The Fall Symposium and Professional Development Course occurred October 19 and 20 in Mississauga. The Program and Public Affairs & Education Com-mittees arranged interesting, timely and informative sessions for the education and professional development of mem-bers. Even so, planning for the Profes-sional Development Course and Spring Symposium begins immediately after-wards.

Participation in these, and other com-mittees, are opportunities offered to members where they can contribute to OHAO and network and develop within the profession. Anyone interested in join-ing a committee can contact the Chair of the committee, either directly or through the OHAO office at office@ohao.org. The committees conduct most of their meetings by tele-conference, rather than in-person, which enables all members to participate.

The Board has continued work on the re-design of the OHAO website to improve not just the appearance but the function, as well. The updated website should be easier for members to use for accessing information, registering for events, main-taining membership and other interaction with the Association. Unfortunately, the updated website was not be ready for registration for the Fall Symposium and PDC.

Graphics and stationery are also being updated, along with the OHAO logo. The original OHAO logo will be retired after over 50 years of service. The decision to change the logo was not taken lightly considering how long we have used the original. The new logo was developed in multiple graphic formats that will work both in print and electronically. It was unveiled to members at the Fall Sympo-sium.

John Petherick, CIH, ROH

Highlights in this Issue of OH Forum

Editor’s Message ............. 3

The Calgary Protocol Revisited: Professional & Ethical Challenges ........... 4

Health Physics: Cardiovascular Disease in Lunar Astronauts ............. 6

CSA Noise Standards PDC ................................. 7

Workplace Fatigue – Occupational Hygienists Role in Preventing and Managing an Emerging Health & Safety Issue ...... 9

Fall Symposium .............. 10

President’s Message

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OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE VOL. 39, NO. 4 NOVEMBER 2016

ISSN #08436088

ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIO

John Petherick, CIH, ROH

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OH Forum is published quarterly by the Occupational Hygiene Asso-ciation of Ontario, and distributed free of charge to all members.

Deadlines for articles and advertising are as follows:Issue DeadlineFebruary 10th of JanuaryMay 10th of AprilAugust 10th of JulyNovember 10th of October

Enquiries or suggestions should be directed to:

Editor - OH Forum c/o OHAO Tel: (905) 567-71966700 Century Ave Suite 100 Fax: (905) 567-7191Mississauga, Ontario L5N 6A4 www.ohao.org

Circulation: 300 Vol 39, No.4

OH FORUMO OHAO 2016-17 BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT: John Petherick, CIH, ROH PRESIDENT ELECT: Letty Wong CIH, ROH IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT: Altaira Hildebrand, ROH SECRETARY/TREASURER: Joanna Tam, BSc, MHSc, CIH

DIRECTORS: Rhiannon Filip, CIH, ROH, CRSP Negin Ghanavatian, MHSc Jeff Mallany, ROH Christopher Rahm, BES Nancy Wilk, MHSc, CIH Glenn Wood, CIH, ROH O EDITORIAL TEAM

EDITOR: Christine Sidhom, MSc (A),CIH,CRSP BOD REPRESENTATIVE: John Petherick, CIH, ROH NEWSLETTER LAYOUT: Nikki Wright, CAE COLUMN EDITORS: Paul Bozek, MEng MBA PEng CIH ROH Jim Desormeaux, OHST, COHC Michael G. Grey, CHP, ROH Tim Kelsall, CIH, ROH Christine Sidhom, MSc (A), CIH, CRSP

O CONTRIBUTORS: Michael G. Grey, CHP, ROH Jeff Mallany, ROH

John Petherick, CIH, ROH Christine Sidhom, MSc (A), CIH, CRSP Monica Szabo, ROH, CRSP, OHST E.A. Sullivan, PhD, CIH, ROH, CChem Letty Wong, CIH, ROH Carl Woychuk, BSc, MHSc, ROH, CIH

Mission StatementTo advance the profession of occupational hygiene and to serve the interests of our members by:

