IOHA NEWSLETTERGLOBAL EXPOSURE MANAGER
International Occupational
Hygiene Association

Update from the Australian Institute of Occupational
Hygienists (AIOH)
Andrew Orfanos, e-mail: President@aioh.org.au
The Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (AIOH) ended
2019 with a highly successful conference in Perth, Australia. Theconference committee, ably chaired by Candace Absalom, delivered
another high-quality event. In so doing, they provided a perfectillustration of the conference theme, The Power of Many.
The AIOH had an unusual start to the year, mainly due to theextreme weather conditions which IOHA members in other countries will have seen in the news. In response to the bushfires, theAIOH published a media release, highlighting the risks to the healthof firefighters and first responders from smoke hazards. The AIOH
president, Andrew Orfanos, gave a studio interview for Australia’s
main broadcaster, the ABC (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P
9A2TIY5upo&feature=youtu.be).
Also related to the bushfires, the AIOH would like to draw attention to a tremendous gesture from the American Industrial Hygiene
Association (AIHA), which very generously donated 5 000 AUD to theRed Cross. The AIOH thanks the AIHA president, Kathleen Murphy,
and chief executive officer (CEO), Larry Sloan, for their very thoughtful support for Australians in need.
Members of IOHA may also be aware of the emergence of accelerated silicosis in individuals working on engineered stone.1,2 In
Australia, there has been an alarmingly high number of young men
diagnosed with severe progressive silicosis from cutting artificial
stone benchtops. In response, government occupational hygienists,
particularly in the state of Queensland, have been active in visitingworkplaces where engineered stone is fabricated.3 The Queensland
government has produced an excellent code of practice, ‘Managing
respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in the stone benchtop
industry (2019)’, which the AIOH recommends to IOHA members.4
As a member of a consortium of concerned bodies, the AIOH
lobbied the Australian federal government to look into the epidemic of silicosis. The Commonwealth health minister responded,in July 2019, by allocating 5 million AUD to the establishment of
the National Dust Diseases Taskforce. The AIOH has been active inproviding evidence to the taskforce. The AIOH is also meeting withthe federal minister for vocational training and apprentices, as we
consider that one of the main contributory factors is a lack of awareness in stonemasons and other workers in the construction industry.
We hope that improved training material delivered to apprentices
and construction workers will correct this.
With regard to training material, the British Occupational Hygiene
Society (BOHS) has kindly allowed the AIOH to use its ‘Breathe Freely’material in Australia. The AIOH has adapted the BOHS material to suit
Australian workplaces, and rebadged it as ‘Breathe Freely Australia’(https://www.breathefreelyaustralia.org.au/). Several road-showshave been delivered around the country to >1 000 tradespeople from

Occupational Health Southern Africa

www.occhealth.co.za

the construction sector. Through Breathe Freely Australia, the AIOH
has also entered into partnerships with state governments, industryassociations, and unions.
If IOHA members google images associated with silicosis inAustralia, they will notice one striking feature: stonemasons areoften shown wearing totally inadequate respirators – such as
surgeon’s masks – or they are bearded or have some facial hair. In
response, the AIOH is developing a national respirator fit testing andaccreditation scheme (RESP-FIT) to promote best practice respirator
fit testing in Australia through:• A standardised training syllabus to improve respirator fit tester
knowledge, and• Demonstration of competence through the accreditationassessment.
The RESP-FIT programme will also provide information and tools
for workplaces to make informed decisions on respiratory protection equipment (RPE) fit testing that is appropriate and suitable forthe work environment.

LAUNCH OF A NEW RESOURCE TO HELP PROTECTWORKER HEALTH
Australia has experienced an increase in demand for disposable
respiratory protection driven, initially, by the extensive bushfires
and, more immediately, by SARS-CoV-2. This has resulted in noncompliant disposable respiratory protection entering our supply
chain, which has been highlighted by several regulatory bodies,including SafeWork NSW (https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/safety-alerts/safety-alerts/supply-of-fake-face-masks) and WorkSafe
New Zealand (https://worksafe.govt.nz/about-us/news-and-media/
non-compliant-respiratory-protective-equipment-on-the-market/).
Identifying non-compliant products presents challenges for
local businesses purchasing respirators for their workers, as theprocesses and checkpoints that provide compliance in our existing
framework are complex. To address this, the AIOH collaborated with
the Australian Institute of Health and Safety, the Indoor Air Quality
Association, and the New Zealand Occupational Hygiene Society,to deliver a much-needed guide on this topic.
The final product, A Guide to Buying P2, or Equivalent,
Respiratory Protection for Use in the Australian & New Zealand Work
Environment is targeted towards those who buy disposable respiratory protection, and will help them make sure that it meetsVol 26 No 4 July/August 2020

