Mile-High Safetydom
Science, safety, and majestic vistas take center stage at this year's conference and expo, which return to Denver for the first time since 1969.
The last time the nation's foremost industrial
hygiene groups gathered in Denver in a large-scale
way, American astronaut Neil Armstrong
was still two months away from stepping down
from the Apollo 11 landing craft, making "one giant leap
for mankind." Within a month of that historic step, some
400,000 people would gather at Max Yasgur's dairy farm
in New York to celebrate Woodstock. It was the year both
"Sesame Street" and Boeing's 747
jumbo jet debuted in their respective
airways. 1969 marked, on
many fronts, the end of one era
and the beginning of another.
Forty-one years later, the
focus will be decidedly on the
future when the 2010 American
Industrial Hygiene Conference
and Expo takes place at the
Colorado Convention Center in
downtown Denver May 22-27.
Co-sponsored by the American
Industrial Hygiene Association
and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygienists, the event's 71st outing will feature an
impressive lineup of speakers, educational sessions and
professional development courses (PDCs), and new programming,
all supporting this year's theme: New Frontiers
in Science and Practice.
Stage Presence
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., one of TIME magazine's "Heroes for the Planet" and Rolling Stone's "100 Agents of Change," will present the opening session keynote from 8-9:30 a.m. on May 24. His message -- honed from his work as senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper, president of Waterkeeper Alliance, and the environmental advisor to Napo Pharmaceuticals -- is titled "A Contract with Our Future." Afterward, Kennedy, the author of Crimes Against Nature, The Riverkeepers, and several other titles, will hold a book signing at the AIHA Booth (623).
If Kennedy is one of the nation's most well-known crusaders against environmental damage caused by certain types of coal mining, Cecil Edward Roberts, Jr., president of the United Mine Workers of America, is one of the country's most prominent proponents for mining's benefits. In a rare speaker billing and fine balancing act -- and an AIHce first -- Roberts will take the stage for May 25's General Session from 8-9 a.m. The sixth-generation coal miner is currently a member of the executive committee of the AFL-CIO's Executive Council and chair of the Executive Council Committee on Safety and Health.
The May 26 General Session from 8-9 a.m. teams
OSHA chief David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, and NIOSH
Director John Howard, M.D., MPH, JD, for a conference-themed
discussion on "New Frontiers in Science and
Practice." Fresh from moderating "OSHA Listens" in
March, Michaels will be making his first appearance at
AIHce since being sworn in as OSHA assistant secretary
in December. As with Trumka's session, the audience will
have an opportunity to contribute questions on current
and future OEHS issues that may be answered during
the session, so organizers encourage attendees to come
prepared with questions or to e-mail them to [email protected]. Following the session, the
discussion continues in an open-forum Ask the Expert
session.
Higher Education
As with the previous 70 AIHce events, the 2010 version
will be chock-full of educational and networking opportunities,
including an assortment of roundtable discussions,
"Tech Talks," poster sessions, pre- and post-conference
workshops, technical tours, and 67 PDCs. New this year
are a Product Demo Theater sponsored by the Colorado
Safety Association and a symposium on Leadership in
Energy and Design (LEED) and green building design,
construction, and operation. The popular Unsolved IH
Mysteries Workshop is returning in an enhanced format.
The hub of much conference activity is the expo,
which will be open the following hours:
Monday, May 24, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 25, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Wednesday, May 26, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Bring Walking Shoes
Denver has spent more than $8 billion in the past decade
on new attractions, including doubling the size of its convention
center. Considering the mileage you are likely to
accumulate in that building alone -- and more, if you take
advantage of the restaurants and other amenities located
within a 10-block radius of the center -- you should keep
in mind that Denver is a walker's city. Because of the convention
center's central location to all activity, conference
organizers note shuttle service to and from AIHce hotels
will not be off ered this year.
For more information, including registration forms, a
schedule of PDCs and educational programming, and a
Hotel Locator to gauge the distance of your hotel to the
center, visit www.aihce2010.org.
About the Author
Ronnie Rittenberry is Managing Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.