessions on:• Key principles of industrial hygiene monitoring, by Elsye As
Safira, president of IIHA
• Chemical hazard communication according to GHS, by Dr Mila
Tejamaya, general secretary of IIHA

More widely, change is in the air as more and more university
curricula are offering health and safety diplomas. Meanwhile,
Sofhyt is proposing exams leading to the certification ofoccupational hygienists. Increasingly companies also requirea certified level of competencies when they offer jobs.
This expertise in health at work is fully in line with themultidisciplinary approach needed to assess the risks andto preserve the physical and mental health of employees.

• Vibration: OELs and measurement, by Sjahrul M. Nasri,
advisory board chairman of IIHA
• Ergonomic study, by Dr Baiduri Widanarko, treasury II
of IIHA.
The topics had been selected based on a review process
conducted by a commission under the training division of IIHA,

IOHA Newsletter

4June 2017

Twenty-six honoured at 2017 AIHce

BOHS conference takes place in Harrogate

The American Industrial Health Association (AIHA) paid
tribute to 26 annual award recipients at its 2017 convention
and exposition (AIHce) held in Seattle, Washington, 4-7 June.
Included among those awarded for their contributions to theindustrial hygiene (IH) industry were the following:

Feedback on the BOHS Annual Conference, which took
place at the Harrogate Convention Centre 24–27 April,
was unanimously positive, according to conference manager
Marie Townshend. All delegates said that the quality of speakers
met, exceeded or greatly exceeded their expectations and 80%
rated the conference as good, very good or excellent compared
to previous years.

Dr John Driscoll, ACSF, received the Edward J Baier TechnicalAchievement Award for his innovations and far-sighted
development of photoionisation detector (PID) technologies
that have led to a transformation in real-time detection tools
used by the IH profession;

Following the opening Warner Lecture on the subject of mental
health from Martin Coyd OBE of Mace, the programme included
three additional keynote sessions:• Effectiveness of a multi-dimensional randomised control
intervention to reduce quartz exposure among construction
workers by Erik van Deurssen;

Gayla J. McCluskey, CIH, CSP, ROH, QEP, FAIHA, received
a Distinguished Service Award for her career-long advancementof IH, leadership, development of occupational safety and healthpolicy, development of practice guidelines, and more;• Your health, your future – a construction industry perspectiveby Martin Worthington from Morgan Sindall; and• Understanding barriers to making positive health choices
by Chris Woods.

Steve M. Hays, PE, CIH, FACEC, QEP, FAIHA, partner andchairman of the board at Gobbell Hays Partners, was presented
the Donald E. Cummings Memorial Award for his contributions
to the knowledge and practice of industrial hygiene;

The president’s session took the form of a panel discussion
led by Bharat Patel and focusing on the future of worker healthprotection in the UK, particularly post-Brexit.

Melissa Rupert, CIH, received the Kusnetz Award for her work
on AIHA mentoring and professional development programmes.
She is the current chair of the AIH Foundation Donor Relations
and Fundraising Committee;

There were over 45 session speakers over the course of the event,with presentations on topics including:• respiratory protective equipment;

Thea D. Dunmire, JD, CIH, CSP, was presented with theAlice Hamilton Award for her definitive, lasting achievementin the field of occupational and environmental hygiene throughpublic and community service, social reform, and more.
She has demonstrated commitment to worker health and safety
through endless devotion to the consensus standard process
in management systems;• product stewardship;• asbestos;• legionella; and• noise control.
Five workshops also took place during the event, with subjects
including occupational hygiene strategy, ergonomics anddermal assessment.

Dr W.F.J.P.M. Ten Berge received the William P Yant Award forwork on dermal absorption, including collaboration with a dermal
exposure team sponsored by the AIHA Exposure Assessment
Strategies Committee to refine the SkinPerm model’s ease ofuse and data presentation, resulting in the AIHA product ‘IHSkinPerm’;Due to the past popularity of the Ignite session, in which
speakers have a maximum of five minutes each to make theirpresentations, the session was run as a plenary this year so thatno one had to choose between sessions. Nine presenters took
part. The mobile app also proved popular: it was downloaded
and used by more than half the delegates, with over 10,000
page views.

Dr J. Torey Nalbone, CIH, associate professor and chairof the Departments of Civil Engineering and Environmental
Engineering and Construction Management, University ofTexas, was presented a Meritorious Achievement Award for
his long-term contribution to the progress of occupationaland environmental hygiene; andUS Senator Sherrod Brown received the William Steiger Memorial
Award for his leadership in the fight to support government
agencies that promote workplace safety.

