Notice
Key Dates
- Sponsors & Exhibition Application 31 July 2021 Detail
- Author Registration Due Date 15 July 2021 Detail
- Presentation VOD Submission (Symposia) June 30 Detail
- Presentation VOD Submission (Keynote/Special Lecture) July 9 Detail
- e-Poster & Audio Submission (Poster) July 15 Detail
- Presentation VOD Submission (Podium/PDC) July 31 Detail
E-Newsletter Subscription
Please enter your email address to join
Keynote Speakers
-
Anh Tho Nguyen
Deputy Director General, Department of Work Safety under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Vietnam
Experiences Implementating the Law on Occupational Safety and Health and Building a Safe Society in Vietnam
Promotional Video Clip
Biography
Profile:
Over 24 years experience in OSH policies development with core competencies in:
• Occupational safety and health Law Development;
• Occupational safety and health technical regulation development;
• National Programme on Labour Protection, occupational safety and health;
• OSH policies Devolopment
• Labour Protection including occupational safety and health;
• OSH traning to Employers, employees and OSH trainers, OSHofficers ;
• Safety technical regulation on mining; and Quarry, equipments, PPE.
• PPE quality
Employment history:
This period covers full time employment in Bureau for Safe Work, MOLISA (96 – 2019); attended the Occupational Safety and Health Management Master Degree Course in Korea (2004 – 2006); deputy chief of Safey regulation department, Bureau for Safe Work (from June, 2007); Responsible for MOLISA WTO/TBT Notification authority and Inquiry point; Chief of Office of Bureau for Safe Work (from 2010 to 2012); from 01 January 2013 as Deputy General Director of Bureau for Safe Work, Ministry of Labour , Invalid and social Affairs and in charge to developing the OSH Law, Safety technical regulations and OSH training system.
Current Position:
As deputy general director of Bureau for Safe Work (from January, 2013); I am currently responsible for OSH Law Devolopment, MOLISA WTO/TBT Notification authority and Inquiry point; labour protection policies development; safety technical regulation development; A number of training materials, OSH traning material for employers, OSH training material on Mining, etc have been prepared in Vietnamese. Abstract Labour laws are promulgated in Vietnam from 1994. However, regulations about occupational safety and health are only one chapter in the labor laws. In the years of the 2000s, Vietnam's economy has grown very quickly, especially in the field of industrial production and construction, materials manufacture, quarrying, etc. In addition, must be considered the increased rapidity of small and medium enterprises, the number of this enterprises proportion more than 80% of the Vietnamese economy. So, the numbers of fatal accidents and diseases were increasing at construction sites and quarrying. In this context, the Occupational Safety and Health law (OSH law) were issued in 2015. The content and all the guidelines of this law, has focused on making the management regulations about safety to prevent accidents for employees at the workplaces. Moreover, regulations about risk assessment and controlling of hazards in workplaces also prescribed for the companies with a high risk. And, this regulation also prescribed for small and medium enterprises in Vietnam. After four years (from 2015 to now), the accident rate at workplaces has decreased in the sectors of quarrying, construction, materials manufacture, oil and gas. This indicates that OSH law and all the guidelines, regulations about system of accident prevention and occupational diseases, risk assessment and controlling of hazards in workplaces are actually being implemented effectively in Vietnam. -
Thomas H. Gassert
Harvard Chan School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, USA
TBD
Biography
Dr. Gassert is board certified in Occupational & Environmental Medicine (OEM) and Internal Medicine, and has worked as an Occupational (Industrial) Hygienist. He has been an instructor and a professor of medicine at Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Boston University, and University of Massachusetts, and staff member of their affiliated hospitals. Since 1995, he has been with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the OEM residency program and in continuing education for industrial hygienists. His main interest is education in OEM and hygiene.
His work experience has included worker injuries and illnesses, medical surveillance, disability cases, work-site investigations, and medical-legal cases as expert witness. He has consulted in construction, mining, electronics, garments, pharmaceuticals, and other manufacturing and service industries, including hospitals and healthcare work and biomedical research on infectious disease.
He has visited and at times worked in Asia-Pacific region since 1975. While in Hong Kong 1980-1985 he authored a detailed handbook on health hazards in electronics manufacturing. He has published on occupational asthma and on toxicology of the 1984 gassing incident at Bhopal, India, the world’s worst industrial disaster. During 2020-21, he has advised extensively on SARS-2 pandemic prevention and response as an occupational disease.