• sponsoring professional development and training; • promoting public and legal recognition;• developing partnerships with stakeholders;• providing public education;• fostering communication and networking.

rev. May 2010

O OHAO COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Hugh Nelson Award: Altaira Hildebrand, ROHMembership: Don Shaw, CIH, ROHNewsletter/Publications: Christine Sidhom, CIH, CRSP, ROHNominations: Negin Ghanavatian, MHScProgram: John Petherick, CIH, ROHPublic Affairs/Education: Jeff Mallany, ROHWebsite: John Petherick, CIH, ROH

O ADVERTISING RATES Cost: Business Card $50.00*

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2016 (Vol 39 No 4) - OH FORUM 3

Editor’s Message

Dear OHAO members:

Welcome to this latest issue of the OH Forum. I am sending a big thank you to all our contributors. I read all of their articles with great interest and I hope you will too.

I am excited about the new logo and new look of the website, which will also eventually be reflected in the OH Forum. As 2016 comes to an end, I would like to wish you all the best for the holiday season. I look forward to working with you in the new year on sharing occupational hygiene and OHAO news.

Christine Sidhom, MSc (A), CIH, CRSP

Hugh Nelson Award of ExcellenceThe Hugh Nelson Award of Excellence in Occupational Hygiene may be presented annually to an individual who has worked or is working as an occupational hygiene professional in a full-time capacity. The recipient of the award will receive a cash award and a plaque.

Submissions are now being accepted for the 2016 Hugh Nelson Award.

All nominations must be received no later than Friday, December 2, 2016. The nominees will be contacted by the selection committee at which time they will be requested to submit detailed information regarding their achieve-ments.

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The Calgary Protocol Revisited: Professional & Ethical ChallengesE.A. Sullivan, PhD, CIH, ROH, CChem

THE ‘CALGARY PROTOCOL’1,2 (the Protocol) forms the basis for Ontario public health guidelines for post-remedial verification in marijuana grow-ops. In the current (2011) version,2 essentially only the title is revised: ‘extensively mould-contaminated buildings’ replaces ‘marihuana grow operations’. This change ostensibly addressed the inconsis-tency of mould being treated differently (by public health in Alberta) if it originated from water intrusion or was associated with grow-ops. The dichotomy still exists in Ontario. The Protocol becomes one of a number of guide-lines3a addressing mould but contains features discordant to many occupational hygienists.

Scope, intent & implementation The Protocol deals mainly (<75%) with fungal air testing: its sampling strategy and methodology, analysis and inter-pretation. References to attics, basements, soffits, attached garages, crawl spaces and habitable floors, suggest that the prime focus for ‘buildings’ is still dwellings; the Protocol bases its legitimacy on the authority of Health Canada guidelines4a which actually refer to public buildings. Because residences and office buildings are constructed, occupied, operated and ventilated differently, the respective fungal profiles could potentially differ.

The revamped Protocol is ‘…intended for buildings with large or potentially large mould contamination issues…attributable to a large adverse moisture control event, including use as a Marihuana Grow Operation’. Grow-ops are apparently deemed ‘potentially large’, there being no criteria for delineation; in this inclusive situation, ‘acceptable fungal IAQ criteria…and other informa-tion provide guidance on the interpretation of fungal air monitoring results in any situation.’ Ontario public health policy for grow-ops – reflecting the Protocol’s ante-cedents1 – has no size limitation, exaggerating possibly insignificant risk from minor contamination. Many experts consider that if remediation follows an appropriate proce-

dural regimen, air testing is unnecessary: ‘visual inspec-tion is all that should be necessary for most small water damage mold remediation projects’.5a

