13th IOHAInternational
ScientificConference
Dublin, Ireland
June 2024

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 andprofessional development aswell as networking
opportunities and socialfunctions.
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!

IOHA NEWSLETTERGLOBAL EXPOSURE MANAGER
International Occupational
Hygiene Association

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

XXII Symposium of Polish Association of Industrial
Hygienists – Current Issues in Industrial Hygiene
Agnieszka Klimecka, Joanna Jurewicz
e-mail: pthp@imp.lodz.pl
Each year, the Polish Association of Industrial Hygienists (PTHP)
organises a scientific and training symposium. From 14 to16 September 2022 a symposium, with the theme Current Issues
in Industrial Hygiene, took place in Lodz, Poland. The conference
topics focused on the understanding and prevention of negative
health effects caused by exposure to harmful factors in the work
environment. Conference attendees included industrial hygienists,
employees of universities and research institutes, control authorities,
occupational medicine service providers, laboratory professionals,
and occupational health and safety specialists. Participants had theopportunity to take part in nine thematic sessions:
1. Amendment of EU rules and policies on substances that are toxic
to reproductive processes, carcinogenic, or mutagenic
2. Exposure to ionising radiation
3. Selected chemical, dust, physical and biological hazards in thework environment
4. Chemical safety
5. New forms of learning and working as a challenge for students,
employees, and employers
6. Methodologies for the assessment of work environments
7. Occupational hygiene and medicine for employees

8. Improving the effectiveness of personal respiratory protection in
the light of new products and IT tools
9. Exposure to electromagnetic radiation from industrial equipment
Leading lectures were delivered by specialists in occupational
hygiene and medicine.
There was also a poster discussion session that mainly focused on
the development of new methods for evaluating various chemicalcompounds in the working environment.
Approximately 100 professionals participated in the conference.
They had the opportunity to expand their knowledge and exchange
experiences in the field of occupational hygiene. As the information
presented during the symposium was positively accepted, the PTHP
management is already planning the next symposium in 2023.

Growing the occupational hygiene workforce
in New Zealand
Kerry Cheunge-mail: kerry.cheung@worksafe.govt.nz
In New Zealand, deaths related to occupational health are estimatedat 750–900 a year. In addition, there are an estimated 5 000–6 000
hospitalisations each year. To put this into perspective, a worker is
15 times more likely to die from a work-related disease than froma workplace accident.1 To address this, WorkSafe New Zealand (theGovernment health and safety regulator) released a strategic plan
for work-related health where, ultimately, fewer people should
experience work-related ill-health. 2 Part of the strategic plan is tosupport building the capacity and capabilities of professional healthand safety workforce groups, with occupational hygienists being
the priority. This was the beginning of the Occupational Hygienist
Workforce Development Project, which started in 2018.
This programme of work is jointly managed by New ZealandOccupational Health and Safety (NZOHS) and the Health and Safety
Association of New Zealand (HASANZ), the umbrella organisation
representing workplace health and safety professions, which aims
to raise professional standards and connect businesses with trusted
health and safety professionals.

Occupational Health Southern Africa

www.occhealth.co.za

There are two phases to the project. The first phase spanned
the period 2018 to 2021. The second phase commenced in 2021
and will continue until 2024. The objectives of the project are:• to grow the critical mass of health and safety professionals toensure that more occupational hygienists are available to support
New Zealand industries• to enhance education pathways, thereby improving capabilities and ensuring that accurate, high-quality advice is given toemployers• to create opportunities for established occupational hygienists tocontinue their professional development, networks, and career
aspirations.

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IOHA NEWSLETTERGLOBAL EXPOSURE MANAGER
International OccupationalHygiene Association

In 2018, at the beginning of Phase 1, NZOHS had 85 members.
By 2021, three years later, this number had increased by 48% to126 (Figure 1). Buoyed by the success of Phase 1, an additional three
years of funding was provided to continue the project by WorkSafe,
New Zealand’s primary workplace health and safety regulator. One
year into Phase 2, there was already a 25% increase in membership,from 126 to 157 (Figure 1).
The activities in the project are broadly categorised as follows:
Grow the number of qualified and experienced occupational hygienists in New Zealand• Scholarships – award and administer scholarships for candidates toobtain Master’s degrees in occupational hygiene from an institution
recognised by the International Occupational Hygiene Association(IOHA), or the International Certificate in Occupational Hygiene.
Since 2018, 23 scholarships have been awarded.
• Internship programme – a summer pilot project recruited two business hosts and two interns; both interns secured full-time workwith their hosts. The internship programme continues.
• Mentoring – there are currently nine mentor/mentee relationships
underway; the aim is to increasing this to 20 per year.
Increase technical and specialist occupational hygiene capability• Specific technical training – NZOHS delivered Occupational Hygiene
Training Association (OHTA) modules to 199 students, from 2019to 2022.
• Training/trainer competency framework – 15 NZOHS full and fellow
members attended a ‘Train the Trainer’ course to improve the quality of trainers and training experience for the delivery of the OHTAmodules.
• Specialist training – with limited access to specialised courses
in New Zealand, NZOHS arranged courses for members in local
exhaust ventilation (LEV), mining industry, and ethics. NZOHS also
developed and runs the Commit2Fit (C2F) courses for training
competent respirator-fit testers.
• New Zealand occupational hygiene qualification – NZOHS andHASANZ have been meeting with universities in New Zealandand Australia to discuss the establishment of a Master’s leveloccupational hygiene course in New Zealand, which is currently
underway.

