EHS Professional April 1, 2021

IHMM Credential Recognition

Below you will see the 3 EHS credential badges that are now in each CSHM, CSMP, and ASHM certificant’s MYIHMM account. Every IHMM certificant may use these badges, linked as those below are to their IHMM credential page, for their email signatures, business cards, and other social media applications. You’re justifiably proud of the accomplishment of having earned your credential and you can show the rest of the world.

IHMM UPDATES

Need Help? On the IHMM website just click on the “NEED HELP?” button and let us know what you need and the right person will get right back with you.

NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards Mobile Application

The NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards Native Application (mNPG) is a useful resource for workers, employers, and occupational safety and health professionals.  The mNPG is a database of workplace chemical information including exposure limits, chemical/physical properties, personal protective equipment, respirators, and first aid. The mNPG is customizable and easy to use.

In support of the Fall Prevention Campaign and National Safety Stand-Down on May 3-7, 2021, we wanted to make you aware of an educational webinar on Fall Harness Fit: The Basics in coordination with the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA).  The webinar is scheduled for April 28, 2021, at 1:00 PM (Eastern) and will include speakers from OSHA, NRCA, and CPWR. More information on the webinar and registration is available here.

In addition to the Fall Harness Fit webinar, two new Spanish resources are available for your use in support of the Campaign and National Safety Stand-Down:

• Small Contractors Section (Plan. Provide. Train.) – https://stopconstructionfalls.com/planificar-proporcionar-capacitar/
• General Spanish Resources page – https://stopconstructionfalls.com/prevent-falls-training-other-resources/en-espanol/

April 15 Webinar – 2:00PM ET – OSHA Is Updating the HazCom Standard to Better Align with GHS – How the Proposed Changes Affect You

CSHM – CSMP New Blueprint Developments

IHMM has exciting news about the developments in the CSHM and CSMP credentials.  Thanks to the hard work of the CSHM Scheme Committee, chaired by Steven Guillory https://ihmm.org/cshm-scheme-committee/ and the CSMP Scheme Committee, chaired by Kirk Rains, in about a month each of these credentials will have established their new, updated blueprints.

As these IHMM committees work to finish their new blueprints we will be on our path to creating new examinations, new item banks, and the associated elements that we need to position both credentials for application for accreditation by the American National Standards Institute [ANSI/ANAB].

IHMM thanks Steven and Kirk for shepherding their volunteers and working with Patricia on what is a long, though the valuable process to establishing a higher standard of excellence for these credentials.

ISO 45001 The First Global OSH Workplace Standard

ISO 45001 is a global standard for occupational safety and health management systems that provides practical solutions for worker safety. It can help create a global foundation of worker safety standards and inspections that can be used by all global supply chains, for all industries, and cover contractors and subcontractors in every country that supply products into these supply chains.

IHMM and Tom Slavin were proud to have worked with others worldwide in the development of this standard. Now, HMS Education and Training is developing modules of training around this standard. The CSHM and CSMP revisions will also include the 45001 standard in their new blueprints.

IHMM is where certificants not only find the latest in standards of performance, IHMM and HMS is where certificants will find the education and training backing the credentials.

 National Safety Council
IHMM is a member of the National Safety Council and is pleased to bring this important information to all of its certificants.

• Save the date: NSC 2021 Safety Congress & Expo + Impact Tracks
• New Ways of Working Safely
• Situational AwarenessCommit to a Culture of Learning
• FACE Report: Roofer Falls 30 Feet From Rain Slicked Roof

NSC Webinars

• April 1 – Achieving Better Outcomes with Mass Notification Systems
• April 7 – From Isolation to Immunization: Preparing for the Next Phase in the Battle Against COVID-19
• April 14 – Thermal Hazard Safety: Building Organizational Resilience by Improving Human Performance
• April 13 to 22 – 2021 Spring Division Webinars and Labor Division Meetings
• NSC Employee Perception Surveys: Safety Surveys Done Right!

SAFETY LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Register With Confidence in 2021
We understand that the future is uncertain due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so all registrations will be fully refundable for any reason until October 15, 2021. Register with confidence knowing that if your plans change, you’re fully covered.  Register here

Safe + Sound Week – August 9-15, 2021

Announcing Safe + Sound Week 2021

Safe + Sound Week is a nationwide event held each August that recognizes the successes of workplace health and safety programs and offers information and ideas on how to keep America’s workers safe.