The Protocol’s rules-based approach is doubtless an attrac-tive administrative convenience but the one-size-fits-all approach, with mandatory quantitative clearance criteria, is unique in mould abatement guidance: all similar guidelines developed by government agencies and professional orga-nizations have been advisory,3a with professional judgment an essential component. Contentiously, through the Pro-tocol, public health asserts competence to act as exclusive authority for interpretation, compliance and professional judgment. Indoor fungal assessment Professionals differ on the interpretation of fungal IAQ ‘numbers’ because of the inherent variability, and non-standardized methodologies for collection and analysis.6 ACGIH retracted its numerical guidelines decades ago and ‘does not support any existing numerical criteria for interpreting data on biological agents from source or air samples in non-manufacturing environments’7a – even the contemporary, ‘authoritative’ guidelines of Health Canada! Most authorities (except public health) have declined ‘benchmarks or action levels based on absolute rather than relative numbers…for acceptable fungal propagule levels in indoor air’.4b Health Canada’s rank-order paradigm involved culturable fungi coupled with species identification; its ‘tentative benchmarks based on airborne fungal levels in essentially proliferation-free, normal Canadian office buildings’4b represented contem-porary conditions rather than an IAQ/cleanliness exemplar. As a basis for fungal IAQ interpretation, even rank-order indoor-outdoor comparison is subject to reservation,3b,5b,c,7b especially if considering only total spore samples.5b,7b (The Protocol requires collection of culturable and/or total fungal particulates, subject to public health’s declared ‘dis-

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cretionary ability’.) Collectively, both methods can often provide complementary information, but usefulness aug-ments professional judgment rather than verifying neces-sity.

Guidelines disagree about the importance of speciation.8

Although speciation is often declared essential, its accept-ability seems preferentially linked to academic projects with dedicated funding, large-scale commercial remedia-tion or other projects with potential for litigation. Cost-ben-efit considerations pragmatically influence professionals’ choice of sampling strategies and methodologies. The Pro-tocol declares that ‘the Health Canada criteria must still guide the interpretation…of air monitoring results’ and that use of the combination sampling methodology ‘main-tains consistency with the Health Canada protocol’. Since Health Canada no longer recommends air monitor-ing results for assessing health risks to building occupants, maintaining consistency pro forma with an obsolete guide-line would seem a dubious logical proposition.

For decades, occupational hygienists have developed and used voluntary guidelines in fungal remediation. The Pro-tocol is a relatively recent addition; although it might fill a public health niche, its prescriptive elements, reliance upon superseded ‘authority’ and limited peer review hardly commend it to the occupational hygiene profession. Appli-cation of the Protocol involves professional and ethical challenges, including the ‘extraordinary physical search’9 (intrusive and destructive) approach to hidden mould, the insistence on extensive air sampling (the ‘unprecedented testing of buildings’) and compulsory numerical criteria for clearance. Perhaps the last word should go to the US Institute of Medicine: ‘There is no agreement on require-ments for, methods of, or interpretation of microbio-logic sampling for clearance purposes’.10

References1. Calgary Health Region. Fungal air testing, investigation and reporting

requirements for marijuana grow operations. Rev. 2007. http://www.bio-chemconsulting.com/pdf/MGO%20Remediation%20Oct%2007.pdf

2. Alberta Health Services. Fungal air testing, investigation and reporting requirements for extensively mould-contaminated buildings. 2011. http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/wf/eph/wf-eh-fungal-air-testing-for-mould-contaminated-buildings.pdf

3. Recognition, evaluation, and control of indoor mold. B Prezant et al (eds), AIHA, 2008. a:21-36; b:219,220; c:59,60.

4. Health Canada. Fungal contamination in public buildings: a guide to rec-ognition and management. 1995. a:iii,1; b:17. http://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.674163/publication.html [View Archive]

5. RC Brandys and GM Brandys. Post-remediation verification and clear-ance testing for mold and bacteria. OEHS 2005. a:33-36,60; b:71; c:79-82,101,102.

6. D Johnson et al., Professional judgment and the interpretation of viable mold air sampling data. J Occup Environ Hyg, 2008, 5(10)656-663.

