December 2017 Newsletter Letter from The President By: Matt Zock, CIH - President, Pittsburgh AIHA Season’s Greetings! The executive committee accompanied by a few members held a productive business meeting on December 7th at Penn Brewery on Pittsburgh’s Northside (as an amateur brewer and beer aficionado, I may have had some influence on the location). The group enjoyed European cuisine and a taste of traditional German-style or new American-style craft brews. In an age of craft brewing, I couldn’t help but appreciate how the science and art of brewing is applied by brewers to create great products. It definitely takes some passion and dedication to their craft. As I thought about our local section members, I had a greater appreciation for the passionate and dedicated folks applying the science and art of our craft; protecting workers. Thanks for what you do! To help keep us all up-to-date in the craft, we are using your feedback to plan an exciting schedule of events. On January 18th we will have a session on ergonomics facilitated by a local section member, PPG’s Donna Bartlett, CIH; our February 8th President’s luncheon will welcome an update from AIHA President Deborah Nelson, PhD, CIH; and tentatively we are planning a session on silica to be facilitated by our local section Director, Keith Rickabaugh, CIH and others. These events would not be a success without the recommendations and participation from membership. Please consider getting involved by presenting, hosting, or suggesting topics and speakers. For those of us that have trouble attending, we are evaluating a renewal of the AIHA E-Learning subscription. Remember, there is still time to view and receive credit for recorded 2017 webinars. A link to all 5 recordings was sent to membership previously. If you have feedback or suggestions, contact our Programs Committee Chair, Lucinette Alvarado Rivera. We are currently seeking nominations for next year to serve as President-elect, Director, and Treasurer. We welcome any members with a passion to help; new or tenured, lesser or greater experience levels. Please provide self or colleague nominations as soon as possible by contacting our Nominating Committee Chair, Dennis Kelly. Of course our efforts would not be possible if it weren’t for our membership, corporate sponsors and advertisers. Thank you all! Now is the time to renew for the upcoming year. Please reach out to colleagues, vendors and industry associates to encourage renewals and seek new members and corporate sponsors. Our Corporate Sponsor Committee Chair, Frank Pokrywka, can help. Finally we have had some members express interest in the AIHA-NIOSH Partnership – Safety Matters ( see the August President’s Update ). Please consider this short but impactful volunteer opportunity. Remember, any safety or health professional can take the provided presentation materials and seek opportunities to speak to kids in grades 7-12 about how to protect themselves when entering the part-time or full-time workforce; in schools or at any event where kids in this age group gather. If you do have success, please share your experience with us. Feedback, nominations, and questions can also be sent to [email protected] Have a very safe, healthy and happy Holiday Season. Cheers! Matt Zock, CIH Recent Pittsburgh AIHA News From Our Blog: Register NOW!  January 18, 2018 - PPG Industries - Ergonomics Process Please mark your calendar for our next continuing education event to be held... Read More 2018 Corporate Sponsorship Drive is Underway! The 2018 Corporate Sponsorship drive is underway!  The benefits of a Corporate... Read More Pittsburgh AIHA Members "E-Learning" Subscription - New Webinar Added! All PAID local section members have access to our E-Learning Subscription... Read More National AIHA Fellows Nominations Two members of the Pittsburgh AIHA have been nominated to be named as AIHA Fellows. Julie Panko, CIH, CSP (ChemRisk) Bernie Quinn, CIH, CSP​ (AM Health & Safety) Fellows of AIHA are individuals who are full members in good stand​ing and have 15 years of continuous membership. Individuals are approved as These individuals have been nominated by a local section, committee, special interest group or other formal AIHA entity for their recognized achievement in the field of industrial hygiene. November 10th Meeting Highlights - Diisocyanates By: Lucinette Alvarado, CIH - President-Elect, Pittsburgh AIHA Today we use a lot of products made with diisocyanates. Diisocyanates are compounds that contain the isocyanate group (-NCO) and they react with compounds to produce polyurethane materials. Without them our furniture will not be as soft, our refrigerators will not be as cold and athletic wear will not perform as well. On November 10, 2017, Covestro LLC hosted the AIHA Pittsburgh Local Section continuing education session at their Pittsburgh headquarters. The session explored relevant information about diisocyanates including