IHMM Today March 16, 2021

IHMM UPDATES

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OSHA is enhancing COVID-19 worker protections

In response to President Biden’s executive order on protecting worker health and safety, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched a national emphasis program focusing enforcement efforts on companies that put the largest number of workers at serious risk of contracting the coronavirus. The program also prioritizes employers that retaliate against workers for complaints about unsafe or unhealthy conditions, or for exercising other rights protected by federal law.

“This deadly pandemic has taken a staggering toll on U.S. workers and their families. We have a moral obligation to do what we can to protect workers, especially for the many who have no other protection,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Jim Frederick. “This program seeks to substantially reduce or eliminate coronavirus exposure for workers in companies where risks are high, and to protect workers who raise concerns that their employer is failing to protect them from the risks of exposure.”

NEP inspections will enhance the agency’s previous coronavirus enforcement efforts, and will include some follow-up inspections of worksites inspected in 2020. The program’s focused strategy ensures abatement and includes monitoring the effectiveness of OSHA’s enforcement and guidance efforts. The program will remain in effect for up to one year from its issuance date, though OSHA has the flexibility to amend or cancel the program as the pandemic subsides.

Read more > https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/directives/DIR_2021-01_CPL-03.pdf

Creating the Water Workforce of the Future:
Webinar Series

Cultivating a Positive Workforce Culture From Apprenticeship to Career

April 1, 2021
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Register Here

This program is worth 1.5 IHMM CMPs

A career in the water sector offers meaningful and challenging work that makes a difference in local communities. By building an inclusive and supportive workplace that encourages employee growth, the sector can attract and retain the qualified candidates it needs.

Please join EPA on April 1, 2021, to hear from leaders in the water sector who are embracing the challenge of “Creating the Water Workforce of the Future.”

Joone Lopez from Moulton-Niguel Water District will describe her organization’s journey to build a culture that allowed MNWD to become recognized as one of the outstanding water utilities in the country.

Tim Friday and Eric Dunker from Castle Rock Water and Arapahoe Community College will then describe a utility/community college partnership that trains and places students into jobs in the water workforce.

Moderator
Jim Horne, U.S. EPA

Speakers
From Moulton Niguel Water District (Southern California)
• Joone Lopez: General Manager
From Castle Rock Water & Arapahoe Community College (Greater Denver Area)
• Tim Friday: Assistant Director
• Eric Dunker: Associate Vice President and Dean of Arapahoe Community College: Business, Technology, and Workforce Partnerships

WEBINAR

Thursday, March 18th, 2:00 p.m. ET (1 hour)

Click here to register and submit a question for our presenters in advance.

This program is worth 1.0 IHMM CMPs

CPWR-NIOSH COVID-19 Webinar
An Update on COVID-19 Vaccinations and Q&A with CDC’s Essential Workers Team
Welcome:
Chris Trahan Cain, CIH, Executive Director, CPWR

Presenter:
CAPT Lisa Delaney, MS, CIH, Associate Director of the Emergency Response and Preparedness Office at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Lead of the Essential Workers Team on CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force

Q&A Moderator:
Doug Trout, MD, MHS, Chief, Hazard Evaluations and Technical Assistance Branch, DFSE, NIOSH

This webinar is a follow-up to January’s session on Vaccination & Ventilation: A Conversation about Next Steps in COVID-19 Prevention. The leader of the CDC’s Essential Workers Team will elaborate on what we know about the current COVID-19 vaccines and address your unanswered questions.

Click here to register and submit a question for our presenters in advance.

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.

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 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
• Sean Strong in the State of Colorado reports that the State DOT recognized the CHMM for positions there and he’s getting the documentation of that for us.
• 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 in April

IHMM NEWS RECENT UPDATES

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

• New Ways of Working Safely

• Situational Awareness

• Commit to a Culture of Learning

• FACE Report: Roofer Falls 30 Feet From Rain Slicked Roof

NSC Impact Tracks

The NSC Impact Tracks provide valuable educational opportunities for safety professionals looking to enhance their career, brush up on their skills and earn CEUs in the comfort of their home or office. This new virtual opportunity provides a day of topically focused education featuring five 60 minute technical sessions, lunch and stretch breaks, and an opening welcome from NSC President & CEO, Lorraine Martin. Each session will be taught by leading safety and subject experts in the field.

SAVE MY SPOT

NSC Webinars

• March 16 – Virtual Reality for Enhanced Safety Training
• March 18 – Safety & Sustainability Audits: Lessons Learned from Professional Auditors Around the World
• March 30 – Immersive Technology & the Future of Work

Please join us in participating in Safe + Sound Week from August 9-15, 2021. Safe + Sound Week is a nationwide event held each August to show your business’s commitment to keep workers safe year-round. Safe + Sound Week is also a time when information and ideas are shared to help get your safety and health program started or improve an existing program.

Download the Save the Date and share that you’ll be participating in Safe + Sound Week on social media using #SafeAndSoundAtAWork.

Registration opens in July and will be announced via IHMM Today and EHS Professional.

Sean Grady, CHMM – The Environmental Transformation Podcast

Who is ready for a Solar Revolution?

The current podcast episode is about Solar Energy and how it can help address climate change.  This source of renewable energy is one of the ways that we can minimize our dependency on fossil fuels and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.  In an ideal world, Solar Energy systems would be commonplace and installed on all new and existing buildings.

Just imagine what that world would look like if solar panels were on every roof top in America, or for that matter on all buildings around the world.  Better yet, try and envision how much cleaner our air would be and how much renewable energy would be collectively generated, consumed, and stored in the utility grid.  All that renewable energy would ultimately reduce our dependency on energy derived from fossil fuel.  We may still need to rely on a small amount of fossil fuel to support the demand during peak demands and seasonal changes, but only as a back-up.

Read more > https://www.seankgrady.com/blog/who-is-ready-for-a-solar-revolution/

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.

Upcoming Sessions

• CREAT Module 5 (Risk Assessment) and an overview of local financial resources utilities can apply for to fund adaptation measures
• Session 4: March 23, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. E.T
• A brief overview of previous information, then open agenda for attendees to ask questions about using CREAT, how to apply it to their circumstances, and how to seek funding for adaptation strategies. (Optional)

**Earn Continuing education units (CEUs) from select states **

REGISTER HERE

HMS and Earning Certification Maintenance Points [CMPs]

IHMM created HMS, in large measure, so that IHMM certificants could have one, central place within which to find professional development courses in which to earn certification maintenance points. HMS courses cover all of IHMM’s 8 credentials, not only one.

We’ve made it easy to find CMPs.

• Go to https://hazmatsociety.org/
• Go to the Education and Training tab
• Scroll down until you see these buttons…and click on the CMPs button

• The system will produce a listing of the programs on the platform that have already been reviewed and given CMP ratings. You can find the programs suitable for you.

For example, one of the programs is from Columbia Southern University, offered online, has 36 CMPs attached, and is FREE. This is only one example. There are hundreds of programs on HMS.

• What Can You Expect From OSHA in the New Administration?

• The Superheroes of Safety Training Answer Your Questions

• ASSP Publishes Revised Standard for Fall Protection

• Biden Administration Signals Strong Support for Worker Safety

• Safety News You Need: Worker Health

• Why Your Team Needs Safety Leadership Training in 2021

IHMM is a member of ASSP and is pleased to provide this information to all of our certificants.

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 14,918 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.