Georgia Local Section
[American Industrial hygiene Association] [March 1999]

Quarterly Newsletter - Electronic Edition

Spring Meeting, April 12, 1999

Presidents Message, Phil Williams, Ph.D., CIH

This year's President-Elect, Eva Ewing, has done an outstanding job in organizing our Spring meeting scheduled for April 12 at the Cobb Galleria. It will be an excellent opportunity to visit with our local vendors and learn more about their new products. The technical presenters will include individuals from out-of-state such as national AIHA President-Elect Jim Thornton and Dave Jacobs who is Director of HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control. Dan Ortiz from the Georgia Tech Research Institute will present an update on the proposed OSHA ergonomics standard and Paul Sawyer will discuss the role of the IH in site-specific Health and Safety Plans under 29 CFR 1910.120. A very important topic, Industrial Hygienists as Expert Witnesses, will end the day. Like it or not, testifying in court is a potential role that each us face in this field.

In an attempt to encourage you to stay for the entire meeting, we will have some valuable door prizes to give away at the close of the meeting, but you must be present to win (one will be a $100 cash prize). I look forward to seeing each of you on the 12th of April.

Web Site Update, Stan Salisbury, CIH

By the end of February, the Georgia Local Section (GLS) web site had been accessed 275 times since Jan 21, 1999. Are you responsible for at least one of these visits? If not, you need to put that on your "to do" list. We're now linked on at least three other web sites not counting AIHA National. That may not sound like much, but its a start. Other sites are linking to our site because of the quality of the links found on our "Other Links" page. Take the time explore these links. You'll be glad you did.

In addition to the electronic version of our newsletters, you'll also find postings of future and past meeting agendas. CM Approval Number will appear at the bottom of each agenda as soon as received from the ABIH. Meeting agendas, with maps and directions included, are posted on the Calendar page. Newsletters are posted on the News page. The electronic newsletter versions contain web links to both email addresses and web pages mentioned in this issue, as will all future issues.

On February 25, the GLS Executive Committee voted to approve posting of the GLS membeship email addresses. This listing is now linked to the web site's "Membership" page and has been since February 26, 1999. As of that date, no GLS member had objected to this posting. If you want to send an email message to a fellow member, just load the email directory page into your web browser and click on the address shown. If you want to send a message to more than one member, then you may need to cut and paste the additional addresses into your message. If any member currently listed would like their name removed, please let me know. Removal of your name from the web page will NOT automatically remove you name from our email distribution list.

The following members have an invalid email address in our directory: Lana Shew and Jeffery Johnson. Please send me your correct address. If any of you are not receiving the occasional broadcast email messages being sent to all members, then we don't know your email address. If you wish to be included in these distributions, please update your directory listing by filling out the form found on our web site at:

http://www.uga.edu/esh/aiha/members.html

Travis Williams Memorial Fund

Travis Williams, Son of Phil and Theda Williams, died tragically on November 6, 1998. Shorter College has established a scholarship fund in his honor. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a rising senior, business major who exemplifies the character and commitment of Travis.

Donations can be made to:

Shorter College - Travis Williams Memorial Fund
sent to the following address:

Ms. Barbara J. Mull
Donor Relations Manager
Shorter College
315 Shorter Avenue
Rome, GA 30165-4298

Title Protection Bill Hits Roadblock, Kevin Gara, CIH

We have hit a roadblock. In the opinion of senior counsel for the Georgia House of Representatives, the proposed title protection bill constitutes an unconstitutional delegation of power. Legal counsel retained by the Georgia Industrial Hygiene Council (GIHC) prepared a written opinion explaining why the bill is not unconstitutional. However, senior counsel was not persuaded to change his opinion, and key legislators will not sponsor the bill unless this issue is resolved.

The constitutionality issue surfaced at the start of the legislative session, as the bill was being drafted. Since then we have invested considerable time, energy and financial resources seeking a solution. At this point in the legislative session we have simply run out of time, and in any event, do not have sufficient financial resources to mount a successful challenge.

Why is the bill considered unconstitutional?
In the opinion of senior counsel for the House, the bill would "delegate" authority to ABIH and BCSP to grant titles in Georgia, but Georgia would have no control over either organization. Senior counsel cited case law from the Georgia Supreme Court to support his opinion. Retained counsel for GIHC, in their written opinion, cited the same case law to argue that the organizations do not grant a right to perform safety and industrial hygiene work, and do not restrict others from performing such work, therefore there is no unconstitutional delegation of power.

Prior to retaining counsel, GIHC worked with senior counsel from the House, to revise the bill in hopes of resolving the constitutional issue. However, the only solution acceptable to senior counsel was a solution deemed unacceptable to AIHA and ASSE. The revised bill would have granted non-CIHs and non-CSPs the right to use these same titles, without obtaining them through ABIH or BCSP, provided the person has met equivalent education, experience and examination requirements.

Options?
We can seek to overcome the constitutional issue and then continue with the attempt to enact legislation, or find an alternative means to meet our objectives.

For example, we could:

  1. Seek an opinion from the State Attorney General indicating the proposed bill is not unconstitutional. This would involve time and legal expense.
  2. Challenge senior counsel's opinion (possibly through an administrative review process and/or lawsuit). This would involve time and substantial legal expense.
  3. Seek recognition of the IH and safety professions through a rule-making process of a State agency. This would involve time.
  4. Seek recognition of the IH and safety professions through other means such as a public relations and outreach effort to the business community. This would involve time and expense.
  5. Apply to the Secretary of State to register a service mark (like a trademark) for the CIH, CSP and similar marks of professionalism. Actively monitor and challenge unauthorized use of service marks in commerce. This would involve time and a nominal expense to register the service marks.
  6. Implement a combination of the above alternatives.
Next step
Throughout this process we have received encouragement from those we have met along the way -- people who have allowed us to explain what we do, and have come to appreciate the value we bring to the public. Title protection may be dead (for the moment) but there are other alternatives to consider. We encourage a dialogue on how we should proceed. Do you feel we should invest further in overcoming our constitutional roadblock, or would you favor other alternatives? I look forward to hearing from you.

