EHS Professional – October 19, 2023

IHMM is conducting an election for two [2] seats on its Board of Directors that began October 3, 2023 and will end on November 3, 2023.

The two seats are [1] At-Large seat, and [1] CSMP seat. Certificants are asked to cast ballots for 1 of the 2 At-Large candidates, and for 1 CSMP candidate.

Below are the candidates for these two seats. Every IHMM certificant in good standing should have received an email ballot with an individually numbered code to cast their ballots.

Melissa Hamer, CHMM – At Large seat

Ms. Hamer was elected to a four-year term beginning in 2020 to the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management’s (IHMM) National Board of Directors. She was elected to the IHMM Board’s Executive Committee in December 2020 and serves as the Board Secretary. The IHMM certifies and manages multiple hazardous and dangerous materials and occupational safety and health credentials. She is also a regular speaker on environmental law including PFAS topics, administrative laws and procedures, and on construction and insurance law issues.

Ms. Hamer has been a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) since 2010 as accredited under ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024, the International Standard for Personnel Certification Programs and The Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB). She also is an environmental professional, as defined in the ASTM E1527 standard for environmental and real estate due diligence and under the U.S. EPA’s guidance.

Read more about Melissa Hamer, CHMM

Sarath Seneviratne, CHMM – At Large Seat

I care deeply about IHMM’s future. I believe no other candidate brings the wealth of detailed knowledge and specific work experience I have. This insight would be uniquely valuable to the Board. I sincerely hope you will do me the honor of electing me to serve this incredible and worthy mission. My first term serving on the Board of Directors has been educational, inspiring, and hugely motivational to stay involved with IHMM. If elected to a second term. I’d like to facilitate the translation of the IHMM’s mission into concrete ideas and actions.

Read more about Sarath Seneviratne.

Dan Blankfeld, CSHM, CSMP, CPPS – CSMP Seat

Dan Blankfeld, CSHM, CSMP, CPPS, is Vice President of Safety, GIC Madison / CBG Building Company of Silver Spring, Maryland.

Dan has served on two IHMM committees as Chair, Professional Standards, and Microcredential. Dan served previously on the ISHM board of directors as vice chair. He also serves on the NFPA 241 Committee, and previously chaired the DC metro ABC Safety Committee, the DCMSA Safety Committee, served on the Montgomery County (MD) Volunteer Fire Rescue Association Board of Directors and is an active professional member of the ASSP.

Dan also currently serves as the Deputy Fire Chief of the Bethesda Fire Department.

Read more about Dan Blankfeld

Call for Volunteers: CSMP Scheme Committee

The IHMM Certified Safety Management Professional (CSMP) Scheme Committee has an immediate vacancy for volunteers.

Participation in the Committee requires that members attend virtual meetings and participate in teleconferences to work on test development activities such as item writing, and technical review of the items. We will soon begin the Modified Angoff standard-setting procedure to determine the cut score for the CSMP exam. All committee members will receive training. Members of the committee are required to hold confidential all exam-related information and may not be involved in activities that train or prepare candidates for any IHMM examination(s) or be willing to cease such activities for the duration of service on the Committee and for five (5) years thereafter. Committee membership is awarded in 2-year increments.

The Committee meets via teleconference and the web, and it will take approximately 20 hours of participation on an annual basis, and at times work on individual assignments. The teleconference and web meetings range from 1-2 hours in duration.  If you would like to contribute to the continued vitality of the Institute and the CSMP credential, you will earn 10 certification maintenance points (CMPs) per year toward your recertification for your participation on the committee, and an additional 10 CMPs for participating in the Modified Angoff procedure. The test development policies and procedures are based upon professionally recognized psychometric principles and on the accreditation body(ies) standards by which IHMM is accredited or recognized.

If you are interested, please send your resume and a cover letter to M. Patricia Buley at [email protected]. Please put the CSMP Scheme Committee in the subject line.

The application deadline for this opportunity is Friday, November 10.