Increase wider occupational hygiene knowledge and attract others
into the profession• Co-profession core understanding – each year, NZOHS delivers two
Basic Principles in Occupational Hygiene (W201) courses, directed
at other health and safety professionals to increase their understanding of occupational hygiene.
• Attraction – to explain the role and value of occupational
hygienists to other disciplines, NZOHS and HASANZ developed a career pathway document and conference collateral;
increased NZOHS web presence through a rebranded website,social media, external presentations, and electronic newsletters;
added occupational hygiene to the Government priority careers
list; and listed occupational hygiene as a scarce skill shortage for
New Zealand work visas, meaning it is now easier to get a work
visa if you have those skills.
• Improving the profile of occupational hygiene – NZOHS delivered
presentations to other health and safety professional bodies,and is actively engaging with other HASANZ member associations. NZOHS is holding its annual conference in May 2023.
• Strategic planning, systems, and procedures – there are ongoing
improvements to our systems and processes, with a view toaligning them to ISO 17024:2012 and, possibly, a future IOHA
National Accreditation Recognition certification scheme.
There has been a tremendous effort in the last five years togrow the occupational hygiene workforce in New Zealand. Withsignificant gains made already and further support for growth,
the future of the occupational hygiene profession in New Zealandis looking good.

REFERENCES
1. WorkSafe New Zealand. Work-related health estimates. Work-related healthdeaths and hospitalisations estimates, and update of the ACC work-related
health claims figure; August 2019. Available from: https://www.worksafe.
govt.nz/dmsdocument/5540-work-related-health-estimates-report (accessed7 May 2023).
2. WorkSafe New Zealand (2016, August). Healthy Work. WorkSafe’s strategicplan for work-related health 2016–2026; August 2016. Available from: https://www.worksafe.govt.nz/dmsdocument/1448-worksafes-strategic-plan-forwork-related-health-2016-2026 (accessed 7 May 2023).

Figure 1. NZOHS membership, December 2017–October 2022

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Occupational Health Southern Africa

www.occhealth.co.za

IOHA NEWSLETTERGLOBAL EXPOSURE MANAGER
International OccupationalHygiene Association

SOFHYT cooperates with other international organisations
to increase occupational hygiene awareness
Alessandro Sassi
e-mail: alessandro.sassi@dsm.com
Nathalie Argentin
e-mail: presidence@sofhyt.fr
The French Society of Occupational Hygienists (SOFHYT) has beencollaborating with Workplace Health Without Borders (WHWB) toorganise health and safety training for French-speaking students
in low- and medium-income countries. WHWB’s goal is to provide
workers with occupational health technical assistance, training, andskills development to help them increase capacity in occupational
hygiene and local infrastructure, to manage and improve healthconditions in their workplaces.
In 2020, WHWB approached national industrial hygiene associations to extend their offer of training programmes to non-Englishspeaking countries. The SOFHYT was quick to embrace the initiative.
The SOFHYT members have translated into French the Occupational
Health and Safety Awareness Course, originally developed by theOccupational Hygiene Association (OHTA). Tutorials were recordedand study material was prepared in French. During the last few
years, the material was improved and updated, and the training now
includes pre-recorded e-learning modules on Google Classroom™, aswell as sessions with instructors. The training is conducted entirely
online and in French. At the end of the seven-week course, participants are able to recognise common workplace hazards, implement
the hierarchy of controls, and recognise when to seek additional
technical assistance.
Three training cycles have already been completed. Approximately
50 students have completed the programme to date. Attendees havecome mainly from Senegal, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic ofCongo, and the Ivory Coast. These countries have high prevalence
rates of occupational injuries.1 A paradigm shift will unavoidably
require the involvement of many actors over multiple years, but
initiatives like those of WHWB/SOFHYT may plant the seed.

Feedback from students has been enthusiastic and most ask formore in-depth training. This health and safety awareness training
will be repeated regularly in 2023. In parallel to this initiative, theSOFHYT also proposed an e-learning training programme on theFundamentals of Occupational Hygiene, for French participants.
This module is based on the OHTA W201 programme, and has beensummarised and presented in English by Steven Verpaele from theBelgian Society of Occupational Hygiene (BSOH) and the Belgian
Centre for Occupational Hygiene (BeCOH).
Several SOFHYT members translated this module into French
during the summer. The training was presented via Microsoft Teamsfor three days, to 10 students. Participants included new occupational
hygienists, environmental health and safety officers, occupational
physicians, and toxicologists. All were eager to know more aboutoccupational hygiene. This first session was considered a success,and feedback from participants was very positive.
In 2023, the SOFHYT is planning a new training programme on thebasics of occupational hygiene. This may be more tailored towards
France with references to French regulations practices.

REFERENCES
1. Debela MB, Azage M, Begosaw AM. Prevalence of occupational injury
among workers in the construction, manufacturing, and mining industries
in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis, J Occup Health Epidemiol.
2021; 10(2):113-126.

Upcoming annual Asian Network OccupationalHygiene Conference
The 2023 annual Asian Network Occupational Hygiene (ANOH)
Conference will be held at the Acacia Hotel, Alabang, Metro
Manila, Philippines from 26 to 30 August 2023. The conferenceis being organised by the Industrial Hygienist Association of thePhilippines Inc. (IHAP) in conjunction with the ANOH. The titleof the conference is Collaborate, innovate, adapt for the future ofindustrial hygiene in Asia. The conference will include presentations covering a wide variety of technical issues in industrial/occupational hygiene.

Occupational Health Southern Africa

www.occhealth.co.za

The programme will include:• Professional courses: 26 and 27 August 2023
• Symposium – keynote speakers, concurrent sessions, trade
show, and gala dinner: 28– 30 August 2023

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