Kgara@pritchardjerden.com
(404) 949-1086

ABIH Certification Maintenance

The American Board of Industrial hygiene has awarded certification maintenance (CM points for the following Georgia AIHA Local Section meetings.:

Activity: Spring 1998 Seminar
Date: 4/13/98
CM Points Awarded: 0.5 CM point
CM Approval # 11382

Activity: Summer 1998 Meeting
Date: 7/24/98
CM Points Awarded: 0.5 CM point
CM Approval # 6990

Activity: Fall Seminar
Date: 10/26/98
CM Points Awarded: 1.0 CM point
CM Approval # 4888

Activity: Winter Meeting
Date: 1/25/99
CM Points Awarded: 1.0 points
CM Approval # 11767

1993-1998 Certification Maintenance Cycle

Worksheets from Diplomats reporting for the 1993-1998 cycle were due in Lansing February 1, 1999. This includes all persons who passed the exam in 1980, 1986 and 1992 with certificate numbers 1751-2007, 3234-3528 and 5458-5870. Also due to report are Diplomats with certificate numbers 1-1521 who get a remainder of 2 (longhand) or .333 (calculator) when their certificate number is divided by 6. If you are due to report and have any questions, please call Barb at (517) 321-2638 Ext. 5.

Editor's note: If you missed the Feb deadline, you are probably still ok. Just call ABIH and get your paperwork in as soon as possible.

Dues Reminder

Georgia Local Section 1999 membership dues were due in January. If you've not yet paid, you risk being dropped from our membership rolls. As of March 1st., we had 117 of 243 members (that's 48% of us) who fell into the "not yet paid" catagory. This will likely be the last reminder you will receive this year. Please don't put this off any longer. Get your check in the mail to our Treasurer, Dave Beem.

David Mathews Nominated for AIHA Board of Directors

When considering the fantastic job David did last year as chair of the AIHCE Local Conference Committee, this news should come as no great surprise. As a nominee, David was invited to attend the AIHA "Leadership Workshop, held in March, at Falls Church, Virginia.

State Reps Project

Our thanks to those of you who have responded to our request for information to catalog every GLS member's Georgia Senate and House District. As of March 1, we had received 44 responses.

This is an on-going effort, so if you haven't submitted your data, or if you were not aware of this project, please refer to: http://www.uga.edu/ehs/aiha/news.html and click on the Georgia General Assembly Database Project for specific information and instructions. Its fun, its easy and its almost automatic. For some of you who may be "highly protected" behind your company's internet firewall, you may get an error when submitting your data. If that happens, just send your data via normal email to Dave Beem at: dmbeem@nscorp.com

Officer Candidates for 1999

President Elect:

Brenda Southerland, CIH, CSP, MPH
Georgia Power

Secretary:

Michael Mount, CIH, OHST
Cape Environmental Management, Inc.

Scott Weiner, CIH
Ciba Vision Corporation

Treasurer:

Dave Beem, CIH
Norfolk Southern Corporation

Marianna Spain, CIH
Environmental Management Associates

Board of Directors:

Mark Demyanek, CIH, CSP
Board of Regents - USG

Peter Kowalski, CIH, CSP
ATSDR

Ballots were included with distribution of this newsletter and must be received by Eva Ewing before April 7, 1999.

Internships Needed

The Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at Emory University is seeking internship opportunities for Masters of Public Health students. Internships should last approximately 3-4 months with students working at least 20 hours per week. If you would like to discuss student internships, please contact the Internship Coordinator, Amanda Sanders, at:

(404) 727-4620 or asander@sph.emory.edu.

What's New?

OSHA has announced the details of their new proposed rule for requiring all employers to develop a safety and health program (29 CFR 1900.1). Amendments to OSHA's confined space standard have also been announced and becomes effective February 1, 1999. OSHA has new requirements for operators of powered industrial trucks. The new standards went into effect March 1, 1999. Training and evaluation of workers affected by the new standards must be completed no later than Dec 1, 1999. OSHA released their "working draft" ergonomics standard in February. All general industry employers with manufacturing or manual materials handling processes will be covered under this proposal. You can review or download this draft from OSHA's web site at:
http://www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/ergonomics.

If you have a copy of the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods, 4th Ed., you will want to bring your manual up to date with the 2nd. Supplement, NIOSH Pub. 98-119, dated Jan 15, 1998. Copies of the supplement may still be available directly from the NIOSH publications office at 1-800-356-5674. You can also request this supplement via FAX at 513-533-8573. If the supply has been depleted you can still download the methods as separate PDF files from the NIOSH web site at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nmam/nmammenu.html

While you're there, you may also want to check out the recently released NIOSH publications on workplace stress at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/stresswk.html

Speaking of stress, if your company is affected by the EPA requirements for developing a Risk Management Plan (RMP) as required by EPA's chemical accident prevention rule under 40 CFR, Part 68, new amendments to the rule were finalized on February 5, 1999. RMPs must be submitted to EPA by June 21, 1999. EPA has developed free software for this reporting requirement. Details are discussed on EPA's web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/swercepp/acc-pre.html

And while time marches on, we are closing in fast on the much publicized Y2K bug. Check out these sites to learn how Y2K problems could adversely affect health and safety:
http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/y2k.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/y2k/y2k-hmpg.html
http://www.csb.gov/1999/news/n9907.htm


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