7. Bioaerosols: Assessment and control. J Macher (ed). ACGIH, 1999. a:7-5; b:7-6; 14-7,8; 19-11.

8. C Palaty. Mould assessment in indoor environments: review of guidelines and evidence. 2010:14. http://ncceh.ca/sites/default/files/Mould_Assess-ment_May_2010.pdf

9. Report of Microbial Growth Task Force. AIHA Press. No. 458-EQ-01. May 2001:19,60-64. http://www.moldstlouis.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/AIHA_Mold_Report.pdf

10. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Damp indoor spaces and health. The National Academies Press. 2004:300. https://www.nap.edu/read/11011/chapter/8#300

Online references accessed 11 October, 2016.

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—Column Editor—Michael Grey, CHP, ROH

SAIC Canada

Health Physics

Cardiovascular Disease in Lunar AstronautsA recent study of causes of death among NASA astronauts has added more evidence that cardiovascular disease can be a long latency effect of radiation exposure. The study included astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs along with pilots of the X-15 rocket plane who reached altitudes of greater than 80 km. (many of these later partici-pated in other programs). It does not include international astronauts who flew on NASA missions or payload special-ists seconded to NASA from other organizations to perform specialized tasks on Space Shuttle missions.

The seventy-seven (77) NASA astronauts whom died prior to December 31, 2014 were divided into 3 groups based on the missions they flew:

• Non-flight – 35 deaths (32 M, 3 F) at an average age of 53.3 years including 7 deaths from occupational acci-dents, this group includes the pilots of the X-15 rocket plane and astronauts selected for the cancelled X-20 and Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) programs who did not subsequently reach orbit on Apollo or Space Shuttle missions;

• Low Earth Orbit – 35 deaths (30 M, 5 F) at an average age of 56.0 years including 12 deaths from occupa-tional accidents, the average time in space was 15.6 days with a range of 0.2 to 49.2 days; and

• Lunar Missions - 7 deaths (7 M, 0 F) at an average age of 65.2 years with no deaths from occupational acci-dents, the average time in space was 15.2 days with a range of 6.0 to 49.2 days.

Nineteen of the deaths (25%) resulted from occupational accidents including plane crashes during training, the ‘Apollo 1’ fire (1967), the crash of a X-15 rocket plane (1967), the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger (1986) and destruction of the space shuttle Columbia during re-entry (2003).

The causes of death were grouped as cancer, cardiovascu-lar disease, accent (including both occupational and non-occupational accidents) and other. The proportional rate of mortality in the three groups was compared against both each other and to the US population (2013) between ages 55 and 64.

The non-flight and low earth orbit groups show very high rates of death due to accidents, resulting from their high-risk occupation and a generally athletic/adventurous lifestyle. The lunar group have a lower rate of death due to accident largely due to their lower rate of occupational accidents (obviously, they survived until their lunar flights and most retired from NASA soon after the end of the lunar missions).

Group Cardiovascular disease Cancer Accident Other

US Population (55-64) 27% 34% 5% 35%

Non-flight 9% 29% 53% 9%

Low Earth Orbit 11% 31% 49% 9%

Lunar 43% 29% 14% 14%

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The other striking feature is the low death rate due to car-diovascular disease among the non-flight and low earth orbit groups, presumably due to the rigorous selection criteria and fitness requirements, and the much higher rate among the lunar astronauts who were subject to the same criteria but received different radiation exposures. The non-flight astronauts would have received radiation doses typical of pilots while the average dose of the low earth orbit group estimated to be 290 mGy, based on an aver-age of 15 days in orbit, which probably corresponded to an effective dose of 290 mSv. The average dose of the lunar astronauts, who also spent an average of 15 days in space, was 590 mGy but their effective dose is difficult to define they were exposed to a very different radiation environ-ment than the low earth orbit group.

