There'll be some new faces around the conference table for the January meeting of OSHA's National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis has announced the appointment of five new members from the fields of medicine, acedemia and safety program development. The new appointees will serve two-year terms, according to an OSHA press release.

"The new NACOSH members possess a wealth of knowledge and real-world experience on a wide range of worker health and safety matters," said Solis. "I am confident these new members, representing the interests of labor, management, safety and health professionals, and the public will use their expertise to provide valuable advice and recommendations on important workplace safety and health issues. We share the goal of good, safe jobs for all American workers."

The new members include Lida Orta-Anes, Ph.D., professor, University of Puerto Rico, Graduate School of Public Health Medical Sciences in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Gary R. Rosenblum, M.S., C.I.H, A.R.M., risk manager for the City of Palm Desert, Calif. The management representative appointed is James Johnson, group vice president, Workplace Safety Initiatives for the National Safety Council in Itasca, Ill. The safety representative appointed is Rixio Medina, CSP, CPP, general partner of Rixio Medina & Associations L.P. in Corpus Christi, Texas. The health representative appointed is William B. Bunn III, M.S., J.D., M.P.H., vice president of health, safety, security and productivity for Navistar Inc. in Warrenville, Ill.

NACOSH has advised the secretaries of labor and health and human services for nearly 40 years on worker safety issues.

NACOSH will meet next on Jan. 19 and 20 at the Labor Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., where the members will discuss workplace issues including the Gulf of Mexico oil spill cleanup, injury and illness prevention programs, and recordkeeping. For more information on the meeting and how to participate, please see the notice in the Federal Register at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-31587.htm.