18647

IOHA NEWSLETTERGLOBAL EXPOSURE MANAGER
International Occupational
Hygiene Association

suitable standards. The Guide takes readers through a series ofprocesses to help potential purchasers understand relevant
national and international standards, what to look for, information about the different products available, and resources to help
identify non-compliant products.
The Guide has received immense suppor t, includingfrom the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Health andSafety Association of New Zealand, and four Australian state
and territory health and safety regulators. Hopefully, it is also ofuse to a wider international audience that is likely experiencing
similar issues.

FUTURE AIOH CONFERENCES
Finally, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AIOH will not be delivering its flagship annual conference. Instead, it will be celebrating its
40th anniversary with a special virtual symposium from 30 November
to 3 December 2020. Find more information and a calendar of events
at https://www.aioh.org.au/virtual-symposium.

Nurturing future IH leaders with iGROWNorhazlina Mydin, e-mail: norhazlina_m@petronas.com
In an effort to nurture future industrial hygiene leaders, the Malaysian
Industrial Hygiene Association (MIHA) has initiated iGROW, ourmentoring programme. The programme was successfully launchedduring the 18th MIHA annual general meeting on 5 June 2020. An
introductory video about the programme can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=255028758926867.
We believe that nurturing talent within an organisation will have apositive impact on culture, growth and commercial successes. Hence,
this programme aims to provide guidance in personal development,
through a structured process, for experienced MIHA members(mentors) to share skills, knowledge and experience, while MIHA
new members (mentees) explore the skills they need to succeed attheir current jobs, as well as for career advancement.
To support the professional development of both parties, theMIHA has selected 10 mentors and 20 privileged mentees from various industry backgrounds to be part of this one-year partnershipprogramme. During the kick-off session on 27 June 2020, two of ourmentors, who were the founding members and past presidents ofthe MIHA, shared their industrial hygiene journey. Zainal Mubarik
Zainuddin, our first president, shared his almost 40 years’ experience, and Sabrina Wan Mohamad, our second president, shared her
close to 30 years’ experience. We are grateful to all 10 coaches
for their continuous support, passion and commitment to shapeindustrial hygiene in the country and the region. We look forward
to the success of iGROW!

COVID-19 – The first new occupational diseaseof the 21st Century
Ilise L Feitshans, e-mail: ilise.feitshans@gmail.com
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing civil society to recognise theimportance of expanding legal requirements to prevent and address
occupational exposure to infectious diseases. Healthcare workers
exposed to HIV, for example, may have a recognised occupational
exposure to infectious disease upon direct contact with a sick AIDS
patient’s blood. If the worker contracts the virus and succumbs toAIDS, both the exposure and the resulting illness may be considered to be work-related. Yet, healthcare worker exposures to otherbloodborne pathogens, such as hepatitis, often go unnoticed orunreported. Consequently, many illnesses, and even deaths, are notcorrelated to past workplace exposures, especially when the illness18748

Vol 26 No 4 July/August 2020

manifests years after exposure. Additionally, many infectious agentsthat exist in the workplace also exist in the community, and it is often
difficult to determine that the exposure occurred at work and notelsewhere. Therefore, it is often hotly debated whether illness orfatality from an infectious agent found in the workplace is necessarily
an occupational exposure.
Typical of pandemics, but unusual compared to workplace
infectious disease exposures, COVID-19 has been addressed bya wide range of emergency orders, requiring non-essential
workers to stay home. As Kevin Bampton (CEO of the BOHS) noted,
during lockdown, non-essential workers are home but essential

