IOHA NEWSLETTERGLOBAL EXPOSURE MANAGER
International OccupationalHygiene Association

American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) expands
sector-specific guidelines for business re-opening
Sue Marchese, e-mail: smarchese@aiha.org

9 SEPTEMBER 2020, FALLS CHURCH, VA, USAAs businesses, schools, retailers and manufacturers manage
reopening due to the pandemic, the American Industrial Hygiene
Association (AIHA) continues to expand its library of comprehensive Back to Work Safely guidelines, white papers, and resources,
aimed at 26 different business and community sectors. The latest
guidelines include recommendations on engineering controls(ventilation, enhanced filtration and physical barriers), germicidal
ultraviolet radiation, enhanced cleaning and disinfection, andpersonal hygiene and physical distancing:• Reducing the Risk of COVID-19 Using Engineering Controls• Employers Guide to COVID-19 Cleaning and Disinfection in
Non-Healthcare Workplaces• Effective and Safe Practices, Guidance for Custodians, Cleaningand Maintenance Staff• Occupational Safety and Health Guide for Surface Disinfection
Practices Using Germicidal Ultraviolet Radiation• Infographic: Considerations on the Safe use of UVC Radiationfor Surface and Air Disinfection“While many solutions rely primarily on PPE, AIHA scientists
and health professionals have developed more comprehensive
guidelines which are specific and written with small to mid-sizedbusinesses in mind. The guidelines include practical checklists thatpoint out ways the employer, employees, customers and visitors
can minimize their risk”, said Lindsay Cook, AIHA president.
“The AIHA Back to Work Safely guidelines include engineering and work practice solutions that complement the effective
utilization of masks. They offer a detailed view of how ventilation
can be an effective control in non-healthcare and non-industrial
workplaces, and how employers can develop specific cleaning anddisinfection programs.”
The AIHA and its volunteer committees of industrial hygienists
urge employers to implement engineering controls in all indoor
workplaces, even those outside of the healthcare industry, toreduce the spread of COVID-19. The broad categories of engineering controls that may be effective against the SARS-CoV-2
virus include:• Physical barriers, enclosures, and guards• Automatic door openers and sensors• Local exhaust ventilation• Enhanced filtration to capture infectious aerosols• Devices that inactivate or ‘kill’ infectious organisms• Dilution ventilation and increasing outside air delivery“Using a combination of available technologies, equipment,and time-tested methods to control infectious aerosols is themost reliable way to reduce the risk of disease spread”, said Cook.

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Guidelines are freely available in English and Spanish for thefollowing industries:• Amateur sports• At-home service providers• Bars• Business services• Childcare providers• Construction sites• Dental office settings• General office settings• Gyms and workout facilities• Hair and nail salons• Houses of worship• Institutions of higher education• Libraries• Museums and collecting institutions• Physical and occupational therapy, massage therapy• Retail• Restaurants• Rideshare, taxi, limo and other passenger
driver-for-hire services• Schools K-12
• Small manufacturing and maintenance shops• Small entertainment venues (e.g. mini golf and arcades)• Small and medium sports facilities• Small lodging establishments• Street vendors and farmers’ markets• Transit systems• Warehousing/transportation
All resources are available for download from www.backtoworksafely.org. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) includes a link to these guidance documents on its website.
Additionally, COVID-19 resources on personal protective equipment(PPE) and re-entry into the workplace hazards can be found at theAIHA Media Outreach Center.
The AIHA Back to Work Safely task force is comprised of morethan a dozen highly-trained and experienced occupational andenvironmental health and safety (OEHS) scientists and professionals,representing various business sectors: government, industry, higher
education and consulting.

Occupational Health Southern Africa

www.occhealth.co.za

IOHA NEWSLETTERGLOBAL EXPOSURE MANAGER
International OccupationalHygiene Association

European platform for Professionals in Occupational
Hygiene – current status and recent advances
Paolo Sacco, e-mail: paolo.sacco@icsmaugeri.it
Thomas P Fuller, e-mail: tpfuller1@gmail.com
As early as 2016, there was discussion of a European platform forProfessionals in Occupational Hygiene (EPOH). Currently there areeight professional organisations in the loosely joined consortium:• AEHI, Spain• AIDII, Italy• BOHS, United Kingdom• BSOH, Belgium• DGAH, Germany• NVvA, The Netherlands• SOFHYT, France• SSHT, Switzerland

The objectives of the EPOH platform are:
• To promote the harmonisation of occupational hygiene (OH)related methods, standards and guidelines,• To serve as a contact point and discussion partner for EuropeanUnion (EU) staff/institutions,• To contribute to schemes of training, qualification or certification
in OH in the context of a common EU regulation,• To exchange OH knowledge and practical field experiences,

Occupational Health Southern Africa

www.occhealth.co.za• To strengthen the communication and collaboration between
the different European associations, and• To create more visibility of OH as a profession at the Europeanlevel.
The current priorities for the platform are focused on chemical hazards, in the context of the “Healthy Workplaces Manage
Dangerous Substances” campaign driven by the EU occupationalsafety and health (OSH) Agency, for 2018–2020. In association withthose priorities, the EPOH platform identified three technical topicsand one strategic topic to be focused on for further development:• Hazard and control banding strategies,• Carcinogenic and mutagenic agents, and skin exposure control,• Interaction between registration, evaluation, authorisation andrestriction of chemicals (REACH) and OSH regulations, and• Harmonisation of OH education and training.
The EPOH is set up as a working group of representative members from each organisation. They meet, virtually, approximately
every second month, and try to have annual face-to-face meetings. A coordinator, designated every two years from among theplatform’s members, takes care of organising and conducting
meetings, and representing the platform.
Members of the EPOH are currently working on the drafts oftwo position papers. One is on skin exposure of carcinogenic andmutagenic agents in the workplace, and the other is on the REACH
programme and OH.
The EPOH is currently working with IOHA to see how best theorganisations can collaborate in the future. At this time, all of theEPOH participants are also IOHA members but, in the future, there
may be other professional organisations in EPOH with memberswho are not members of IOHA. For now, a memorandum ofunderstanding to foster support and engagement between IOHA
and the EPOH is being developed. In addition, IOHA is making
space on its webpage for information on the EPOH, and its projects
and activities.

Vol 26 No 5 September/October 2020