Ask Us Anything

We will be hosting an “Ask Me Anything” call on Wednesday, October 25, 2023 from 1PM to 2PM EDT.

If you have any questions regarding:

• Earning a new IHMM Certification
• Earning recertifcation points
• Mentoring
• Where to take an exam
• Your MyIHMM account
• Need Help Using Collaboration

Or anything else regarding IHMM please join us.

Please join using this link:
https://v.ringcentral.com/join/941826333

Meeting ID: 941826333

One tap to join audio only from a smartphone:
+16504191505,,941826333# United States (San Mateo, CA)

Or dial:
+1 (650) 4191505 United States (San Mateo, CA)

Access Code / Meeting ID: 941826333

International numbers available: https://v.ringcentral.com/teleconference

National Safety Council Congress & Expo

Visit IHMM at Booth 1015 and say hello to IHMM Executive Director Gene Guilford

New Orleans, LA

October 23-25, 2023

FET Annual Conference

Visit IHMM at Booth 5 and say hello to Board Chair Bill Diesslin

Milwaukee Marriott West

October 31-Nov 2, 2023

There are 1,079 different conversations going on in the IHMM/HMS Collaboration platform this week.

A collaborative culture is important for every business but is especially important for our hazardous materials, dangerous goods, environment, health, and safety communities of practice. Do you have a problem you need to solve and want the opinions of your colleagues? This is where we come together to help each other.

IHMM credentialed professionals are at the top 1% of their professions and their reach is global. We are at the forefront of environmental protection, health, and safety and this is where collaborating with the best people in their fields, always willing to help one another, lessens the stress of our jobs, and where we strive as a team to make a difference of which we are proud.

We opened COLLABORATION to enable thousands of certificants and supporters to collaborate together. You can collaborate here.

Access to COLLABORATION is through the same username/password you use to access your MYIHMM account. Having a problem? Contact Jimmy Nguyen at [email protected]

This is a reminder that we, in partnership with the Board for Global EHS Credentialing (BGC), invite you to participate in the 2023 Salary Survey, an in-depth exploration of salaries in the OEHS field.

Please use the link below to access the online survey:
Take the Survey

Or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser:
https://vaultconsulting.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bycoyzQeRC4ousm?Q_DL=sbURSvoMo6DdOoN_bycoyzQeRC4ousm_CGC_F7YX2E901EhfDCb&Q_CHL=email

Please complete your survey submission by: Friday, October 27

School Safety: At A Glance

School safety is an important concern for the more than 49.5 million students and staff in schools across the country. It is fundamental to addressing and preventing youth violence, and fostering positive student well-being, academic achievement, and prosocial behavior.1,2,3 However, new information from the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS) data shows that there is an increase in threats to schools, as more students are bringing weapons to school and experiencing cyberbullying and mental health challenges.

Although the reasons students face these issues may vary, schools should have policies, systems, and environments that support all members of the community to 1) feel welcome, connected, and secure; 2) access equitable supports and services; and 3) build the skills they need for safe and healthy futures.

Read more by clicking here.

K-12 School Security Guide Product Suite

The K-12 School Security Guide Product Suite is designed to provide K-12 districts and campuses with resources, tools, and strategies to improve school physical security. With these products, schools and districts will learn the steps necessary to assess vulnerabilities, strengthen security, and better protect K-12 communities.

• K-12 School Security Guide (3rd Edition) and School Security Assessment Tool
• K-12 School Security Guide Training Companion
• K-12 School Security Guide “Train the Trainer” Companion Course
• K-12 School Security Guide (2nd Edition) and School Security Survey

Learn more by clicking here.

New Research to Help Prevent Lone Worker Incidents

Research reviews the use of worker monitoring technologies, ranging from fall detection devices and proximity sensors to mobile apps and panic alarms, in remote settings.

An estimated 15% or employees are working by themselves. And for those working in isolated environments there could be risk for serious injury, even death. Recognizing the emergence and severity of this issue, the National Safety Council released a new white paper through its Work to Zero initiative, Using Lone Worker Monitoring Technology to Protect Workers, to help employers identify and implement new solutions to keep their workers safe.