IOHA Newsletter

5June 2017

Events
assessment; occupational health services; current issues in occupational
health and safety; human factors; agricultural health and safety; and,chronic health, industrial food safety and management.
www.occupationalhealth.conferenceseries.com/

26th International Symposium on Epidemiology in
Occupational Health (EPICOH)
28-31 AugustEdinburgh International Conference Centre, UK
EPICOH is part of the International Commission on Occupational
Health (ICOH) and has as its main function the promotion ofcommunication among epidemiologists, industrial hygienists, andother occupational health scientists worldwide. The conference themeof ‘Eliminating occupational risk: Translating research into action’aims to focus on drawing together the latest work from its scientists
around the world and synthesising the conclusions into a series of
implementable actions. www.epicoh2017.org/

Inhaled Particles XII
25-27 September
Glasgow Marriott Hotel, UK
The 12th conference in the Inhaled Particle series will discuss new issues,
developments, techniques and analyses to see the key issues of the futureand how best to address them in the field of inhaled particles. As usual,it will cover all particles and all aspects of science associated with diseasecaused by the inhalation of particles. In particular there will be papers
on new technologies and approaches to exposure assessment; managing
and preventing release, biomonitoring and sensors, modelling andassessing hazard, and risk assessment and decision-making, plus
regulation and governance, hazard and both indoor and outdoor air
pollution. www.inhaledparticles.org.uk/glasgow/

XXI World Congress on Safety
and Health at Work 2017
3-6 September
Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore
Under the motto of ‘A global vision of prevention’, this event brings together
thought leaders and OSH practitioners for three days of discussions.
The three key topics are: Vision zero – from vision to reality; Healthy
work – healthy life; and People-centered prevention. There are keynote
speakers addressing these issues from the International Social Security
Association, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and Singapore’s
Ministry of Manpower. The congress also features the ILO SafeYouth@
Work Media Competition, an opportunity for young people to show whatsafety and health at work means to them by showcasing innovative ideas.
www.safety2017singapore.com/

23rd Occupational Health Week: ‘The Human Beingin the Future of Work’, including: 37th Congress on
Ergonomics, Hygiene, Medicine and Occupational
Security and 16th Colombian Congress on Ergonomics
and More Human Work Environments and Daily Life
31 October-3 November 2017
Hotel Intercontinental, Medellín, Colombia
The event seeks to raise awareness and promote: the rules and ethics
of occupational health; research, techniques and developments relating
to health and safety at work; and, application and experiences. Themes
include: age and work; applied ergonomics; education and culture forhealth and safety at work; environmental management; gender- and workintegrated risk management; implementation of Colombia’s General System
of Security and Health at Work (SG-SST) legislation and regulations;occupational hygiene and the environment; managing health and safety
at work; occupational hygiene; occupational preventative medicine;
psychosocial risks; supervision and vigilance trends in health and security
at work, such as diversity, chronic health issues and demographic changes;
toxicology; and, vibrations. www.semanadelasaludocupacional.com.co

6th International Conference and Exhibition
on Occupational Health and Safety
13-14 September
Dallas, Texas, US
Organised by Conference Series, this event suits both participants
attending specific courses related to their immediate needs and thoseseeking a comprehensive certificate programme in occupational healthand safety management. There are ten tracks, covering: women’soccupational health; occupational disease and human health;occupational medicine and therapy; occupational hazards; risk

The Global Exposure Manager has been compiled
for IOHA by the on-line information service,
Chemical Risk Manager.
Disclaimer
While great care has been taken with the compilationof this newsletter, IOHA, its Directors, the editor
and the authors of articles accept no responsibility
for opinions, errors and omissions that may be madein this Newsletter. The responsibility for opinions
expressed in signed articles rests solely with theirauthors and does not constitute an endorsementby the IOHA.

IOHA Newsletter

International Occupational Hygiene
Association (IOHA)
5/6 Melbourne Business Court
Millennium Way
Derby
DE24 8LZ UK
www.ioha.net
T: +44 (0) 1332 298 101
F: +44 (0) 1332 298 099
E: admin@ioha.net
A Company Limited by Guarantee
Registered in England No. 06327692

6

Chemical Risk Manager
Editorial
Andrew Warmington:
andrew.warmington@chemicalwatch.com
Judith Chamberlain:judith.chamberlain@chemicalwatch.com
Sales
Charlotte Spencer: lotte@chemicalwatch.com
Talbot House, Market Street, Shrewsbury SY1 1LG
www.chemicalwatch.com/crmhub© 2017 CW Research Ltd. All right reserved

June 2017

25 - 27 September 2017
Glasgow Marriott Hotel

IPXII
Inhaled Particles XII

Bookings open

Delegate rates

Bookings are now open forInhaled Particles XII (IPXII) thelatest in a long line of highly
successful and prestigious
international conferences andmeetings organised by the British
Occupational Hygiene Society(BOHS). It is the oldest ongoing
symposium series on the adverse
health effects of inhaled particles.

Delegate Rates

Full Conference

Early Bird*

BOHS Member

£450

£400

Non-member

£550

£500

Speaker£350

BOHS Student Member£300*Early bird rates end on 31 July 2017

Exhibitor packages
Stand package£1,000• 3 x 2m shell space• One delegate place including entry to all conference
sessions and daytime refreshments• Logo and company profile in the conference programme• Logo and link from the IPXII website to your own• Logo on holding slides throughout the conference

The first Inhaled Particles conference was held in Oxford
in1960 and over the next 50 or so years the meetings havebeen successful at attracting leaders and students in all of thescientific disciplines associated with particle-related disease.