current regulations, industrial hygiene techniques, toxicology and safe use and handling methods. Five speakers from Covestro LLC took their time to present these topics. There were also videos, “show and tell” of products and industrial hygiene equipment, and information related to Covestro LLC and their values. To round out the session, one of the speakers presented an innovated project demonstrating why it is important to understand diisocyanates’ properties when applied in the field in order to have a safe work environment. Thank you Covestro LLC for your time and for hosting the AIHA Pittsburgh Local Section at your campus! Thanks to the following attendees who participated in the event: Lucinette Alvarado, Covestro, LLC Lawrence Balint, Erie Insurance Group John Bell, Watco Companies, LLC Margot Bernabo, PPG Industries, Inc. Darrick Bertig, FirstEnergy Corporation Charles Brehm, Michael Baker Jr., Inc. Renee Cowell, Amerisafe Consulting & Safety Services Barbara Cummings, AM Health & Safety, Inc. Scott Ecoff, Covestro, LLC Timothy Feeley, Covestro, LLC Kristy Gray, LORD Corporation Daniel Hagerty Dennis Kelly, Energy Transfer Partners Christy Kirsch, SE Technologies, LLC Jim Lambach, Covestro, LLC Monica Mathers, LORD Corporation Karen Mattson, Covestro, LLC Julie Panko, Cardno ChemRisk Bernie Quinn, AM Health & Safety, Inc. Keith Rickabaugh, RJ Lee Group, Inc. Catherine Sayles, Covestro, LLC Bernard Sersevic, Bettis Power Laboratory Stephanie Snyder, Covestro, LLC Jennifer Ungvarsky, LANXESS Corporation Matt Zock, FedEx Ground AIHA Pittsburgh Membership Dues - ​Payment Due NOW! If you are a National AIHA Member, you have the option to pay dues through National AIHA, or directly to the local section. If you are NOT a National AIHA Member, you must pay dues directly to the local section. Pittsburgh AIHA Membership Dues is still only $25 per year. See the details on our website, including payment links and information. October 26th Meeting Highlights - Potable Water Safety By: Frank J. Pokrywka, PhD, CIH - Secretary, Pittsburgh AIHA Clean, fresh drinking water emanating from our tap is often taken for granted. This has become evident with concerns for “safe” drinking water in Houston, Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean in the wake of recent hurricanes and earthquakes. On October 26th, we explored what needs to be done to assure the water we drink, cool with, bathe in and use in our homes, schools and workplaces is free of contaminants that can make us sick. ​​The first speaker for this meeting was Janet Stout, Ph.D. , President and Director of Special Pathogens Laboratory in Pittsburgh who spoke on the IH issues of Legionella bacteria and other waterborne hazards affecting homes, hospitals, commercial and industrial buildings. Sources of exposure discussed included water fountains, cooling towers, ice machined, decorative fountains, showers, hot tubs, swamp coolers and other water aerosol sources having the proper temperature and mineral composition. Janet’s talk focused on the prevalence of pathogenic organisms in our water, possible treatment methods, Legionella legislation (ANSI / ASHRAE Standard 188-2015) and various monitoring methods. Our second speaker, Keith Rickabaugh , a Certified Industrial Hygienist from the RJ Lee Group in Monroeville and our local section Director, discussed the hazards of lead and other metal contaminants in drinking water and the possible health implications to our most susceptible populations. His talk focused on the sources of lead in water including lead service lines, solder joints, electrolysis interactions between copper, steel and lead lines, brass fixtures, and galvanizing coatings in light of current state and federal regulations. Keith also discussed other sources of lead exposure in our homes and workplaces and the risk to children from lead in drinking water as a part of the total potential exposures from lead paint and soil contamination. Proper sampling techniques were covered as were the current laboratory analytical methods. ​Our third speaker was Dr. Stanley States , a full-time Instructor on drinking water and wastewater with the Texas A&M University and the retired Director of Water Quality from the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. With the aid of various charts and photos, Stanley discussed the process flow of Pittsburgh’s water from the Allegheny River to our homes. He presented a thorough description of how drinking water is first filtered and chemically treated at the Aspinwal plant to remove debris, dirt, heavy metals and microorganisms, and how water is treated a second time as it flows from our reservoirs to our homes and businesses. Stanley also discussed the recent media reports of various chemical or physical treatments of drinking water in Flint, Pittsburgh and NYC; covering why the methods were or were not successful. Also discussed were some plumbing issues that may cause lead