Combustible Dust, Ergonomics among AIHA Members' Policy Concerns
The American Industrial Hygiene Association announced the results of its biennial membership survey that projects the top public policy issues of concern over the next two years. AIHA's membership consists of 10,600 occupational and environmental health and safety professionals, which represent a cross-section of industry, private business, labor, government, and academia.
Among the membership's top OSHA-specific public policy issues are: a combustible dust standard, ergonomics standard, cranes and derricks standard, silica standard, and indoor air quality. Top issues in general related to OSHA were: updating PELs; GHS for classification/labeling of chemicals; nanotechnology; safety and health programs or injury and illness prevention programs; and risk assessment.
Regarding issues related to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, AIHA members said their top concerns were: GHS for classification/labeling of chemicals, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act. The top national or international standards of importance to the profession include nanotechnology, establishing guideline values and/or setting PELs, and laboratory analysis/certification. Additional standards ranking very high in the survey include those on respiratory protection, industrial ventilation systems, risk management, and noise/bioacoustics.
According to Aaron Trippler, AIHA Director of Government Affairs, the results did show a few interesting trends. "The most interesting result from this survey is probably what did not appear as a top public policy issue," he said. "The issue of emergency preparedness and response was previously one of the top issues. This latest survey did not find this issue anywhere near the top." Trippler added that another interesting trend was the appearance of the Globally Harmonized System and nanotechnology among the top issues of concern.
For more information on AIHA's biennial public policy survey, click here.