Sponsorship opportunities• Sponsorship of the conference dinner£2,000• Advert in the conference programme£500• A5 or A4 single sheet Insert intodelegate bags

£500

• Branding of delegate bags

SOLD

All prices are subject to UK VAT currently at 20%.

To view the preliminary programme,
for more details about sponsoring andexhibiting or to book your place visit
www.inhaledparticles.org
IOHA Newsletter

7

June 2017

Mainstreaming industrial
hygiene in Malaysia
local occupational safety and health (OSH) associations,international industrial hygiene associations, industries
and universities. To this end, MIHA has organised or
has been involved with multiple events since early 2017.

It has been a challenging year for the global
economy. Nevertheless, companies andorganisations are forced to explore new approaches,
new thinking and new collaborations to mitigate
health, safety and environmental risks in amore cost-effective manner. The Malaysian
Industrial Hygiene Association (MIHA) is seeking
to reinforce and redefine the approach to‘mainstreaming industrial hygiene’ in Malaysia
and the wider region.

On 17 January, MIHA organised its first Industrial Hygiene
Academicians and Researchers’ Forum at the Everly Hotelin Putrajaya. The forum was designed to discuss further
collaborations and networking between MIHA, industries
and universities, as well as to strengthen research and teachingon industrial hygiene-related subjects in universities. A totalof 22 academics from 15 universities attended. Speakers from
DOSH, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and
Health (Niosh), Social Security Organisation (Socso), Petronasand Shell Malaysia were invited to share opportunities in R&D
collaborations and graduate employment.

This is also being done to support Malaysia’s Occupational Safety
and Health Master Plan (OSH-MP) 2020, which was introducedby the government authority, the Department of Occupational
Safety and Health (DOSH).
Five programmes have been registered under OSH-MP 2020
to support the strategy of mainstreaming industrial hygiene,
with the ultimate aims of enjoying a good quality of life,
increased productivity and raising the quality of work
environments. The programmes are:
1. re-engineering industrial hygiene management: An effective
and systematic industrial hygiene management programme
at the workplace will help to reduce employees’ exposure
to occupational health risks, such as exposure to hazardous
chemicals and noise, and to improve ergonomics;

MIHA’s first industrial hygiene forum for academics and researchers

The Korean Industrial Hygiene Association (KIHA) Conference
2017 took place on 11-12 February in Daegu, South Korea’s
third largest city. This biannual conference was attended by some
600 delegates, mostly from South Korea. The Asian Network of
Occupational Hygiene (ANOH) board member meeting was held
during the meeting, on the 10 February. The MIHA honorary
secretary, Noormahani Harun, and committee member Megat
Azman Bin Megat Mokhtar represented the MIHA president
at the meeting.

2. comprehensive health risk assessment: It is the responsibilityof employers to protect employees from adverse health effects
arising from the workplace through the implementation ofcomprehensive health risk assessment to create safe and healthy
work environments;
3. occupational health service programme at the workplace:
Healthy work environments and workforces are the greatest
assets for each individual community and for the country
that needs to be sustained;
4. industrial hygiene outreach programme: The requirements
of industrial hygiene legislation, standards and guidelines
which need to be communicated clearly to industries andrelevant stakeholders; and5. effective enforcement of legislation relating to industrial
hygiene: The success of enforcement relating to industrial
hygiene legislation relies on its comprehensiveness andeffectiveness in mitigating health risk in the workplace.

MIHA participated in the ANOH meeting during KIHA’s 2017conference in February

In order to support OSH-MP 2020, MIHA’s efforts concentrateon strengthening its collaborations with governmental bodies,
IOHA Newsletter

8June 2017

Nuturing collaboration throughsport, MIHA’s Futsal team at
the Niosh tournament in May.
Finally, MIHA sent a team to participate in the Niosh Futsal
Tournament on 6 May at Galaxy Futsal at Bandar Baru Bangi
in Selangor province. This was part of the effort to nurture
collaboration through informal and fun means with otheradvocates of OHS. After many struggles, coupled with great
team spirit and relentless encouragement from supporters, theMIHA team finished in second place.

Industrial Hygiene & Safety Seminar 2017
Organiser: Universiti Teknologi MARA, Faculty of Health
Science Students’ Association & Environmental HealthStudents’ Association
Theme: Cultivating industrial hygiene practices
Date: 22 May
Venue: UITM, Puncak Alam, Selangor
Speaker: MIHA committee, Kim Kek Seong
Title: MIHA activities in promoting industrial hygiene

In addition, MIHA has contributed speakers to various
conferences and seminars as a way of adding value to its
stakeholders, as well as promoting the industrial hygiene
profession through structured engagement and communication
programmes. These are:

In addition, MIHA has conducted various training events
to enhance industrial hygiene knowledge in the region in linewith its mission. This includes promoting the anticipation,
identification, evaluation and control of environmental factors
and stressors arising in or from the workplace, or its products,
in relation to the health or wellbeing of workers and the public.

