Symposium | Intro to Process Safety Management | September 29, 2012 | Spokane, WA

Keynote Speaker: Rafael Moure-Eraso 

US Chemical Safety Board Chairman

Join us for an Intro to Process Safety Management 2012, part of the Governor's Industrial Safety & Health Pre-Conference Symposium!

Process Safety Management (PSM) for highly hazardous and explosive chemicals focuses on the triad of technology, facilities and personnel. A strong PSM program saves lives, protects property, reduces accidents, injuries and business losses. Join us for this symposium as we learn about preventable safety shortcomings from the perspective of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, along with the key PSM risks associated with oil refineries and widely used chemicals such as ammonia, chlorine and chlorine dioxide.

Click here for the course brochure.



S C H E D U L E:
7:15-8:00 am
Check-in Registration and Morning Refreshments

8:00-8:15 am
Welcome & Introductions
Rick Gleason, MS, CIH, CSP, CHMM, Course Director, Lecturer Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington

8:15-8:45 am
Rick Gleason, MS, CIH, CSP, CHMM
“Process Safety Management: History and Integration within OSHA and Washington L&I DOSH”

8:45-10:00 am
Rafael Moure-Eraso, Chairman, United States Chemical Safety Board (click here for bio)
“Fatal Exposure - 2010 Tragedy at Dupont, Belle, West Virginia“

10:00-10:15 am
BREAK– Coffee & Tea

10:15-11:15 am
Amy Duz, iWorkWise President and University of Washington OSHA Institute Instructor
“Ammonia PSM Covered Processes“

11:15-12:15 am
Brian Hagan, BApS ChE, Principal Staff Engineer, Process Energy and Chemicals
“PSM and Oil Refineries”

12:15-1:00 pm
LUNCH– Provided

1:00-2:00 pm
Trent Elwing, BSChE, Compliance Safety and Health Officer, Washington State Division of Occupational Safety and Health (WA DOSH)
“PSM Applicability for Common Processes Involving Chlorine or Chlorine Dioxide Gas“

2:00-2:30 pm
Panel Discussion

2:30-2:45 pm
BREAK– Afternoon Refreshments

2:45-3:30 pm
Rick Gleason, MS, CIH, CSP, CHMM
“PSM Programs-Best Practices for Sustainability”

3:30-3:45 pm
Closing Comments and Program Evaluation



Location:
Spokane Convention Center
334 West Spokane Falls Boulevard
Spokane, WA 99201

Visit our Continuing Education site for registration details.

Autumn 2010 ERC Research Seminar

The NWCOHS offers a quarterly seminar that features the work of ERC faculty and trainees. The Autumn 2010 quarter, held on November 12, 2010, featured 2009-2010 pilot projects that included faculty or projects from all four of the States served by NWCOHS - Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.


Dr. Noah Seixas, UW Professor and NWCOHS Director opened the seminar.


"Development & Evaluation of a 'Master Mercury Checklist for Schools'
(NIOSH Safety Checklist Program for Schools)"
Danielle Long, Boise State University
Advised by Dr. Kai Elgethun


"Development and Evaluation of a Safety Surveillance Tool for Homecare Workers"
Robert Wright, Portland State University and Layla Garrigues, Oregon Health & Science University
Advised by Dr. Ryan Olson and Dr. Brad Wipfli


"Organophosphorus pesticide oxygen analogs and worker exposure during and following agricultural spraying: are they present in air or an artifact of sampling"
Jenna Armstrong, University of Washington
Advised by Dr. Richard Fenske and Dr. Michael Yost


"Using new technologies to characterize and reduce whole body vibration exposures". Research conducted in Alaska and results presented at 29th Annual Alaska Governor's Safety and Health Conference.
Ryan Blood, University of Washington
Advised by Dr. Peter Johnson

2010 NOHC Student Research Forum Winners

(Pictured Above from left to right: Wenqi Gan, Dan Sarkany, Jenna Armstrong)

NWCOHS is pleased to announce the 2010 NOHC Student Research Forum Winners!

Premier Award
Wenqi Gan, School of Environmental Health, UBC
Gan, W. Q., H. W. Davies, and P. A. Demers. “Exposure to occupational noise and cardiovascular disease in the United States: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004”.

Honorable Mentions
Dan Sarkany, School of Environmental Health, UBC
Sarkany, D., C. McLeod, H. W. Davies, K. C. Lyons, and M. Koehoorn. “Injury rates and British Columbia Faller Training Standard”.

Jenna Armstrong, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, UW
Armstrong, J. L. and R. A. Fenske. “Presence of organophosphorus pesticide oxygen analogs in air samples”.

About the NOHC Student Research Forum
The Northwest Occupational Health Conference (NOHC) is held yearly in the fall by the Industrial Hygiene (IH), Occupational Medicine (OM), and Occupational Health Nursing (OHN) communities. An event organized by PNSAIHA, the NOHC is among the largest and most successful regional multidisciplinary conferences, attracting 250-300 attendees from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, and British Columbia.

Each Year, the Northwest Center for Occupational Health & Safety (NWCOHS), in collaboration with the NOHC, hosts a 'Student Research Forum' open to graduate students and recent alumni of the northwest regional institutions and within the professional categories of IH, OM, OHN, OS and other related disciplines such as epidemiology, engineering, occupational health psychology, policy, and management. Graduate students and recent alumni are invited to submit research papers for presentation at the conference. Three exceptional papers are chosen to receive an award and scholarship to attend and present their work at the conference. All submissions are judged by a panel of OH&S professionals.