Occupational Health Southern Africa

www.occhealth.co.za

IOHA NEWSLETTERGLOBAL EXPOSURE MANAGER
International OccupationalHygiene Associationworkers are implicitly exposed to SARS-CoV-2 when they performtheir work. While more than a billion people were mandated orrecommended to stay home under lockdown, essential workers
were exposed to the infectious coronavirus in order to performtheir jobs that save lives, and to maintain medical and social systems. Without heroes on the frontlines, there would be even moredisease and death. Someone must do those jobs to protect thegreater society. During the early months of the USA pandemic in
2020, approximately 20% of the deaths due to COVID-19 were ofhealthcare workers.5 Similar statistics were reported for healthcareproviders in other countries. This suggests that COVID-19 should beconsidered an occupational illness or occupational fatality among
frontline essential workers.
In addition to healthcare personnel, exposure to the SARS-CoV-2
virus is inherent in other frontline occupations such as first responders, law enforcement officers, prison guards, and public health workers. In the United Kingdom, the determination of whether COVID-19
is an occupational disease is based on the exposure context, following
a reportable incident involving a biological emergency.6
Guidelines also describe what constitutes a work-related
COVID-19 diagnosis and/or death. This approach is realistic; essential
tasks must be performed by someone for the greater good of society.
Thus, any question of individual choice or right to refuse hazardous work is removed from risk equations. Equity therefore dictates
protection of people whose work requires exposure to SARS-CoV-2,
including worker compensation and medical services.
Examining the context of occupational exposures spotlights how
a narrow view of protecting the right to health, expressed in legislative line drawing, outlining occupational disease protections andcompensation in the 20th century, has been systematically drawn
too tightly. One consequence of inaccurate narrow line drawing isthat occupational health and safety are undervalued in the longterm. It is not possible to quantify any reduced costs due to improved
workplace safety and health protection when key costs are hidden
and uncounted from the start.

Workers’ compensation for occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2
as an occupational disease varies by jurisdiction. In any nation with aunified national health system, the distinction between occupational
disease and falling ill with a lethal disease may be of little practicalconsequence, beyond keeping tidy records for contact tracing andaccurate workplace health statistics. In some nations, however,workers’ health insurance is the sole source of health insurance for
entire dependent families. In those places where a person might lose
his or her job if unable to perform work due to COVID-19, workers’
compensation fills an important void that pays the worker’s healthbills and also provides health insurance for his or her dependents
while the worker remains employed.
In the USA, one theory erroneously claims that exposure tocoronavirus in the workplace ought not to be considered an occupational disease for reporting and workers’ compensation. It is basedon a deceptively simple workers’ compensation text in law from theCommonwealth of Virginia, which precludes workers’ compensationfor ‘ordinary disease of life’. However, the reality that COVID-19 isplentiful everywhere does not mean it is an ‘ordinary disease oflife’ under law. Historically, so-called ordinary diseases of life wereinterpreted as fitting well-established concepts of non-occupational
illness such as pregnancy or genetic conditions. Nothing about theCOVID-19 pandemic is ordinary. The situation presented by thispandemic is extraordinary in that emergency laws have groundedairlines, stopped the Olympic Games, and delayed elections. The legal
term of art is not ‘ordinary’ but ‘force majeure’. Therefore, it would
be unjust to use external exposure to SARS-CoV-2 as a benchmark
to rule out causation from exposure in the workplace.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, functional analysis of how and why healthcare workers
and frontline workers who, by their job descriptions, are compelled toconfront SARS-CoV-2 as a global threat to health everywhere, suggeststhat the definition of occupational disease should embrace workplace
exposure to the coronavirus.

REFERENCES
1. Wu N, Xue C, Yu S, Ye Q. Artificial stone-associated silicosis in China: a pro-www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/181940/Managing-

spective comparison with natural stone-associated silicosis. Respirology. 2020;

respirable-crystalline-silica-dust-exposure-in-the-stone-benchtop-industry-

25:518-524.

Code-of-Practice-2019.pdf (accessed 24 Jul 2020).

2. Newbigin K, Parsons R, Deller D, Edwards R, McBean R. Stonemasons with

5. Burrer SL, De Perio MA, Hughes MM, Kuhar DT, Luckhaupt SE, McDaniel CJ,

silicosis: preliminary findings and a warning message from Australia. Respirology.

et al. Characteristics of health care personnel with COVID-19 – United States,

2019; 24:1220-1221.

February 12–April 9, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020; 69(15):477-481.

3. WorkCover Queensland. Silica audits for engineered stone benchtop fab-

6. United Kingdom. Health and Safety Executive. Further guidance on RIDDOR

ricators; 2018. Available from: https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/forms-and-reporting of COVID-19; 7 Jul 2020. Available from: https://www.hse.gov.uk/

resources/newsletter/esafe-newsletters/esafe-editions/esafe-construction/

coronavirus/riddor/riddor-reporting-further-guidance.htm#disease-diagnosis

november-2018/silica-audits-for-engineered-stone-benchtop-fabricators(accessed 7 Jul 2020).

(accessed 24 Jul 2020).
4. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. Managing respirable crystallinesilica in bench top fabrication Code of Practice 2019; 2019. Available from: https://Occupational Health Southern Africa

www.occhealth.co.za

Vol 26 No 4 July/August 2020

18849