FMM Safety & Health Conference 2017
Organiser: Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM)
Theme: Protecting people, adding value - towards minimisingrisk and shaping progressive OSH culture
Date: 14-15 March
Venue: E&O Hotel, Penang
Speaker: MIHA honorary vice president, Ng Hon Seng
Title: Critical roles of industrial hygiene

Among the training events that MIHA has conducted this year are:Comprehensive industrial hygiene (intermediate)
Date: 20-23 March
Venue: Corus Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
Trainer: Professor Park Doo-Yong

FGV/FELDA World OSH Day 2017
Organiser: Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA)and FELDA Global Ventures (FGV) with support from
the Malayan Agricultural Producers Association (MAPA)
Theme: Optimising the collection and use of OSH Data
Date: 26 April
Venue: Menara FELDA, Kuala Lumpur
Speaker: MIHA honorary president, Norhazlina Mydin
Title: Approaches to strengthen industrial hygiene practices

Fundamentals of industrial hygiene
Date: 18-20 April
Venue: Corus Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
Trainer: Zaiton Sharif & Ir. Nimi Ahmad
Asbestos management programme
Date: 24-25 May
Venue: Impiana Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
Trainer: Rajesh N. Jackson, Wan Sabrina Wan Mohamad& Swee Siang Ng

Second IIHA Conference, Exhibition and Training (IIHA
Connect) 2017
Organiser: Indonesian Industrial Hygiene Association (IIHA)
Theme: Managing industrial hygiene as integrated elementof HSE
Date: 5-6 May
Venue: Margo Hotel, Depok, Jakarta
Speaker: MIHA honorary president, Norhazlina Mydin
Title: Integrating industrial hygiene in HSE programmes
IOHA Newsletter

Implementing industry code of practiceon indoor air quality (IAQ)
Date: 24-25 May
Venue: Corus Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
Trainer: Yu Mei Huey

9

June 2017

Industrial hygiene ‘knowledge cafe’ at MIHA’s 15th AGM

More training is planned later this year, including on:

As a start, held in conjunction with the 15th AGM, MIHA
conducted an industrial hygiene ‘knowledge café’, with thetheme ‘Mainstreaming industrial hygiene in SMEs’. The objectivesof the session included:• guidelines on the use of personal protective equipment against
chemical hazards;• health hazard classification for chemical health risk assessors;• raising awareness among SMEs in Malaysia on the issues
and associated risks of health hazards at workplaces;• ergonomic assessment;• Industry Code of Practice (ICOP) classification, labelling andsafety data sheet (known as CLASS) 2014 for chemical hazard
classifiers, and many more.

• identifying key health risks and proposing practicalimprovement measures, to manage health risks;• helping SMEs to comply with relevant industrial
hygiene legislation;

SME focus
Furthermore, with the increasing trend of occupational incidents
and illnesses, such as noise induced hearing loss and various typesof musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), it is essential to enhance
OSH management in workplaces, especially among small andmedium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The business focus needs
to be enhanced and prioritised so that OSH management is
considered essential for sustaining business growth in thelong run, says MIHA. Another key message is that it will also
strengthen businesses in the global market.

• formulating and sustaining industrial hygiene projects
in SMEs, to ensure improvements are continually andeffectively implemented; andAs mainstreaming industrial hygiene is one of the pillars
in Malaysia’s OSH-MP 2020, MIHA is taking a proactive
measure to improve industrial hygiene practices in SMEs
as part of its work this year. Based on 2015 statistics, SMEs
contributed 36.3% of Malaysia’s GDP and represented 65%
of employment in the country.

MIHA welcomes all members who are passionate and want
to improve industrial hygiene practices in Malaysia. It looks
forward to a greater industrial hygiene success through thisyear, and going forwards. It says: “Every effort counts, every
idea matters, and every one can make a difference in this journey.”• reducing the rates and cases of occupational diseases
in Malaysia.
Moving forward, MIHA aspires to strengthen industrial
hygiene practices in SMEs through collaborations with various
stakeholders such as SMECorp, FMM, SOCSO and DOSH.

The best strategy, MIHA says, is simplifying and adapting existinglegislation to make it applicable to SMEs, combined with various
forms of implementation support from relevant authorities
and bodies. This includes, but is not limited to, sharing of goodpractices, training of employees, the development of simple risk
assessment tools, guidelines, and financial incentives.

IOHA Newsletter

10June 2017

Improving textile andshoe industry working
conditions in Vietnam (part 2)• the Vietnamese Industrial Hygiene Association (VIHA);

Tackling the lack of knowledge and poor
conditions for workers in the shoe and fabricmanufacturing industries in Vietnam is theaim of a groundbreaking project being led
by a team of industrial hygienists. Judith
Chamberlain, risk management assistant
editor of Chemical Risk Manager, reportson the second visit in this programme.

