This year's American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Exposition, scheduled for Orlando, Fla., May 20-25, looks like it will be the last one with the words "industrial hygiene" attached to it. And "American", for that matter. Next year, the conference will go by the name, "Environmental Health & Safety Conference & Exposition."

The name change was approved by the Board of Directors of the American Industrial Hygiene Association last year, but wasn't announced publicly until last month to avoid confusion with this year's meeting.

There's still a chance the new name won't be adopted, if a group of dissenting industrial hygienists collect enough petition names to force a vote on the name change by the entire AIHA membership. Opponents claim the new name will "dilute and weaken the emphasis on industrial hygiene," as one protested in an email.

AIHA argues that the new name better reflects the broader responsibilities of most industrial hygienists.

The 2001 conference will take place in New Orleans, June 2-7.