Low Linear Energy Transfer (LET) radiations like gamma rays dominate the radiation fields near the earth’s surface. Radiation fields are stronger above the atmosphere but the Earth’s magnetic field continues to provide protection against charged particles like electrons and alpha particles. The magnetopause, located about 60,000 km and the bow shock at about 90,000 km from the center of the Earth on the sunward side define the boundary of the Earth’s envi-

ronment. Beyond the bow shock, the radiation environ-ment is dominated by the solar wind (plasma streaming outward from the Sun). The Earth’s magnetic field deflects the solar wind (creating the bow shock) and it flows around the Earth just as water flows around a boat creating a wake in the Earth’s shadow. The Moon is 400,000 km from the Earth so most of a lunar mission is in the radiation environ-ment dominated by the solar wind.

The solar wind is composed of about 1free electron per cubic centimeter near the Earth’s orbit along with posi-tively charged particles including protons (91%), alpha particles (8%) and smaller numbers of completely ionized atomic nuclei such as carbon-12, oxygen-16, silicon-28 and iron-56 (the heaviest nucleus created by normal stellar fusion). These high atomic number and energy (HZE) par-ticles have a very high linear energy transfer rate so most of their energy is deposited near the outer surface of the body and it is speculated that the resulting damage to the periph-eral vasculature may trigger cardiovascular disease. This possibility is currently being investigated in animal models.

CSA Noise Standards PDCJeff Mallany, ROH

Hearing Loss Prevention Programs: An overview of recent updates to CSA noise standards. The Fall PDC provided attendees with an update to recent changes to the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Stan-dard on Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention Programs and Vibration Standards. The participants were provided with a full day’s worth of knowledge and ideas to take back to their organizations and into their occupational hygiene prac-tice.

OHAO would like to thank the speakers who made the Fall PDC Hearing Loss Prevention Programs: An overview of recent updates to CSA noise standards possible. Specifically, Priya Malik who gave an overview of the Z1007 Series of standards, Jeff Goldberg who spoke about CSA Z1007c Hearing Prevention Program Management, Alberto Behar who spoke about both Hearing Protection Devices ( Z94.2) and Audiometric Testing (Z107.6), John Swallow who provided an overview of Vibration Standards, as well as Tim Kelsall who reviewed the Measurement of Occupational Noise (Z107.56) and who was instrumental in organizing and moderating the PDC. Thank you to all the speakers and others who made the fall PDC a success.

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Workplace Fatigue – Occupational Hygienists Role in Preventing and Managing an Emerging Health & Safety Issue

Monica Szabo, ROH, CRSP, OHST, Executive Director Government, Municipal & Public Safety for the Public Services Health & Safety Association

Fatigue in the workplace is an emerging health and safety issue that requires increased understanding of its impact on work performance and prevention methods and programs.

A link between fatigue and impacts on work performance has been shown in various research studies. Increasingly, municipal, emergency services, healthcare, mining and service workers who work weekends and shifts and are responsible for critical operations are seeing fatigue as an emerging workplace issue. Fatigue needs to be addressed, assessed and resources allocated to implement prevention efforts.

Numerous factors may cause fatigue to develop including shift work, workload, and personal burdens. In addition stress from reduced budgets, staff scheduling and a slow-ing economy all go towards adding to an already stressful workplace. The organization itself suffers when its staff are subjected to fatigue which may result in increased absen-teeism, turnover and increasing Workers’ Compensation costs. This could also result in conflict between manage-ment and workers, which only adds to the overall dysfunc-tion and challenges. Overall, fatigue can contribute poor mental performance, which leads to poor decision- making and unintentional errors. In some situations fatigue can be addressed by getting sufficient sleep or leaving a stressful work environment; however, continuing a poor sleeping routine or not coping with the workplace environment will continue to contribute to ongoing chronic fatigue.

There are significant personal, health and societal costs and impacts if fatigue in the workplace is not addressed. Some of the fatigue warning factors in work environments include working at nights, long shifts, getting less than 9

hours away from work time, reporting to work with less than 7 hours of sleep and no opportunities for breaks.