• the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association (VITAS);• Better Work Vietnam;• the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry (VCCI); and• the local auditors of the Fair Wear Foundation.
They also visited two production plants and were surprised about
the high exposures to solvents used for screen printing and gluing.
A second visit took place in March, organised with the VCCIand Better Work Vietnam, with the main goal of giving two
courses about recognising and estimating exposure to chemicals
and taking adequate control measures. The content of the training
course was determined with input from local partners, anddelivered with simultaneous translation into Vietnamese.

In the third edition of Global Exposure Manager, publishedin December 2016, there was a report from Andre Winkes,
an industrial hygienist and safety engineer with consultancy
Arbo Unie, along with Koen Verbist from Cosanta and Hester
Dekker. This covered the first results of their project in Vietnam
and their first visit to Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City in June 2016.

“We were happily surprised about the perfect way in which
the training was organised by the VCCI,” says Mr Winkes.
“The interest in the training was huge and far larger thanwe could handle. We finally trained 80 people, all of whom

During that visit, the three built a network with relevant
stakeholders in Vietnam, including:

IOHA Newsletter

11

June 2017

are responsible for EHS within their factory. It was very nice
to work with very enthusiastic participants. They were very
willing to participate in different kinds of exercises and share
information about their own factories.”

Stoffenmanager was used to calculate inhalation exposures,
which were three to ten times above European occupational
exposure limits. However, Mr Winkes notes, the Fair Wear
Foundation does not judge the factory and then abandon
it because of poor performance on working conditions.

Most of the participants work in factories with 1,000-5,000
or more workers. Indirectly, then, Mr Winkes, Mr Verbist
and Ms Dekker believe that they reached approximately 50,000
workers and came away with the hope that in time the participants
will be able to make a difference. Adds Mr Winkes: “In Vietnam
it is always very important that a training course ends witha ceremony where all the participants receive their certificate
and have the opportunity to make a selfie with the trainers.”“[The audit] is seen as a starting point for further improvement,with options for improvements included in the corrective action
plan that the company receives after the audit. The basis of the
Fair Wear Foundation method is that the producer is committed tohelp the factory to improve step-by-step until the standards are met.”
Future plans include continuing the voluntary project. The VCCI
has asked Mr Winkes, Mr Verbist and Mrs Dekker to continue
their training programme and to set up a train-the-trainer
programme. They have also been asked by participants ofthe training course to perform factory visits to help themto improve as well.

In addition to conducting the training, the three also participatedin an audit for the Fair Wear Foundation of a small screen-printing
factory, in which approximately 60 workers screen-print outdoor
equipment for a European company. Together with the auditors,
they tested an improved questionnaire on chemical exposure.

Contact: andre.winkes@arbounie.nl“The production methods werevery basic and everything wasprinted manually,” Mr Winkes says.

In the workplace
there was only
general ventilation
which was only usedevery now and then.
The workers and the
manager had no idea
about the possible
health risk of thesubstances they were
working with.
IOHA Newsletter

12June 2017

BSOH: An update
Getting Michel Vangeel, global industrial hygiene (IH) leadfor Johnson & Johnson Worldwide, on board was a big step
forward as he brought in a lot of expertise and a wider perspective
than just IH. Another boost was having Maurits De Ridder to takeon the role of secretary.

The Belgian Society for Occupational Hygiene
has revived completely since 2010. Judith
Chamberlain reports.
If you are looking for inspiration on how to develop and energise
an occupational hygiene society, then a good place to start could
be the Belgian Society for Occupational Hygiene (BSOH).
With just 40 to 50 members when it started, the society now
boasts around 200. The BSOH has very limited resources –membership is only €50 – and its success has been achieved
simply through a lot of energy and commitment.

A fantastic mix
Besides working as scientist at Ghent University, Mr De Ridder
has also been part of the General Directorates Supervision of
Well-Being at Work and Humanisation of Labour for over 30
years. “What we have ended up with is a fantastic mix of people
representing scientists, university people, federal governmentand big companies – this is one of the big strengths of ourcommittee,” he says.

We have just done the bestwith what we have got.

One of the key impetuses was providing a platform to
exchange ideas and transfer knowledge to a broader audience.
“We found that people wanted to carry on their conversations
after meetings but there was no way to do that easily. Now wemeet at least three times a year – and can easily stay in contact
and pass on knowledge.”“We have just done the best with what we have got,” says BSOH
chairman Tom Geens, who is currently working as a seniorscientist and occupational hygienist at Provikmo, a Belgian
national occupational health service. “So we want to senda positive message to others and hope we can be a good example
for other associations trying to set themselves up.”

So what has the BSOH achieved in the last seven years?
One of its proudest achievements is its involvement with training
on IH courses at Leuven University. Many of the board members
provide training and input on the courses, as well as having strong
involvement with general courses on occupational safety to raiseawareness for places dealing with long-term health risks.

Started in 1991, the BSOH had been successfully runningwith up to 60-70 members and headed by Professor Hendrik
Veulemans. Following a series of personal difficulties for him
and other board members, it fell into inactivity in 2006.
Then in 2010, a group of students following the occupational
hygiene training course at Leuven University – initiated by the same
Professor Veulemans – decided it was time to revive the society.