University of Washington at APHA

Plan on attending the American Public Health Associations's (APHA) annual meeting, November 6-10th in Denver, CO? Then please join the University of Washington School of Public Health for a networking reception for UW Public Health graduates.

You will also have the opportunity to meet our new dean, Howard Frumkin, formerly an agency director at the CDC.

When
Monday, November 8, 2010 from 6:30-8 p.m.

Where
Hyatt Regency Denver, 650 15th Street, Room 406

Cost
Free, but RSVP is requested.

For more information and to RSVP, contact Tamara Burdic at
mailto:tamarab@u.washington.edu//or 206.221.6343

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There are a variety Scientific Sessions featuring DEOHS faculty, staff, students, and alumni during the conference.

*Monday, November 8, 2010*

*8:30 AM-10:00 AM - Oral
3055: Blue/Green #1: Producing green and working safe
Special intersectional track on environmental and occupational justice
Green jobs, safe jobs – more than a buzz word
Hecker S, Delp L, Riley K, Willis M

*10:30 AM-11:30 AM
3085: Student Achievement Poster Session for the Environment Section
Association between urban street noise and neighborhood crime: A pilot
study
McAlexander T, Neitzel R, Gershon R

*12:30 PM-1:30 PM – Poster
3177: Occupational health and safety posters IV
Early versus late diagnostic MRI for low back pain among Washington
State Workers: Evaluation of one-year health status
Graves J, Fulton-Kehoe D, Wickizer T, Franklin G

*Implementation of a portable cholinesterase monitoring kit in a clinical
setting: A normalization process approach
Treadwell R, Keifer M

*Give me a test and I'll give you a diagnosis: Why we should have diagnostic tests to for pesticide overexposures
Keifer M, Liebman A

*12:30 PM-2:00 PM–Oral
3232: Updates in Occupational Epidemiology
Associations of occupation, job control, and job demands with
intima-media thickness: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
Fujishiro K, Diez Roux A, Landsbergis P, Baron S L, Barr G, Kaufman J,
Polak J, Hinckley-Stukovsky K

*Tuesday, November 9, 2010*

*10:30 AM-12:00 PM
4104: Best practices: Strengthening the public sector and integrating care to improve health in low-income countries
Next generation of PEPFAR supports an Ethiopian University and a US University partnership to design a state-of-the-art outpatient care and teaching facility in Gondar, Ethiopia
Barnhart S, Keifer C,Feleke G, Downer A

*12:30 PM
4141: The Many Shades of Social (In)Justice - Taking a Closer Look
Public health in the Northwest: Looking at history to look to the future
Allan S, Hall K

*4176: Partnering with communities to address environmental and occupational justice concerns
Building sustainable partnerships with migrant farmworkers in rural Washington state
Keifer M

*4178: Health impact assessment: A decision making tool to enhance social justice
Use of health impact sssessment (HIA) to help inform decision making regarding natural gas drilling permits in Colorado
Witter R, Rada J, Stinson K, Scott K, Adgate J, Newman L

*2:30 PM
4239.3: Medical Care Section Poster Session X: Students
Evidence-based guidelines for advanced diagnostic imaging: Prediction and assessment of costs and utilization among Washington State workers with low back pain
Graves J, Fulton-Kehoe D, Wickizer T, Franklin G

*4264: Partners in research: Strengthening and evaluating models for equitable participation in environmental public health research and action
Well-being and health of migrant agricultural workers and their families
Keifer M

*Wednesday, November 10, 2010*

*10:30 AM-12:00 PM
5124.0: Updates on states: State-based occupational health surveillance roundtable
Moving from evidence to collaboration and action: Identifying and addressing causes of pesticide over-exposure in Washington state agricultural employees
Benavides R, Borges O, Jansen C, Keifer M, Morrissey B, Murphy H, Nicola B, Prado J

*12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
5177: NIOSH ERCs - Next Steps for Advancing Health and Safety
Addressing worker health disparities: NIOSH education and research centers' approaches and outcomes
Newman L, Conroy L, Gerberich S, Kotelchuck D, Seixas N

Hair Blowouts & Formaldehyde

On a trip to the salon our health is usually the last thing on our minds. What could be wrong with a simple blowout? Especially one that's claims to be natural and uses keratin-based ingredients to help keep the hair straight. Brazilian Blowout has become on of the more popular choices for straightening at salons. With claims that there's no damage, no harsh chemicals and no formaldehyde who wouldn't want smooth straight hair?


Recently Portland area salon worker complained of eye irritation, nose bleeds and difficulty breathing after using Brazilian Blowout's solution. Dede Montgomery, an Occupational Safety and Health Specialist at the Center for Research in Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET) at Oregon Health & Science University (OSHU) and a NWCOHS External Advisory Board member, and her colleagues began investigating the matter.

Tests showed that the solution labeled “no formaldehyde” contained more than .1% which is required to be listed on the MSDS. Upon further testing with the assistance of Oregon OSHA, the OSHA lab analyzed the sample using five different test methods, each of which concluded that formaldehyde was present above regulated levels around 8.5%.

Due to the lack of information available to the stylists and the company's prominent "formaldehyde free" marketing, CROET has posted a warning on their site and Oregon OSHA has issued a case study on air sampling in salons during the use of the solution. Brazilian Blowout continues to back their product and claims that their product is safe.

If you are thinking of getting this process done, consider the health risks of you and of the salon worker.

For more information:

OSHA's case study and press release

An extensive amount of resources from CROET's site including the FDA's response and similar issues found in Canada.