AIHA is trying to help the OEHS community address a “looming” crisis. Among the organization’s 2026 Public Policy Priorities, the crisis concern is ranked third, by member vote, among the organization’s top 10 priorities. 

AIHA members top vote goes to address the “approximately $100 billion per year in lost worker productivity caused by heat-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths.” The second ranked vote is the need to enhance “disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.” AIHA anticipates that hurricanes, wildfires, and other like disasters will be more commonplace and troublesome in the coming years. Noise/occupational hearing protection and Toxic Substances Control (TSCA) Reform comprise the top five priorities.

Third-ranked priority

A 25-page position paper for AIHA’s third ranked priority for 2026 was published November 12, 2025. The paper acknowledges that AIHA members alone cannot prevent this crisis. AIHA is committed to lead “But success will only come with broad engagement from federal legislatures to local school boards, corporate executives, school science teachers, current OEHS experts, and the students who will become future OEHA colleagues.” AIHA has initiated a “call for action” and is seeking your help. As best practice, what should you do at this time?

The following is a seven-step action plan to determine if you should help address AIHA’s concern.

Step 1: What’s the crisis?

The first step is to glance over AIHA’s position paper. The position paper shows that AIHA believes that the United States is “facing a critical shortage of OHES pros entering the workforce.” 

Step 2: Gut check

Before acting on anything, trust your gut. Is the concern hype or real? If the concern is real, then you should be aware of many OHES jobs being unfilled. Is that your experience? Among all the workplace hazards and risks, would this concern rank third among your top 10 concerns?

Step 3: Dig deeper

Is there evidence available in the position paper to support the concern of unfilled jobs, particularly IH jobs? Is there evidence in the paper that OHES or IH jobs are being staffed by incompetent people? As you have been trained to do, find the root cause for AIHA’s concern.

Step 4: Root cause

Root causes of a problem are often hidden from plain sight. The root cause will be among the first dominoes to fall that leads to the visible problem. You must explore beyond the ready evidence to determine root cause.

Step 5: Explore

The following possible root cause examples were obtained online (you are encouraged to do your own fact finding to confirm and expand the list):

• AIHA’s CEO acknowledged “pipeline issues” in the occupational health and safety profession in 2016. AIHA began “brand evolution campaign” at that time to reach “NEW audiences.”
• AIHA today represents a collection of people working in the “OHES” field, along with some IH students and approximately 3 percent international members. 
• AIHA’s membership once reached a high at about 12,500. Membership today is less than 8,500. 
• Based on estimates, AIHA represents only about 6,500 traditional IH members among the US workforce. 
• AIHA’s annual conference in 2002 brought in over 10,000 on-site attendees. Annual conferences from 2022-2024 saw on-site attendance average at about 2,850.
• As foot traffic on convention floors goes down, revenue and support from equipment supply and service providers likewise follows in a downward direction.
• AIHA’s 2022 Tax Form 990 (Open to Public Inspection) shows that the organization’s CEO received a pay and benefits package that exceeded $500K. Salaries, other compensation, and employee benefits for all of AIHA’s 13 employees exceeded $2.5 million. Every employee received a pay package well over $100K.
• Based upon AIHA’s DEI direction, the organization is no longer considered a candidate to obtain federal funding.

Step 6: Summarize findings

Based upon the brief information above, do you concur with AIHA’s belief that a shortage of OEHS professionals is an urgent “community” problem that impacts everyone? If yes, then share your ideas to fix the problem, or join AIHA’s advocacy efforts, at GR@aiha.org. 

If you suspect that AIHA’s 2016 “brand evolution campaign” is a failed business model which now requires more OEHS pros in the pipeline to increase its dwindling ranks and restore its past glory, then there are action choses, too. One action is to do nothing and let AIHA sink or swim on its own. 

Conclusion

AIHA’s position paper on this topic includes a “Template Letter to Policymakers.” A major flaw in this template is that the organization wants to sell the term “OEHS” — as if they owned it. OEHS can only be defined by breaking down its uneven parts. Even then, some parts are not definable.aaaaaaa

AIHA’s 1997 flagship publication The Occupational Environment — Its Evaluation and Control is a 50-chapter, thirteen hundred plus pages, book that packaged nearly all the key concepts of industrial hygiene. Chapter 45 “Occupational Safety” described the relationship with IH but made clear that IH and safety are similar but distinct jobs with different educational and experience requirements. Every CIH® is educationally qualified to take the CSP® exam but not every CSP® is educationally qualified to take the CIH® exam.  I know this topic intimately. I wrote the safety chapter. 

When AIHA DEI’d the IH to become an OEHS they surrendered their uniqueness. Buyers of organizational services now have options to join other like-minded organizations such as ACGIH, ASSP, NSC and others, even ISHN, to fill AIHA’s historical role. 

The future of IH, however, is bright. If you want to send a letter to policymakers, consider the following introduction:

Dear Senator:

An “industrial hygienist” is included as a “Health Care Provider” (HCP) at 29 CFR 1636.3(l)3 within the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) 2024 final rules. In the HCP role, the IH is expected to help determine reasonable accommodations, if any, for a pregnant worker’s exposure to a toxic substance or harmful physical agent as defined at OSHA’s 29 CFR 1910.1020 (c)(13). Chemicals, mold, noise, heat, cold, repetitive motion, and ionizing and non-ionizing radiation are examples of these agents. 

The federal PWFA applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including private and public sector employers, federal agencies, employment agencies and labor organizations. There are approximately three million establishments, many within your represented region, within these categories. Annually, the PWFA provides reasonable accommodation rights to about 1.5 million pregnant workers. The health of pregnant workers and their future children need your support.

When legislation comes before you on an occupational health matter, we urge you to consider the inclusion and support for the role of an industrial hygienist. Please contact me if you require additional information. Thank you, Sincerely ….

Isn’t it strange that AIHA has never considered the above.