Training accreditation
As the liaison with the IOHA, Mr De Ridder says: “BSOH
is working towards getting accreditation from the National
Accreditation Recognition committee at IOHA for this training
work, which will mean that all students could get national
certificates from IOHA as well as us. There is a lot of work
involved but we are aiming to do this within the next year.”

It was their energy and enthusiasm that gave the society
the triggering spark it needed.

BSOH has established good connections with a range of industrial
hygiene societies in other countries, including the Netherlands(NVvA), France (Sofhyt) and the UK (BOHS), and have supported
joint conferences with the French and Dutch societies.

Mr Geens and other enthusiastic students had a start-up
meeting with Professor Veulemans, who was keen to participate
and relaunch the association. They decided that finding key people
to provide a range of expertise and energy was crucial to getting
the society going.

Within Belgium, the society has also built links with otherorganisations involved in well-being via a Consortium of
Belgian Prevention workers known as ‘CoBePrev’, which
encompasses the different regional and national associations.
As part of CoBePrev, BSOH is also involved in rewriting an
occupational safety handbook in order to make it applicable
to all prevention generalists so that everyone in Belgium is
working according to the same standards and with the same
basic knowledge.

“We started off by getting in contact with the last board
members to see if they were still interested in being involved,”says Mr Geens. “Luckily we had lots of support from previous
members and we received a lot of information which was great
as there was a large gap to fill in.”

IOHA Newsletter

13

June 2017

@BOSH www.bsoh.be

At government level, BSOH has also established a relationshipwith the council for prevention and protection at work. The main
aim of this dialogue is to set up an expert committee to guide thedevelopment of legislation, rather than an advisory board which
may or may not comment on already passed occupational healthlegislation resulting from the social dialogue between employers
and employees.

“It would give us a fantastic boost if we can get 20-30 students
involved and we are really looking forward to working on thisin the coming months,” adds Mr Geens. Future projects in thepipeline include a plan to support the start-up of a foreign society.
“A Dutch colleague has been given a €10,000 award to help set up
a society in Turkey and we have organised a joint conference day
in June 2017 to help.”“We have already noticed an impact on legislation,” Mr Geens says.
“Our recommendations on ventilation – using carbon dioxide asa proxy – and humidity were adopted in a royal decree on working
environments, while recommendations on qualified occupational
hygienists and action limits for risk analysis in hot and cold
environments were incorporated in a royal decree on thermal
environmental factors.”

Lessons learnt
So what are some of the key things the society has learnt along
the way? According to Mr De Ridder: “When we started out backin the nineties we thought it would be good to have a closed andcertified community but then we would only have had around
10-15 members. We decided that it was much better that everyone
should have the opportunity to participate in order to get a criticalmass of hygiene advocates.”

He adds: “We can say that the things we are discussing are finding
their way to legislation – when the social partners try to implement
legislation and are looking for sources they often come to us
directly – we are triggering important stakeholders coming to learn
what we are doing.”

One of the keys to the society’s success is that it has such dynamic
board members with various backgrounds who are eager to share
their broad range of knowledge and expertise.
“It shows that members make the society and a range of different
backgrounds is a great way to get connections with, and to inspireother people.”

The society is also very proud of its website (www.bsoh.be),which has been awarded a €2,500 prize by the Belgian government.
“We have put lots of work into it and it is now available in Dutch,
English and French, providing a monthly e-newsletter for all of
our members and a range of useful tools,” says Mr De Ridder.

We decided that it was much better thateveryone should have the opportunity toparticipate in order to get a critical massof hygiene advocates.

Securing members for the future
There are still some challenges ahead for BSOH. “The numberof people we have is brilliant but we need to secure our future
and though we are still growing, it has reached a bit of a plateau,”
explains Mr Geens.

Mr Geens adds: “We have also been very careful with the money
we have spent – as we are getting more successful, we now havemore resources available for things such as public relations, but
we aim to keep building on what we have created with our initiallylimited resources. We are really proud of what we have achieved
and we do feel our society is making a big impact on occupational
hygiene in Belgium.”

95% of members are Flemish so BSOH is putting a big effort into
increasing the number of members from Wallonia, the Frenchspeaking part of Belgium. There are now four francophone board
members, so progress is being made. The society is also busy
trying to set up industrial hygiene training in this region. Meetings
with Wallonian universities and institutes are currently ongoing.
IOHA Newsletter

14

June 2017

Stoffenmanager version 7
What’s new in Stoffenmanager Version 7

Along with the hazard class, a special warning for non-humanhealth risk is presented, based on the H-statements, for physicalchemical or environmental risks. The keys have also been madeclearer and a new ‘hazard category eye’ is now incorporated in
the different summary charts (below).

In May, the latest edition of the exposure assessment tool,
Stoffenmanager, was launched.
Version 7 uses GHS classifications, and the EU CLP and
REACH Regulations, as the basis for its control banding
calculations. Previously, it used Coshh Essentials, a systemdeveloped by the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE)to help companies to comply with national legislation.

