Portland and Atlanta in May, Boston and Chicago in June

This year's conference season includes many exciting stops, starting with AAOHN's national conference in Atlanta. The National Safety Congress opens in Philadelphia just in time for Halloween.

• By Jerry Laws
• Feb 01, 2011

The star of this year's conference season must be the American Society of Safety Engineers' conference June 12-14 in Chicago. It promises to be like no other ASSE meeting, for there the association will celebrate its 100th anniversary and look back on its own history and the history of safety in America. More than 160 education sessions in 21 tracks are on the program. Visit www.SAFETY2011.org for more information.

ASSE has promised the meeting will:

• Celebrate the accomplishments and professionalism of its members
• Build on its leadership in protecting people property and the environment
• Launch its vision for the future of the safety profession

The meeting at the McCormick Place Convention Center will include a Safety Through the Ages history hall on the expo floor, a June 13 luncheon recognizing safety, health, and environmental professionals, and a 100th Anniversary Society Gala starting at 6:45 p.m. June 13 at Navy Pier.

Expo hours are:

• June 12: 3-5:30 p.m.
• June 13: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
• June 14: 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

AAOHN National Conference (May 2-5, Atlanta)
Pre-conference courses and workshops will take place April 30 to May 2. This American Association of Occupational Health Nurses meeting includes the AAOHN 2011 Global Summit on May 1-2, which includes a tour of the Carter Center and a presentation about its global mental health program. Also included are educational presentations about occupational health nursing in the Americas and around the world. Attendees will earn 9.75 continuing education credits for attending both days. AAOHN President Kay Campbell is among the event's speakers.

The global theme carries on to a May 2 address by WHO's Susan Wilburn, MPH, BSN, RN, about workers' health, and to the May 3 keynote session, when two presenters will discuss global trends and challenges in health care. Wilburn directs the World Health Organization's and the International Council for Nurses' work to prevent needlestick injuries and occupational exposure to HIV/AIDS, and she is coordinator of ICN's involvement in Health Care Without Harm.

Jordan Barab, a deputy assistant secretary of Labor at OSHA, and Dr. David Hunnicutt, Ph.D., president of the Wellness Council of America, are among the featured speakers.

AIHce (May 14-19, Portland, Ore.)
America's largest industrial hygiene conference, the American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Expo, is co-sponsored by the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. More than 5,000 IH and safety professionals are expected to attend.

The conference will feature an expo at the Oregon Convention Center and more than 700 courses, sessions, posters, lectures, workshops, and luncheon discussions. Held concurrently and included in the AIHce 2011 registration fee is the 2nd International Symposium on Wood Dust (May 17-18). The Hilton Portland Hotel is the site of most AIHA and ACGIH evening events.

Expo hours are:

• Monday, May 16, 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 17, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 18, 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

NFPA Conference & Expo (June 12-14, Boston)
The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center houses this top-notch fire safety meeting. More than 130 sessions are included and an expo featuring more than 300 exhibitors of PPE, apparatus, apparel, helmets, axes, thermal imagers, alarm and suppression systems, training courses, and much more.

Highlight sessions during the meeting include a panel discussion about antifreeze solutions for automatic fire sprinkler systems (11 a.m.-1 p.m. June 14, featuring Jim Lake from the National Fire Sprinkler Association and Steve Wolin of Code Consultants, Inc.); "The High Cost of Fashion at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory" (11 a.m.-noon June 14, featuring Casey Grant of the Fire Protection Research Foundation, who will discuss how this industrial fire 100 years ago in New York City set in motion major advances in fire safety, NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, and the American labor movement); and "The Relationship Between the OSHA Electrical Regulations and NFPA 70E," presented by OSHA's Ken Mastrullo.

Expo hours are:

• Sunday, June 12: 3:30-7:30 p.m.
• Monday, June 13: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Tuesday, June 14: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

27th Annual National VPPPA Conference (Aug. 29-Sept. 1, New Orleans)
The Voluntary Protection Programs Participants' Association, Inc. will open its 2011 conference at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in downtown New Orleans on Aug. 29. Pre-conference workshops take place Aug. 28. VPPPA, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, has more than 2,100 corporate and work site members that participate in or are applying to join OSHA's and the U.S. Department of Energy's Voluntary Protection Programs and other government recognition programs.

The conference's expo typically attracts more than 200 exhibitors.

National Safety Council 2011 Congress & Expo (Oct. 30-Nov. 4, Philadelphia)
The Pennsylvania Convention Center hosts the largest U.S. safety conference of 2011. In 2013, this conference will be held in Chicago as the National Safety Council celebrates its 100th birthday. More than 12,000 professionals attended the 2010 Congress & Expo, a 16 percent increase from the year before, according to the council.

Expo hours are:

• Monday, Oct. 31: 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, Nov. 1: 9:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 2: 9:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.