13th IOHAInternational
ScientificConference
Dublin, Ireland
June 2024
Occupational Health Southern Africa

The Occupational Hygiene
Society of Ireland (OHSI) andthe British OccupationalHygiene Society (BOHS) are
privileged to jointly host thisconference and to contributeto its successful outcome.
The conference theme has
been confirmed as - ‘Protecting
workers from health hazards:
Advancing in this changingworld’.
The conference aims topromote occupational hygiene
and worker health protection
by the minimisation of worker
exposure to hazardous agents
globally through plenary
sessions, keynote lectures,
parallel talks, workshops,
poster presentations andwww.occhealth.co.za

professional development aswell as networking
opportunities and social
functions.
A strong Global media
campaign will publicise themain causes of occupational
disease throughout theconference.
More information including
venue, dates and abstract
submission arrangements will
be announced very soon.
Please mark your diaries forJune 2024 in Dublin, Ireland!

Vol. 28 No. 5 September/October 2022

31

IOHA NEWSLETTERGLOBAL EXPOSURE MANAGER
International Occupational
Hygiene Association

Edited by Dr Thomas P Fuller: IOHA Past President
e-mail: tpfuller1@gmail.com

Memorandum of understanding signed between
Asbestonomy and the International OccupationalHygiene Association
Hugo Pereze-mail: Hugo.Perez@itgagroup.com
Thomas Fuller
e-mail: tpfuller1@gmail.com
A memorandum of understanding has been signed between
Asbestonomy and the International Occupational Hygiene Association(IOHA). Asbestonomy, a new organisation with the mission to enhance
global asbestos awareness, promotes the safe handling and eliminationof asbestos to reduce risks to health from occupational and environmental exposure. The goal is to provide a platform for collaboration andcommunication between labour organisations, victims’ organisations,employers, governments, and other professional organisations.
The first international conference of Asbestonomy was held on
16 and 17 June 2022 in London, United Kingdom. The event hosted
16 international keynote speakers from different fields, who brought
their expertise to more than 150 attendees from more than 10 different
countries from Latin America, North America, Europe, and Oceania. Someof the special presentations included:
Sven DeMulder, the Project Team Manager at OVAM Belgium:‘The current asbestos-safe programme being conducted in Flanders for2040’
Dr Yvonne Waterman, Director of Waterman Legal Consultancy andPresident of the European Asbestos Forum: ‘Looking backward at pastasbestos exposures and forward towards new innovations being used tofight asbestos exposure today’
Charles Pickles, independent campaigner for the practical improvementof UK asbestos management: ‘Asbestos regulations and controls’
Simone Stevenson, CEO of Victoria Asbestos Eradication Agency:‘Practical and digital solutions to manage asbestos in situ at a state level’Sean Fitzgerald, internationally recognised in the asbestos testing
field with more than 35 years of experience: ‘Asbestos testing andmanagement’
Mavis Nye, asbestos survivor: ‘The status of the fight to eliminate
asbestos exposure around the world today’
Many other speakers provided interesting and informative presentations. Please visit the conference website for additional information athttps://asbestonomy.com/.
The MoU between Asbestonomy and IOHA was signed at the conference on 17 June 2022. Asbestos causes an estimated 255 000 deaths(243 223–260 029) annually, of which work-related exposures are responsiblefor 233 000 (222 322–242 802).1 The rationale for supporting the work ofAsbestonomy by IOHA is clear as it relates closely to worker health. The MoU
will provide opportunities for support and collaborative projects between
the two organisations.
Moving forward, Asbestonomy has plans to become a registered nonprofit organisation and to have opportunities for general professional
membership. It plans to continue to work and support stakeholders, globally,202

Vol. 28 No. 5 September/October 2022

Signing the MoU between Asbestonomy and IOHA –Front: Elise Bouthemy and Thomas Fuller; Back: HugoPerez and Philip Hibbs Photograph: courtesy of Thomas Fuller
on topics of asbestos management, control, disposal and elimination. Itsgoals are to:• help raise awareness about asbestos hazards and controls;• enhance work practices for those who are dealing every day withasbestos in situ;• give momentum, financial support and a stimulating environment toexperts who do research to get new insights, improve work practices
through new technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), and develop
the best tools to reduce asbestos exposure risks.
The second Asbestonomy conference is planned for June 2023, inBrussels, Belguim. A call for speakers will soon be published on social
media and the Asbestonomy website. If you would like to be part of andsupport Asbestonomy, please e-mail contact@asbestonomy.com to receive
information and updates.

REFERENCE
1. Furuya S, Chimed-Ochir O, Takahashi K, David A, Takala J. Global asbestos disaster. Int
J Environ Res Public Health. 2018; 15(5):1000. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15051000.

Occupational Health Southern Africa

www.occhealth.co.za

IOHA NEWSLETTERGLOBAL EXPOSURE MANAGER
International Occupational
Hygiene Association

Updates from the Italian Association of Industrial
Hygiene (AIDII)
Andrea Martinellie-mail: andrea.martinelli@unipd.it
Andrea Spinazzée-mail: andrea.spinazze@uninsubria@unipd.it
The 38th National Congress of Industrial and Environmental Hygiene,organised by the Italian Association of Industrial Hygienists (AIDII),
was held from 22 to 24 June 2022 in the beautiful city of Cagliari
in Sardinia, Italy. After three years as a virtual event, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, this year’s congress was held in person. TheConference Committee delivered a high-quality event, with morethan 50 scientific presentations and 24 poster presentations, sevenpresentations for the ‘Young Industrial Hygienists’ competition, andmore than 150 attendees.
The conference was dedicated to traditional industrial hygiene
topics such as ‘health risks in non-industrial living and working environments’, and also to innovative ones like ‘environment and health:natural sources and environmental pressures from anthropogenic
activities on the population’, ‘emerging risks and methodologicalinnovations for occupational hygiene’, and ‘human factors, perception and communication of risk’. One session, titled ‘Exposure to noise,
auditory and extra-auditory effects’, was organised in collaboration
with the Italian Acoustic Association (AIA).
The conference gave the AIDII and the AIA the opportunity toembrace a closer collaboration and to foresee future events bysharing their respective expertise. The President of AIA delivered
one of the four conference keynote addresses, on the correlation
between acoustic quality of classrooms and extra-auditory healthdamage in scholastic environments.
The other three keynotes covered a study of vehicular emissions
based on big data, and the impact on the environment and health; anew method for hexavalent chromium determination in particulate
samples; and new strategies and application tools for risk perception.
The ‘Young Industrial Hygienists’ competition award ceremony wasvery inspiring. This year, the winner was PhD student Marta Keller,
registered at Insubria University in Varese, Italy. Her presentation wastitled ‘Air quality assessment in restaurant kitchens’.
The conference also hosted the annual AIDII Members’ Assembly.
One of the points on the agenda was a discussion about the evolutionof occupational hygiene training in the context of global changes,
also correlated to the upcoming modification of Italian national laws.
The next National Congress of Industrial and Environmental
Hygiene will be held in June 2023 in Genoa (Liguria region, Italy),
where we hope to reach the same levels of participation from themembers, and to have more international attendees.

Conference attendees during the social event, ‘Cagliari by night’ Photograph: Andrea Martinelli

Occupational Health Southern Africa

www.occhealth.co.za

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