“Lone work can be beneficial for both organizations and employees, allowing for more flexibility and a greater utilization of resources, but this practice also comes with heightened risk for workers,” aid Katherine Mendoza, senior director, workplace programs, NSC, in a statement..” According to a 2021 survey, nearly 70% of organizations reported a safety incident involving someone working by themselves in the past three years, and 1 in 5 of these incidents were described as ‘quite or very severe. Every employee deserves to work in an environment where safety risks are minimized, and this white paper helps business leaders do just that by providing a playbook for understanding the unique hazards isolated workers face and how industry-specific technology can be used to save lives and prevent injuries.”

Read more by clicking here.

Breaking the Mental Health Stigma in Construction

While there is a mental health crisis occurring both nationally and within the construction industry, the stigma around mental health in construction remains inordinately high.

Imagine being on a boat tour of Niagara Falls. At the start of the tour, and from a distance, you have a full view of the falls. They’re powerful and majestic. But as the boat gets closer and closer, slowly and over time you can’t see as much. You’re getting wet, losing sight of what’s around you. You lose perspective. That’s how a mental health crisis can feel. You might not realize how wet you’re getting until you’re right under the falls getting soaked, and by that point, turning around to dry land feels impossible.

Being “in the mist” is a common analogy used to describe someone at risk of having a mental health crisis. Oftentimes, these individuals don’t realize how deep in the storm they are or how heavy it was until they’re on the other side. But if you or one of your workers is experiencing a mental health concern, there’s no reason to face the storm alone, even in the construction industry. It’s important to reach out and get help before a light rain turns into a hurricane.

Read more by clicking here.

US Department of Labor Investigation Finds ADM Failed to Inspect, Test Critical Safety Systems in Explosion That Injured 3 Workers at Decatur Facility

OSHA opened another inspection following September explosion, injuries at ADM’s East Plant

A lack of preventative maintenance on the explosion suppression system of a bucket elevator was a major factor in an April 21, 2023, explosion at Archer-Daniels-Midland Company’s West Plant that resulted in the hospitalization of three employees with burns and other injuries and extensive damage to the grain elevator, federal investigators found.

Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration responding to the combustible corn germ dust explosion determined that the explosion suppression system on the indoor bucket elevator leg was non-functional and in a state of disrepair. Investigators found the Decatur grain processing facility had not conducted inspections and testing of the explosion suppression systems since late 2016.

OSHA cited ADM for two willful, one serious and one other-than-serious health and safety violations and proposed $324,796 in penalties related to this explosion at the West Plant.

Read more by clicking here.

Most millennials find it difficult to disconnect from work: survey

Two-thirds of millennials say it’s impossible to unplug from their jobs, according to the results of a recent survey.

For the survey, conducted by OnePoll, researchers asked 2,000 adults to gauge their levels of work-related stress and identify contributing factors.

Of the respondents born between 1981 and 1996, 65% said they face “too many distractions to be able to switch off each day.” Among the millennials, 45% said they check their phones first thing in the morning. Overall, 53% of the respondents agreed that an overreliance on modern technology contributes to the inability to disconnect.

Read more by clicking here.

US Department of Labor Recovers $105K in Unpaid Wages, Damages After Investigation Finds Lacey Restaurants Violated Overtime, Child Labor Laws

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the restaurant employer failed to pay workers their full earnings in violation of overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Investigators determined that Jose Sanchez, owner of three Mayan Mexican Restaurants operating under different corporate names in Lacey, Washington, denied 20 workers their overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. Instead, the employer paid overtime hours at regular rates and failed to combine all hours worked at different locations for purposes of overtime pay calculation. The division also found a minor-aged employee had worked more hours than permitted on school days and beyond the allowable times, in violation of FLSA’s child labor regulations.

Read more by clicking here.