Why Participate?
Successful safety and health programs can proactively identify and manage workplace hazards before they cause injury or illness, improving sustainability and the bottom line. Participating in Safe + Sound Week can help get your program started, energize an existing one, or provide a chance to recognize your safety successes.

Who Participates?
All organizations looking for an opportunity to recognize their commitment to safety are welcome to participate. Last year, more than 3,400 businesses helped to raise awareness about workers’ health and safety! Registration opens in July.

Check out our event archive for information on previous years’ engagement.

SafetyFOCUS Events Are Now Virtual

Due to the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and its cascading effects on safety and health, work, travel, and large gatherings, all SafetyFOCUS events are now virtual. Our hope is that this format will make SafetyFOCUS events more accessible while offering the same networking opportunities and high-quality education you expect from ASSP. IHMM is a member of ASSP and we are pleased to send all IHMM certificants and you may learn more here https://safetyfocus.assp.org/

Safe + Sound Week slated for Aug. 9-15

Safety and Health This Week

• Virtual NSC Safety Congress & Expo: What did you miss?
• In a Pipe Repair Worker’s Death, Questions of Safety Still Swirl
• Science Group Says Bill Will Keep Workers Safe as Climate Change Makes Hot Days More Frequent, Intense
• DOL Complaint Accuses Company of Retaliating Against Safety Whistleblower
• Albany Med hit with OSHA citations over PPE claimOSHA proposes fines after worker injured at Ripon facility
• Boeing Co. helicopter production group wins NIOSH’s annual Safe-in-Sound award

Latest Safety Tips

• Safety News You Need: Safe Return to Work

• How to Responsibly Deploy Health Screening Technology

• Management Trends Emerging in the Construction Industry Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

• How Compliance Tech Is Making Field Service Workers Safer

Latest Workplace Solutions

• Total Safety Launches SafeTek™ Technology Solutions To Help Keep Workers Safe Worldwide

• Reduce your chemical footprint: Best Toxics Release Inventory reporting practices for 2021

IHMM & AHMP Launch 45 in 5 – National Credential Recognition – 21 States Targeted

On January 25th, we began outlining the strategy to go after the 21 states in yellow, above.

This is just the beginning. Here is the present composition of the 45 In 5 Task Force and the states we are focusing on. More people may volunteer anytime!  https://ihmm.org/45-in-5-task-force/

• The State of Colorado recognizes the CHMM as a Health & Safety Officer under Department of Transportation contracts, as well as for certifications under 40 CFR Part 261 Subparts C and D, and for compliance under CERCLA, Section 101 [14], as amended. Colorado is the 7th state government to have recognized the CHMM. This is a part of the IHMM-AHMP 45 in 5 Program to secure recognition by governments around the country.
• The State of Nebraska under 178 NAC Chapter 24 of the Department of Health and Human Services regulations recognizes the CHMM as eligible for remediation services. Thank you, Mary Duda.
• The State of California, Yuba Water Agency, PG&E Corp, Comcast, City of Elk Grove, Kaiser Permanente, thank you Cheryl Stith, who is working with Bart Miller on other agencies in California as well
• At our March meeting, we further discussed efforts underway in Washington state, Iowa, and also organizing filing an initiated federal rulemaking to amend 40 CFR § 310.12 /Definitions to include the CHMM.
• Robert Wilkinson is working in the State of Tennessee on credential recognition
• Ineke Abunwass is helping us in the State of Georgia with credential recognition
• Jerome Fields, Eric Johnson, and Tony Uliano are working in the State of Washington on credential recognition
• Bill Diesslin in the State of Iowa is working on credential recognition there under a groundwater program

In 2019 Mark Bruce from AHMP and Gene Guilford from IHMM worked on a project to get the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to recognize the CHMM and CDGT credentials. With Mark’s work on the ground in  Pennsylvania, we succeeded.

Since the launch, we have added Delaware, Florida, Texas, California, Washington, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Iowa, North Carolina, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and New Mexico as the next states for us to work on with 42 volunteers.

Now Mark at AHMP and Gene at IHMM has launched 45 in 5, getting the other 45 states to recognize our credentials in 5 years. If we can find a volunteer like Mark in 45 other states we can work with those volunteers on crafting the right message to the right agencies in state governments across the country. If we find enough volunteers we can get this done in less than 5 years.