In Asia and Africa, Dr. Gassert has conducted training in OEM, nursing, hygiene and safety in Thailand, China mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Mongolia, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, South Korea, Cambodia and Lao PDR, Fiji Islands, South Africa, Saudi Arabia. This has included technical expert service to the U.N. WHO Western Pacific Region to consult and to conduct basic occupational health services (BOHS) training, and to help develop a WPR initiative for a five-year 2020-2025 Action Plan for Workers’ Health to achieve Universal Occupational Health Coverage in line with the UN SDG-8 for Decent Work. Abstract
-
Yogindra Samant
Chief Medical Officer, Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, Norway
The Changing Nature of Work Now and Beyond: Challenges for Occupational Health
Promotional Video Clip
Biography
Dr. Yogindra Samant is a trained physician and epidemiologist employed as a chief medical officer at the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority. He has Medical degree from University of Mumbai, India. A Master’s in Public health from the University of Minnesota, USA and a PhD. from the Norwegian University of Science Technology (NTNU), Norway.
Dr. Samant has been working in the fields of Occupational and Public Health for over 20 years as an researcher, practitioner and a policy-adviser. Dr. Samant represents the Norwegian government at the executive board of the European Agency for Occupational Safety and Health (EU OSHA), and also serves as an occupational health expert on several European, and Nordic Occupational Safety and Health initiatives. Dr. Samant is also an active member of the management board at the Norwegian Association of Occupational Medicine.
A significant amount of his work at this time involves chairing the Nordic Group on the Future of Work and Occupational Safety and Health where issues such as digitalization, climate change and migration are being addressed. Dr. Samant continues to work as a part-time as public health doctor engaged in control and prevention of environmental exposures in the local communities. Abstract The world of work is changing, and changing at a rapid pace. New technologies, globalization , demographic changes along with climate change will continue to impact occupational health of working populations globally. The purpose is to provide a brief overview of the occupational health challenges that we face vis-à-vis Future of Work. The presentation will include some historical and contemporary background on how technology in the past, present and future is a bane and a boon for occupational health. Specifically we will look at issues of occupational health as it relates to digital platforms, but also other topics of relevance to the future of work. The presentation will conclude with challenges that future work poses for practitioners, regulators and researchers. -
Marianne Levitsky
Founding President, Workplace Health Without Borders, Canada
No borders – New Meanings: COVID-19 Lessons for Occupational Hygienists
Promotional Video Clip
Biography
Marianne Levitsky was founding President of Workplace Health Without Borders, a non-profit organization that engages volunteers in promoting occupational health for workers everywhere. A senior associate with ECOH, an Ontario consulting firm, she was previously Director, Prevention Best Practices in the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, an occupational hygienist with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, and a co-founder of the Toronto Workers’ Health and Safety Legal Clinic. She is adjunct faculty at the University of Toronto and was a member of the Toronto Board of Health. Marianne has received the Hugh Nelson award for excellence in occupational hygiene from the Occupational Hygiene Association of Ontario and the Yant Award from the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA). She has served as chair of the AIHA International Affairs Committee and is an AIHA Fellow and Distinguished Lecturer. Abstract
“Without Borders” implies overcoming boundaries - transcending the limits that restrict us to our own countries, cultures and perspectives. As members of a small profession with its own distinctive culture, Occupational Hygienists have had to transcend borders of many kinds, in efforts to cross-pollinate with other disciplines in an exchange of scientific perspectives. Perhaps no experience has taught us this more unequivocally than the COVID-19 pandemic. We have had to learn unfamiliar paradigms and different ways of looking at disease prevention in multi-disciplinary efforts that brought us together with aerosol scientists, engineers, infection control experts and health care professionals. This path has not been without conflict, as many of us have learned in debates over PPE and aerosol transmission. We have also learned the value of cultural humility, and what the so-called “developed” nations can learn from colleagues all over the world. We have also had to confront the inequities in disease prevention internationally and within our own countries. This talk will build on the experience of Workplace Health Without Borders, an all-volunteer non-profit organization, in exploring these ideas.
-
Doo Yong Park
President, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA), Korea
How can IH embrace new challenges in the post-COVID-19 world?
Promotional Video Clip
Biography
Present Position
Korea Occupational Safety and Health (KOSHA)
Chair of OSH Committee of Economy, Social and Labor Council of KOREA
Professor at the Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Hansung University
Professional Experience
Director General of KOSHA Research Institute (OSHRI), 2006~2008
Immediate Past President of International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA), 2016~2017
Immediate Past President of Korea Industrial Hygiene Association (KIHA), 2015~2017
Past President of Asia Network of Occupational Hygiene (ANOH) Abstract There have been raised a variety of emerging occupational safety and health (OSH) issues in every historical turning point. The years of 2020 would be recorded as another turning point in the OSH history since it faced a number of issues in the working environment, working ways, work-related culture and so on.