Indication

The application now also provides a special warning of nonhuman risk where applicable, based on hazard classifications
for physico-chemical and environmental risks.

iHazard class: 		

Stoffenmanager has been available since October 2003,
so Cosanta, which owns the tool says, “it was with a due
sense of pride that Stoffenmanager Version 7 was launchedat the beginning of May 2017”.

Inhalation:			

C

Skin local:			

B

Skin uptake:			

C

Eyes:				

CCRM danger:			Yes

Prioritising risk: adjusting the hazard categories
Causes hazard class

Stoffenmanager was initially developed as an aid to prioritising
health risks associated with handling hazardous substances in
the workplace and to find effective ways of mitigating these risks.
To determine that prioritisation, it combines a product’s hazard
information with an estimate of the exposure through inhalationor contact with the skin to arrive at a risk score (below).
Hazardcategory
Exposure
category

1
2
3
4

A

B

C

D

E

|||

|||

|||

||

|

|||

|||

||

||

|

|||

||

||

|

|

||

|

|

|

|

Name

Inhalation

H304

A

H315

Skin local

Skin uptake

Eyes

-

-

B

B

B

-

C

H336

B

-

-

B

H361f

C

-

C

B

H373

C

-

C

B

In Version 7, new risk assessments will automatically becalculated with the new hazard classification method. Existingrisk assessments are still based on the old classification method.
For these assessments, users can choose to overwrite the data,or save as a new version, by opening the risk assessment andsaving it again.
“From that moment, calculations will be made using the newclassification method. This may produce slight differences in
the hazard category and the risk category but the modification
will have no effect on the quantitative result in mg/m3,”
the company states.

Stoffenmanager classifies the hazards of a product on the basisof the R-phrases or H-statements as in the Coshh Essentials
chart. In 2015, the International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB)
published a study* on hazard category actualisation in accordancewith the UN GHS, EU CLP and REACH Regulation on chemical
substances. This has now been implemented in Version 7.
The H-statements that lie at the basis of the hazard category
are directly visible.

The new version also means a new approach in developing
Stoffenmanager, which has been streamlined to two major
releases with new options and functionalities per year, at the* M. Arnone et al. Hazard banding in compliance with the new Globally Harmonised System(GHS) for use in control banding tools. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 73 (2015).
www.dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2015.07.014

IOHA Newsletter

15

June 2017

beginning of May and the end of October. Monthly releases
will contain only minor modifications from now on.

• adaptations on the basis of law and legislation; and• scientific developments along with themes like security
and import/export.

How do developments take place?

Users are an important part of the development agenda
and some see specific developments as so important thatthey are keen to co-finance them.

Throughout the year, the company gets feedback about
Stoffenmanager from users, via the helpdesk and phoneevaluations, during company visits and at business relationshipdays. In addition ISAB makes sure that Stoffenmanager complies
with EU law and legislation, while keeping up with the latest
scientific developments.

Read about all the developments and the new functionalities
in Stoffenmanager Version 7 at: www.stoffenmanager.nl.

As well as new functionalities, the development agenda comprises:• modifications to the structure;• improvements in user-friendliness;

Risk assessment
You have completed your risk assessment. You can view an overview of the results below.

Risk assessment inhalation
Hazard class

Exposure class

Risk Priority

C

1

|||

Risk assessment eyes
Hazard class

Recomended eye protection

RemarkC

Adequate eye protection must be worn: Wearsafety glasses with side protection.

Depending upon the task, the recommended eye
protection is not always needed

Warnings
H225

BEWARE: Your protection is inflammable

H411		

Attention: Your product possesses additional environmental hazards

LegendHazard class inhalation and eyes (hc)Exposure class inhalation (ec)

Risk Priority inhalation (risk)-n.a.
no hazards on this exposure path

1

low

|||

your third priority to improvethe exposure situation

A

low

2

average||your second priority to improvethe exposure situationBaverage

3

high

|

your first priority to improvethe exposure situation

C

high

4

very highDvery highEextreme

IOHA Newsletter

16

June 2017

News from:

Chemical Risk Manager
International group delivers recommendations
for exposure assessment tools• the European arm of the Korean Institute of Scienceand Technology (KIST Europe), which is based in Germany;

21 June 2017

• the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

An international group of public and private researchorganisations has called for changes to tools for Tier 1 exposure
assessment under REACH.

Further Informationwww.chemicalwatch.com/crmhub/57065

The Eteam project delivered a range of recommendations at theAmerican Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce)
in Seattle in June.

Service launched to catch carcinogenic textile
substances sooner

The aim of the project was to determine how effective Ecetoc
TRA, Mease, EMKG-EXPO-Tool, ART and Stoffenmanager
were at predicting exposure through occupational inhalation.
Eun Gyung Lee from the US National Institute of Occupational
Safety and Health (Niosh) said that none of the tools would
be suitable in all situations.

