The Tennessee law defines a professional industrial hygienist but says nothing about a registered professional industrial hygienist. In other states, the RPIH is something a person can add behind their name but carries no legal authority. I do agree with Webb and APIH on the issue of protecting the industrial hygienist who is not certified. However, be assured AIHA will never abandon industrial hygiene. He excludes these credentials from his criticisms.
Dedication is valuable but it is difficult for another person to judge.
They are a way for others to determine the qualifications of safety and health professionals. Anyone could be given an answer sheet and by chance fill in the correct answers without even seeing the questions. Eligibility for the CIH exam, and the CSP and CHMM exams as well, requires a requisite amount of professional experience. That seems to be the basis for his anticertification position. The logical trail of his argument leads to the conclusion that there should be no credentials or qualifications for industrial hygienists other than their own self-defined dedication.