A NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation report presented findings of an agency investigation at an engine machining plant where employees were exposed to metalworking fluids, or MWFs. The union representing the employees had requested the evaluation because of concerns that exposure to MWFs had caused respiratory symptoms and dermatitis among workers.

Early in 2019, OSHA cited a pet food company in Florida for failing to provide protective gear for workers handling corrosive chemicals, a Pennsylvania hair salon for exposing workers to hazardous materials, an Ohio musical instrument factory for exposing workers to toxic copper dust, and a Texas indoor gun range for exposing workers to unsafe levels of lead.

At the AIHce 2018 Donald E. Cummings Memorial Award Lecture, Mark Stenzel, CIH, FAIHA, argued that industrial hygienists should place greater emphasis on estimating exposures relative to conducting sampling. Stenzel, an industrial hygiene consultant and the 2018 recipient of AIHA’s Cummings Award for outstanding contributions to the knowledge and practice of industrial hygiene, made his remarks on the final day of AIHce EXP 2018.

The goal behind the digital oilfield is to optimize oilfield operations through the provision and implementation of data and analysis tools. These digital methodologies are becoming more common in logistics and machinery monitoring - areas that can be translated from other industries. The Holy Grail still remains providing real-time, reliable production data.

"We see big opportunities to deploy innovative strategies and technologies to monitor, measure and ultimately prevent emissions," said Matt Kolesar, regulatory manager at ExxonMobil’s XTO Energy affiliate, Since 2017, ExxonMobil has expanded its U.S. methane leak detection program, committed to its first global methane target, supported methane monitoring technology innovation and encouraged EPA to regulate methane emissions at new and existing sources.

Ethylene oxide (EtO) is a common, highly hazardous industrial chemical linked to breast cancer and immune system cancers like non-Hodgkin lymphoma and lymphocytic leukemia (see EPA IRIS Exec Summary, Dec 2016). Concerned community members in Illinois made it a 2018 campaign issue after two federal agencies released studies showing elevated cancer risks outside Chicago.

A social services company is held responsible for an employee’s murder in the same week that a bill to prevent workplace violence in the health care and social service industries is re-introduced in Congress. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

A new eGuide from the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) offers recommendations to industrial hygienists and occupational hygienists on ways to manage and advance their careers – no matter what stage of their career they’re at. The  IH Professional Pathway eGuide (PDF), offers practical suggestions to IH/OH professionals, with advice aligned with three different "tracks": technical, management and leadership. AIHA says the eGuide can be used by college students pursuing a technical course of study – even if they have not yet decided on a specific vocation - or more established professionals, perhaps contemplating a career change.

The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) has released its 2019 editions of the TLVs® and BEIs® book and the Guide to Occupational Exposure Values. The information in the user-friendly, pocket-sized TLVs® and BEIs® book is used worldwide as a guide for evaluation and control of workplace exposures to chemical substances and physical agents. Threshold Limit Value (TLV®) occupational exposure guidelines are recommended for more than 700 chemical substances and physical agents.