2 June 2017

• the Swiss Institute for Work and Health (IST); andIntertek has launched a new AP/APEOs Quick Test Service,
which is said to identify alkylphenols (AP) and alkylphenol
ethoxylates (APEOs) more quickly in the leather goods andtextile manufacturing process. The company said that the test
is unique for detecting the existence of the substances in watersoluble chemical samples. APs and APEOs are on many retailers’
restricted substances lists for being carcinogenic and reprotoxic.

The project included a review of the mechanism for exposures
to liquids in version three of Ecetoc TRA, the most frequently
used tool.
The Eteam project was funded by the German Federal Institutefor Occupational Safety and Health (Baua) and involved a rangeof European and US organisations, including:• the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM);• the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental
Medicine;

IOHA Newsletter

17

June 2017

collaboration to harmonise terms and definitions,plus a ‘responsible host’, ideally an EU organisation.

The new test works by examining white or colourless water-soluble
samples of chemicals used in the textile and leather manufacturing
process, yielding a positive or negative result. Its detection limit
is said to be “lower than what is set by NGOs and industry
organisations and the turnaround time is faster than with traditional
quantitative tests”. The cost will be calculated on a per-sample basis,varying dependent on geography, but the company claimed the cost
will be lower than traditional quantitative tests.

HazChem@Work secured 1,397 datasets on 204 substancesfrom eight providers; it was estimated that 80-100 more European
institutions have relevant sets of data, the European Chemicals
Agency (Echa) included, but data protection rules hindered
attempts to gain access to them. The project itself ran from
September 2014 to October 2016.

Further Informationwww.chemicalwatch.com/crmhub/56598

Further Informationwww.chemicalwatch.com/crmhub/55503

US research links styrene exposure
and worker lung disease

Echa to launch website for workers

2 June 201720 April 2017

Research published in the American Journal of Industrial
Medicine by the US’s National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (Niosh) has linked occupational exposure to styrene
with increased lung disease through the analysis of 55 publishedstudies. The study found ten cases of obliterative bronchiolitis,which causes scar tissue and inflammation in the small airways.
All were linked with substantial styrene exposure. The analysis
also revealed a link with asthma.

Echa said in April that it will develop a website aimed
at consumers and workers to provide information about
how relevant authorities are protecting them from hazardous
chemicals. The site will enable the groups to make safer choices
and exercise their rights, as well as raising demand for more
information on chemicals. Information on nanomaterials will
also be available.
In related news, following an in-depth customer insight survey
in 2015, the agency will make information on chemicals, public
consultations and support and information relevant to SMEs
and consumers. more visible on its website this year. By 2018,users will be able to create a profile and subscribe to specificnews updates.
Further Informationwww.chemicalwatch.com/crmhub/55356

South Korea identifies 322 new substances
for workplace safety measures

The Niosh recommended exposure limit (REL) for styrene
is 50 parts per million (ppm) over an eight-hour work day. Styrene
is listed as a carcinogen on California’s Proposition 65. In May,
the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment adopted
a ‘no significant risk level’ of 27μg/day, whereas the Styrene
Information and Research Centre had argued for 2,100μg/day
for inhalation exposure and 5,600μg/day for oral exposure.

12 April 2017
South Korea’s Ministry of Employment & Labour (MoEL)
has identified 322 new substances manufactured or imported
last year that require specific measures to address their risk
to workers. Of these, 81 pose particular risks for acuteand/or reproductive toxicity.

Further Informationwww.chemicalwatch.com/crmhub/56603

The list of substances contains detailed safety concerns
and recommended measures for tackling them. For example,
to protect workers handling the chemicals, the ministry plansto order manufacturers and importers to take actions such as
fitting suitable ventilation, or directing them to provide safety
data sheets. These will include information on the dangers thatthe substances present and how to work with them. MoEL
will also carry out inspections on companies to ensure theimplementation of these measures.

HazChem@Work project paves
the way for permanent database
2 May 2017
The final report of the HazChem@Work project has concluded
that an EU database on chemicals in the workplace, based on the
database the project itself drew up, “would provide a sound basefor political decision making”. Such a database would need at least
50 data providers, resources to keep the database running, andIOHA Newsletter

Further Informationwww.chemicalwatch.com/crmhub/55100
18

June 2017

Product safety news and resources
Chemical Risk Manager is an online publication designed
specifically to support professionals managing the riskof chemicals in the workplace, through the supply chain,
and in products. It delivers news and resources to help
them with practical challenges in their day-to-day roles.

Benefits to you
A time-efficient, cost-effective way of keeping
up with new tools and guidance as well as
new products and services
Brings together in one place informationthat is essential to your team

TOPICS COVEREDHazardExposureRisk

Tox, ecotox, environmental
fate, physchem resources

Resources for modelling,measurement andmonitoring

Resources for assessment
and characterisation

Data
Submission
Resources on regulatory
data requirements

Customers

Workers

Suppliers

Resources for managing
chemicals in articles

Resources on
occupational hygiene

Resources for safeuse communication

START YOUR FREE TRIAL

www.chemicalwatch.com/crmhub

IOHA Newsletter

19

June 2017