The Task Force meets again on April 6th.

ENVIRONMENT & SAFETY RECENT UPDATES

• EPA Announces Updates to Chemicals Program

• A seat at the table

• COVID-19 Restrictions May be Here to Stay… but Not for Long

• How to Maintain Safer Work Zones

• OSHA Signals an Uptick in COVID-Related Inspections

• Manufacturers Should Prepare for OSHA’s New and Altered Proposed Hazard Communication Requirements

• Seneca Foods in Ripon fined by OSHA for forklift, machinery safety violations after employee injuries

• How to Respond to OSHA’s COVID Enforcement

• Worksite complaints increased, while OSHA inspections fell

• Trends in Workplace Safety Law in 2021: Part Two – Best Practices for an OSHA Inspection

• Reduce your chemical footprint: Best Toxics Release Inventory reporting practices for 2021

• Missed opportunities and a path forward (it took a pandemic)

• Video | Fall prevention: Testing the human limits

• In a Pipe Repair Worker’s Death, Questions of Safety Still Swirl

• Oregon OSHA does not want to extend COVID-19 workplace rules forever

• Workforce Depression High Due to Pandemic

• Opioid Overdoses and Naloxone: NIOSH Releases Video for Employer

• OSHA’s Top 10 most cited violations for FY 2020

Building Climate Change Resilience Virtual Training

EPA’s Creating Resilient Water Utilities initiative is providing free virtual training sessions on its Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT) for the Northeast climate region of the country. This training assists drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities in planning for and adapting to climate change threats with a focus on resilience building and infrastructure financing. The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, National Association of Clean Water Agencies, National Association of Water Companies, and NEIWPCC are helping to coordinate and co-sponsoring these events.

Training Objectives

• Conduct a risk assessment using CREAT;

• Identify and share information on adaptation strategies to build utility long-term resilience; and

• Share information on available resources for financing resilience and adaptation.

**Earn Continuing education units (CEUs) from select states **
Please note, to receive credit hours / CEUs:
• You must register and attend the sessions individually. We cannot provide credit hours / CEUs to individuals watching the sessions as a group.
• You must attend sessions 1, 2, and 3 for the entire webinar (2 hours each session).
• At the conclusion of Session 3, you must fill out and submit the survey provided by the webinar organizers.

REGISTER HERE

HMS UPDATES

HMS Donations

One of the most important projects of the Hazardous Materials Society is our Scholarship program.

HMS wants to make it as easy as possible for those who cannot always afford to participate in pursuing certification, or keeping up with professional development, or attending great conferences and receiving outstanding training. HMS does not solicit contributions from the general public. HMS does ask IHMM’s certificants and their companies and our education and training vendors to consider a contribution.

Here, through your generosity, you can make a difference in promoting the ability of those who can afford it least to become participants in our communities of practice.

It’s never too late to make a difference, so don’t let this opportunity to make a difference pass you by. Please consider a tax-deductible donation of $250, $500 or what you can to help build HMS’s effort to help others in our communities of practice.

HMS Education and Training

Hazardous Materials Society now has 14,912 education and training programs on its website https://hazmatsociety.org/education-training/ with more coming every week. Certificants will note that most of these programs carry a CMP value, making it easier to know in advance what to expect. The HMS Education and Training platform also provides a wide variety of courses for professional development across all of IHMM’s credentials – and more are being developed by the HMS Education and Training Committee.

This is the center of education and training for IHMM certificants and prospective certificants. Among these more than 15.000 programs are webinars delivered online and virtually all carry IHMM CMPs values with them for your annual / 5-year CMP planning. SEE: https://hazmatsociety.org/education-training/

HMS Affinity Programs –  RCM&D Professional Liability Insurance

With more than 27,000 people – here is where HMS leverages our numbers for member’s benefit. There is strength and value in numbers and that translates into lower costs for you.

HMS is proud to have partnered with RCM&D to be able to offer an outstanding comprehensive professional liability insurance program to IHMM certificants. Here, you will find information about this important program offering Environmental Consultants and Engineers Professional Liability coverage. This coverage is intended to add protection for loss stemming from actual or alleged negligent acts, errors and omissions in performing professional services.