NIOSH Will Conduct Comprehensive Respirator Use Survey Beginning November 2023

Insights from the survey will inform safety protocols and readiness for future pandemics.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is preparing to launch a survey aimed at assessing the landscape of respirator use and practices across U.S. industries.

According to a release dated Oct. 12, the Survey of Respirator Use and Practices (SRUP) is set to kick off on Nov. 2, 2023. SRUP is the first effort to collect national data about respiratory protection since 2001, surveying employers about the number of companies and employees using respirators, the reasons behind their use and the associated management practices.

Read more by clicking here.

Taking the Time to Do Safety Right

The road to improvements can be long and arduous, but the end results never cease to amaze.

Last summer, I received notice that my city would be replacing the pipes and redoing the storm drains on my street. I was excited about not having my water run through old lead pipes, but I didn’t find the estimated timeline of work exciting: one year.

After a few false starts, work began in November 2022, around Thanksgiving. As I write this, the work is still ongoing.

There have been phases of work involving all sorts of heavy machinery digging several feet into the ground, tearing up driveways and sidewalks, laying pipes and pouring concrete. There have also been changes in traffic patterns, road closures, gigantic holes covered by steel grates, planned water shutoffs and unplanned water shutoffs.

Read more by clicking here.

Injured workers are using cannabis to self-medicate, study shows

Most workers who use cannabis to treat work-related injuries and illnesses do so without medical guidance or authorization, a recent study out of Canada suggests.

Researchers from the Institute for Work and Health examined data for nearly 1,200 workers in the Ontario Life After Work Injury Study. The participants, who had an injury or illness that resulted in at least one lost workday, were interviewed 18 to 36 months post-injury/illness.

Overall, 27.4% of the workers reported using cannabis in the past year. Of that group, 14.1% did so to ease symptoms stemming from a work-related condition, with the majority (67.3%) not receiving guidance on therapeutic cannabis use from a health care provider.

Read more by clicking here.

Top Mistakes in Addressing Thermal Hazards

Fires happen every day, often with minor consequences, but plant operators and staff underestimate the importance of thermal hazard risk mitigation and response planning.

Assessing risk is tricky and often prone to subjectivity, with people equating familiarity with safety. Unless we work hard to take an objective approach, our past encounters with and repeated exposure to specific risks can affect our understanding of their potential for damage, muddying the waters to sometimes devastating effects.

For example, while most people feel safer in cars than airplanes, this phenomenon is not rooted in empirical evidence. On the contrary, the average American is over 2000 times more likely to die in a car accident than in a plane crash. This false feeling of safety is based entirely on lived experiences—and the same goes for understanding of thermal hazards.

Read more by clicking here.

US Department of Labor Cites Bronx Contractor For Excavation Hazards After Deaths of Two Workers at JFK Airport

Triumph Construction Corp. did not provide support, training, design safeguards

Two employees of a Bronx water and sewer line construction contractor were fatally injured in a trench at a construction site at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens on April 3, 2023. These fatalities could have been prevented if their employer, Triumph Construction Corp., had ensured proper safeguards, a federal investigation found.

The two employees were attempting to remove soil from below a concrete slab located within a trench when the slab broke apart and collapsed, fatally crushing both workers. U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors found that Triumph Construction failed to:

• Support the concrete slab, exposing both employees to the danger of a collapse.
• Instruct employees on safe methods to remove the slab and provide supervision to ensure those methods were followed.
• Construct the excavation’s protective system based on designs in accordance with OSHA standards.

Read more by clicking here.

Ontario plans to develop registry of occupational illness exposures

Aiming to improve diagnosis and treatment of work-related diseases, Minister of Labor David Piccini has announced that the Ontario government plans to establish an Occupational Exposure Registry by 2025.

Work-related illnesses often take years to develop. In an Oct. 10 press release, the province states that the delay between exposure and symptoms causes many job-related illnesses to go undiagnosed or unreported, making it difficult to identify disease risks and provide workers’ compensation in a timely manner.

A recent independent review of the Canadian province’s health system for preventing and responding to occupational disease shows “there is currently no clear accountability for provincial surveillance for occupational disease.”

