The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) awarded its Annual Social Responsibility Award to Perry Gottesfeld, Executive Director of Occupational Knowledge International (OK International). The award, co-sponsored by Bureau Veritas, recognizes leadership among environmental health professionals who have made significant contributions to advance environmental health and safety in communities most at need around the world.

OK International works to improve health and safety conditions in many of the world’s most hazardous industries including lead battery recycling, lead battery manufacturing, and small scale mining.

Gottesfeld said funds from the award will be used for the group’s projects in developing countries.

The mission

OK International focuses on using science-based solutions to address some of the most challenging threats to occupational and environmental health around the world – including exposures to lead, silica and other contaminants. The nonprofit’s mission is to eliminate or reduce occupational illness and environmental contamination in developing countries.

“We are a unique nonprofit organization that brings science-based solutions to complex problems to improve health in vulnerable communities.” Gottesfeld added. “This involves improving environmental practices in hazardous industries; eliminating lead in paint and other consumer products; and providing innovative solutions for small businesses to affordably reduce harmful occupational exposures."

The organization’s work has improved millions of lives in many countries including Peru, Mozambique, India, China, Vietnam, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kosovo, Cameroon, and Mexico by building the capacity to respond to environmental health threats and by producing concrete results in partnership with governments, industry, nongovernmental organizations, and others.

Among the group’s accomplishments:

• Investigating the export and recycling of used lead batteries in Mexico, which convinced NAFTA’s Commission on Environmental Cooperation to call on governments to adopt uniform standards to protect the environment and public health throughout North America.
• Establishing agreements with major U.S. and international paint companies to voluntarily stop adding lead to paints sold in countries without applicable regulations.
• Guiding the lead battery industry to establish a consensus standard for reduction of lead emissions in the manufacture and recycling of batteries.
• Winning a joint award from the United Nations Environment Program and the United Nations Development Program in November 2004 for our work under the SEEDs Initiative - Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development of the UN.
• Providing more than $300,000 in grant funding to project partners in developing countries.
• Introducing the use of dust-control technologies to control silica dust in India’s stone crushing industry to combat to an epidemic of silicosis and the spread of tuberculosis. These inexpensive water-misting systems reduced airborne silica levels by 80%.

The award was presented at the opening general session of AIHce 2014 in San Antonio.

Occupational Knowledge International
4444 Geary Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94118
Email: info@okinternational.org
 (415) 221-8900
www.okinternational.org