Understanding the Impact of Fatigue on WorkFatigue is state of feeling very tired, weary or sleepy result-ing from insufficient sleep, prolonged mental or physical work, or extended periods of stress or anxiety. A fatigued workers risk of accident is 70% greater than other non-fatigued workers. This risk of accident is even more likely for snorers with sleepiness on the job and those with chronic insomnia.1 But that is only part of the problem, researchers are also finding that fatigue greatly impacts the health and wellness of the workforce. In fact, several stud-ies have found that fatigue places people at increased risk of becoming obese, developing diabetes, developing breast cancer, and developing hypertension.

“A fatigued worker’s risk of accident is 70% greater than non-fatigued workers.”

General poor health, shift work, circadian variability (shift work), environmental issues (light and noise), workload and lack of good quality sleep all contribute to fatigue. The safety related consequences include slowed reaction time, reduced vigilance, reduced decision making ability, poor judgement, and distraction during complex task completion and loss of awareness in critical situations. In fact, studies have found that the number of hours awake mimics perfor-mance impairment of alcohol consumption. (see chart). 2

Hours Awake Blood Alcohol Content17 0.0521 0.08

Legal Limit in Canada

24-25 0.10

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According to experts adults need 7-9 hours of sleep per day. This is a physiological need and although some may claim this, you cannot train yourself to need less sleep. Insufficient sleep is associated with poor health and perfor-mance.

Like any other risk factor, fatigue can be managed. Cus-tomizing the general approaches in a health and safety management system can help address risks associated with fatigue in the workplace. A fatigue risk management system may include:

• a fatigue management policy;• fatigue risk management, including collecting informa-

tion on fatigue as a hazard, analyzing its risk, and insti-gating controls to mitigate that risk;

• a fatigue reporting system for employees;• a fatigue incident investigation;• fatigue management training and education for

employees, management and families;• sleep disorder management; and• a process for the internal and external auditing of the

Fatigue Risk Management System that delivers correc-tive actions through a continuous improvement pro-cess.

The diagram illustrates the component of a Fatigue Man-agement Program developed by PSHSA. A multi-faceted approach to address all the elements in the Health and Safety Management system is critical to the successful implementation of any new program. Fatigue Management

can be easily integrated into your current health and safety management system.

Studies have shown that fatigue is about four times more likely to contribute to workplace impairment than drugs or alcohol, and a fatigued worker is at 70% greater risk of accident than a non-fatigued worker. There are different technologies available to monitor fatigue. Fatigue is an emerging issue that Occupational Hygienists need to learn more about. Their skills in anticipation, recognition, assess-ment and control are an asset. Wearable technology can provide information on how to prevent fatigue in the work-place and new technology like Fatigue Science’s Read-ibands can help provide data that can be used to develop effective Fatigue Risk Management Programs. Hygienists need to think about and develop ways to intervene before fatigue becomes a risk to the health and safety of workers and control the hazard once it has been identified. Wearable technology like the Readibands, provide an opportunity to study workers sleep/wake patterns. With this data, we will be able to estimate fatigue based on work schedules, sleep and work conditions, and test these findings in a real-life scenario.

Managing fatigue is key for maintaining a culture of qual-ity and worker health and safety. To reduce the damaging effects that fatigue presents, workers and employers must address the core issues and develop coping mechanisms. One should be aware of the root causes, symptoms and effects on body, mind and performance.

Figure 1: PSHSA’s Fatigue Management Program

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The responsibility for a safe and healthy workplace falls on every person in the workplace, the degree they have the authority and ability to exercise it. Through a participa-tory approach, workplace stakeholders become actively involved in the recognition, assessment and control of workplace issues like fatigue. This approach usually begins as a grassroots movement that ultimately integrates health and safety into all aspects of work. Once embedded into the core of operations, the participatory approach becomes a way of working life, creating greater sense of community and an opportunity to shift organizational safety culture as workplace health and safety issues become increasingly complex.

