Prominent at this year’s AIHce were seminars and workshops reflecting the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s (AIHA biennial membership survey listing top public policy issues of concern to AIHA members and the occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) profession over the next two years.

Actually OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels did not give a “talk” at Tuesday morning’s opening session at the AIHce. Instead, the packed assembly room was treated to a conversation between Dr. Michaels and one of his predecessors, John Henshaw, who headed OSHA during the Bush II administration.

Updating PELs, OSHA’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program (I2P2) and getting more respect are the top upcoming issues for safety professionals, according to a survey conducted by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA).

We could see history being made here. Many DC sources tell us the same thing: Dr. Michaels “loves” his job, according to one source, and has made it known in DC he wants to stay on. It would be the first time in OSHA’s 40+ year history that an OSHA chief has stayed in place for a president’s second term.

In what AIHA Government Affairs Director Aaron K. Trippler calls a "surprise" move, OSHA has put a Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs)-related item on its regulatory agenda.

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) is expressing opposition to reported efforts to change a bill sponsored by California Assemblyman William Monning that would call for a limit on the type of professionals who would be able to supervise or direct the monitoring of control methods for permissible exposure levels (PELS) in state workplaces.