October 2017 President’s Message

Greetings:
With natural disasters dominating the headlines recently, there are just as many advertisements and requests to help out. How best to decide where and how to help? Well, that is a personal decision that each one of us makes based on our judgment and heart. But I think we can all agree that when AIHA itself reaches out to its members to appeal for their assistance, our local chapters can be assured that the need exists and the cause is worthy. In case you missed it, I have included the note to all AIHA members here:

Dear AIHA Member,
Over the last few weeks I’ve been keeping you informed about our efforts to help those affected by the recent natural disasters. Today I am calling on you directly to help the people of Puerto Rico, who will be facing infectious diseases and other hazards in the coming months.

I received an email from Professor Sergio Caporali Filho, Ph.D., CSP, CIH, the coordinator of the Industrial Hygiene Program at the University of Puerto Rico Graduate School of Public Health. The full-time faculty and volunteer graduate students from the program want to provide their communities with the knowledge to protect themselves from injury and illness during the recovery process. However, to do so they will need protective gear. So I ask all of you, if you can, to please send one or more of the items listed on our Disaster Response Resource Center.

Each donor will receive acknowledgment of their donation’s arrival, including a general description of contents, within one week. When donated goods are delivered to communities, donors will be informed of what was donated and to whom. The program is not asking for, nor will it accept, any monetary donations.

The IH community in Puerto Rico is seeking our help, and as I said in my last letter, our individual contributions may be small, but together, we can make a difference. Will you answer the call?

Please feel free to donate directly to support this urgent cause; however, if you have any questions, please email Professor Caporali. Please note, there may be a delay in his response due to the challenges in internet coverage.

Sincerely,
Deborah Imel Nelson
AIHA President (2017-2018)

And now on to a couple other items –

National Fire Prevention Week (October 8 – October 14, 2017)
This past winter, two houses burned down not 100 yards from my home and I want to take the time to remind everyone of National Fire Prevention Week. NFPA has quite a bit of resource information on their website on this at www.nfpa.org. On the IH side of this topic,
NIOSH also has a section of their website devoted to firefighter safety at: www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/.

PDC/NEIHC Update
Plans are mostly complete and advertisement and event promotion are next. If you haven’t blocked off these dates already, please mark your calendar for November 30th (PDC @ PSEG, Hadley Rd South Plainfield, NJ) and December 1st, (NEIHC @ Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village. See details in the Newsletter on the PDC (pages 9-10). Speakers for the NEIHC are still being finalized and additional details on this will be provided shortly. I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.

Best Regards,
Craig R. Doolittle, PE, CSP
President NJAIHA