The American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) has announced the recipients of the 2015 AIHA Distinguished Service and Social Responsibility Awards. Each award is presented to an individual or an organization that has demonstrated great dedication and outstanding work toward the advancement of the industrial hygiene profession. The recipients will be honored at the Mark of Excellence Awards Breakfast at the 2015 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce) on Wednesday, June 3, 2015, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The two 2015 AIHA named award recipients are:

Thomas G. Grumbles, CIH – Distinguished Service Award
Throughout his extensive career, Thomas Grumbles has actively communicated the importance of industrial hygiene skills in product development, distribution, use, and disposal.  In 1978, he received a Master of Science degree from the University of Cincinnati and worked as an industrial hygienist for Gulf Oil shortly after. Grumbles was honored in 1991 by AIHA as the recipient of the Florence and Howard Kusnetz Outstanding Young Hygienist Award for his service in the field of industrial hygiene.  In 2000, he was elected as Secretary of the Board of Directors of AIHA and rose to President in 2004. He is also a past president of the International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA). Grumbles has served as the Chair of the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC), Health, Product and Science Policy Committee and Past Company Chair of the Responsible Care Committee. He is the President-Elect of AIHA’s Product Stewardship Society and played a key role in the planning of the Society’s first stand-alone conference: Stewardship 2014. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual’s distinguished service in the advancement of industrial hygiene, unique technical contributions to the aims and goals of AIHA, proven leadership in the industrial/occupational hygiene profession, influence on public policy or social reform, or public and community service.

CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training – Social Responsibility Award
CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training is a non-profit research organization committed to the prevention of illnesses and injuries among construction workers. Serving more than 20 years as NIOSH’s Center for Construction Research, CPWR not only concentrated on understanding the causes of occupational fatalities and injuries in construction, but also researched ways to prevent fatalities and injuries, or mitigate the severity of the outcomes. Every five years, CPWR produces The Construction Chart Book, which focuses on the economics, safety, and health of the construction industry. Beyond research, since 1996, CPWR has provided free medical screening to former Department of Energy building trades workers who put themselves at risk while building, repairing, and maintaining facilities that house nuclear weapons. CPWR also administers a federal grant to provide safety and health and jobs training to disadvantaged ethnic minorities in three U.S. cities near EPA Superfund sites, which, as of 2010, received a new five-year National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) grant. Most recently, the organization has begun a major five-year program focused on the use of nanotechnology in construction. CPWR is also the research arm of North America’s Building Trades Unions, which represents most construction unions in North America. The Social Responsibility Award is an honor bestowed upon an organization that supports a cause related to the field of IH/OH.

“I’m truly honored to recognize the recipients of the Distinguished Service and Social Responsibility Awards for their extraordinary contributions and tremendous dedication to the field of industrial hygiene.  These remarkable individuals have gone above and beyond to help advance the profession, and we are excited to honor them for their outstanding work,” said Christine A.D. Lorenzo, CIH, President of the AIHA Board of Directors.

The two honorees are among a group of seven named award recipients that will receive AIHA’s most coveted awards this year.

About AIHA®

Founded in 1939, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) is the premier association of occupational and environmental health and safety professionals. AIHA’s 10,000 members play a crucial role on the front line of worker health and safety every day. Members represent a cross-section of industry, private business, labor, government and academia. AIHA’s annual conference (AIHce) is the premier event for IH and OEHS professionals to learn the latest education and outcomes pertaining to worker health and safety.