Public Services Health & Safety Association (PSHSA) works with Ontario’s public sector workers and employers, providing occupational health and safety training, resources and consulting to reduce workplace risks and prevent workplace injuries and illnesses.

References1 Fatigue Risk Management in the Workplace ACOEM Presidential Task Force on Fatigue Risk Management: Steven E. Lerman, MD, MPH, Evamaria Eskin, MD, MPH, David J. Flower, MBBS, MD, Eugenia C. George, MD, Benjamin Gerson, MD, Natalie Hartenbaum, MD, MPH, Steven R. Hursh, PhD, and Martin Moore-Ede, MD, PhD

2 Fatigue, alcohol and performance impairment; Dawson, D., and Reid K. Nature 388, 235, 1997

Fall SymposiumLetty Wong, CIH, ROH

The Fall Symposium this year took place on October 20, 2016 at the Centre For Health Safety Innovation (CHSI) in Mississauga with a great line up of speakers. The day started with president-elect Letty Wong introducing the new OHAO Logo:

The website committee started the logo re-design process with Sofa Communications in early 2016, in conjunction with the website update. For this new look, colour and the diamond shape were introduced. The new logo is clean, professional, and will serve the association well for years to come.

The first speaker of the day was Guillaume Lachapelle (Agnico Eagle Mines), who spoke about IH in mining. He gave a good overview of the hazards in the mining industry, and sampling methodology used for certain types of chemical contaminants (such as diesel particulates). Anne-Marie Landis- Groom from the Hospital for Sick Children then gave a presentation on Error Prevention: Caring Safely, an initiative undertaken by SickKids with

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the goal to reduce the number of patient and occupational errors. She covered why we make errors, and techniques on how to prevent common errors. Samantha Seabrook, an Associate with Hicks Morley shared with us what to expect should we have to give Expert Witness Testimony as industrial hygienists. She provided us with some practi-cal tips for dealing with lawyers, judges, and shared with us what not to say! To end off the morning, two Ryerson students, Travis McLennon and Shavangi Patel, presented results from their research on smart phone sound level meter (SLM) apps. The conclusion was that smart phone apps are not very accurate for determining sound pressure levels. Participants in the symposium then had a chance to interact with the exhibitors and network with fellow profes-

sionals during lunch. In the afternoon, Dr. Chun Yip Hon from Ryerson University gave us an overview of Health-care workers’ exposure to antineoplastic (hazardous) drugs. He discussed the route of exposure, exposure pathway, and spoke about wipe sampling for antineoplastic drugs. Ayoob Ghalami, from the University of Toronto presented information on the new Biosafety Standards. He provided a good overview of the new Human Pathogens and Toxins Act. To end off the day, Marc Cousineau, Provincial Occu-pational Hygienist from the Ministry of Labour discussed updates to three new regulations: Noise, WHMIS 2015, and changes in O. Reg 833. He reminded us that the new Noise regulation now applies to all workplaces, and discussed engineering controls, hearing protection, and signage. In the WHMIS regulation, he pointed out that SDSs no longer have a 3 year expiry date. He also reminded us that O.Reg 833 now applies to the construction sector. Overall, partici-pants had an informative and educational Symposium. See you in March!

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OH Word Search 1 Find and circle the following words in this puzzle. ACUTE HEALTH EFFECT BILATERAL WORK STOPPAGE CUMULATIVE

TRAUMA DISORDER JOINT SAFETY COMMITTEE LABOUR RELATIONS

OFFICER PERMANENT THRESHOLD SHIFT TERMS REFERENCE UPPER

EXPLOSIVE LIMIT WIND CHILL INDEX

Prepared by Carl Woychuk, BSc, MHSc, ROH, CIH, MCP To help Carl, feel free to send him your words and clues to certifiedindustrialhygienist@ittukki.ca

N R F D T A H V E U I K U X Z O U T W X

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