Read more by clicking here.

Secrets of the Safety Leaders

The 2023 National Safety & Salary Survey uncovers what’s on top of the wish lists of hundreds of EHS leaders.

What is a workplace safety leader? Sometimes it’s one person, working alone; sometimes it’s a small group of occupational health and safety managers; sometimes it’s a large team of EHS professionals overseeing the safety of a multinational corporation. When EHS Today conducted its 2023 National Safety and Salary Survey, we set out to learn exactly what a workplace safety leader does, and what follows is our special report on those findings.

Based on responses from 744 EHS professionals, we can tell you that most of the safety leaders in the United States have direct reports (55%), probably between one and nine, although 6% are responsible for 50 or more people. But what that also means is that 45% are on their own, especially those working for small to mid-sized organizations, where the safety leader often wears a lot of different hats. And one of their biggest challenges, make no mistake, is their workload keeps increasing while the size of their support staff does not.

Through the magic of spreadsheets and cross-comparisons, we crunched the numbers from the survey responses to develop a composite portrait of what a “typical safety leader” looks like (admittedly, there’s really no such person). Based on the most frequent responses to our various demographic questions, the typical safety leader has the job title of EHS manager, is a white male in his 50s, lives in the Midwest, has more than 20 years of experience, works for a manufacturing company, manages a staff of fewer than 10 people, earns $99,212, and received a raise of roughly 4% in the past year .

Read more by clicking here.

The Dr. John H. Frick Memorial IHMM Scholarship Program

The Institute of Hazardous Materials Management is pleased to have created $32,000 in academic scholarships, divided equally between $16,000 for students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate education in approved schools and who are also Student CHMMs, and $16,000 for students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate education in approved schools and who are also Student ASHMs.

IHMM seeks to foster the growth and academic success of students whose courses of education, and participation in one of our Student certifications, will lead to those students becoming fully-certified IHMM credential holders later in their professional lives.

Go to >  https://ihmm.org/scholarship/

IHMM  – 26 Fellows Are Mentors 

IHMM Fellows Committee Chair Atanu Das, CHMM, is leading the effort within the IHMM Collaboration networking platform to engage both 26 IHMM Fellows as Mentors and anyone who seeks some assistance as Mentees.

Given the extraordinary experience Fellows have, this is a unique opportunity for IHMM Fellows to help guide more recent certificants in their professional development activities. This article from ASAE magazine outlines how a mentoring program can become more successful – engagement!

IHMM’s Collaboration platform contains a “Mentor Match” module [see below at right] that allows mentors to signup designating the hours, number of mentees, subject areas, and length of time they wish to mentor – as well as allowing mentees to signup requesting assistance in specified areas. The mentor match module does the rest by matching mentors and mentees.

Recert Video #1

Recert Video #2

IHMM Recertification Videos

IHMM is pleased to release two YouTube instructional videos about navigating the IHMM recertification process. These step-by-step videos easily enable IHMM certificants to start and complete a recertification application.

While the full recertification cycle is 5 years, IHMM encourages all certificants to start a recertification application and add certification maintenance points as they are earned to make the final submission quick and easy to accomplish.

• Every CSHM and CSMP should start a recertification application now.
• Even if your recertification is years away, starting an application now and adding your accumulated points enables you to see where you are all the time and it makes it very easy when you have to file your application

IHMM is a member of ASSP and is pleased to bring this important information to all of its certificants.

ASSP News

• Stay CANSPAM Compliant With Real Magnet/Higher Logic

• Science of Correctly Fitted PPE

• Episode 117: Talking Safety: How to Improve Communication with Your Workforce

• Remembering the Triangle Fire

• Medical Cannabis Laws: What Do They Mean for Workplace Safety?

• Enabling Safety Success by Eliminating Workflow Bottlenecks

ASSP Webinars

RCM&D Professional Liability Insurance

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.

For more information see > https://hazmatsociety.org/professional-liability-insurance/