During the pandemic, the primary efforts focus on the prevention of epidemics, disinfection and quarantine against the COVID-19. However, soon after, we will face a great many of OSH issues beyond the COVID-19. Many of them were already emerged during the pandemic and it will be added newly emerged issues in the post-COVID-19 era.
Some of them can be resolved by the traditional industrial hygiene approaches but many of them cannot be. Thus it is necessary to explore new methodologies to transform to the age of the new normal. It will present on what is the impact of these new risks, and what are the future OSH challenges we face. Also, it will cover the topic on how we can embrace the newly emerged issues in this presentation. -
Melissa Friesen
Senior Investigator, National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA
The Importance of Exposure Science in Identifying Causes of Cancer and Other Health Effects
Promotional Video Clip
Biography
Dr. Friesen is a Senior Investigator in the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch at the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Prior to joining the NCI in 2009, she completed her graduate studies in occupational and environmental health at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and postdoctoral studies at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and at the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Friesen's research has focused on quantitative assessment strategies to minimize exposure misclassification in occupational epidemiologic studies. She has focused on improving exposure estimates, evaluating the robustness of exposure-response relationships to exposure assessment strategies, and using statistical models for both developing exposure metrics and evaluating their exposure-response relationships. By using more refined and more proximal exposure measures, her research has resulted in quantitative exposure-response relationships for several exposure-disease associations that have not previously been published. Abstract
The interdisciplinary field of exposure science, which includes knowledge of chemistry, biology, statistics and epidemiology, is a crucial component of identifying causes of cancer and other health effects in humans using epidemiologic studies. This talk will focus on state-of-the-art approaches used in population-level studies of cancer and chronic diseases. This includes new approaches for occupational data collection from study participants and linking their questionnaire responses to measurement-based exposure estimates to derive exposure estimates for their entire working life that can be used in epidemiologic studies. To illustrate this, two case studies will be presented: exposure to metalworking fluids and bladder cancer risk and exposure to biologically active dusts in agricultural settings (e.g., endotoxin) and lung cancer risk.
-
Tzu-Lien Tzou
Director General, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Ministry of Labor, Taiwan
Strategies to Improve Occupational Hygiene Capabilities for SMEs
Promotional Video Clip
Biography
Professional Experience
Dr. Tzou was the Deputy Director General of Department of Labor, Taipei City Government from 2016 to 2017 and served as Director of Taipei City Labor Inspection Office from 2011 to 2016.
Dr. Tzou has been servicing OSH field for 30 years.
Education
Dr. Tzou received the Ph.D. degree from Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University, UK and the M.Eng. degree in Chemical Engineering at University of Sheffield, UK. Abstract Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 97.6% of businesses in Taiwan, and they are important contributors to job creation and economic development. However, SMEs often have higher rates of occupational accidents and worse working environment compared to large enterprises due to the limited resources. To improve the problems and promote occupational hygiene capabilities for SMEs, tiered management based on risk ranking and multiple approaches of compliance inspection, counseling and outreach programs have adopted by Occupational safety and Health Administration of the Ministry of Labor in Taiwan (Taiwan OSHA).
In respect of chemical management, Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) has introduced the tools of chemical control banding for exposure assessment. To master the patterns about how to carry out the exposure assessment by enterprises, there are multiple ways utilized including propaganda, counseling and on-site visiting by professional counselors. From 2016 to 2019, Taiwan OSHA has collected patterns from more than 10,000 SMEs. Furthermore, Taiwan OSHA has devised a special subsidy program to assist SMEs to employ or contract medical personnel to conduct occupational health services in accordance with OSH Act.
In the so-called 3D (difficult, dirty and dangerous) traditional manufacturing industry, Taiwan OSHA assists SMEs to improve the working environment by site counseling and subsidies providing up to US$ 80,000 for each enterprise. From 2014 to 2019, Taiwan OSHA has cooperated with three industries: casting, surface treatment, and dyeing and finishing of textile industry, encouraged more than 150 enterprises to build the working environment safer and healthier, promoted industry investment that totals about US$89 million, and approved subsidies of nearly US$4.33 million. -
Wouter Fransman
Senior Research Scientist, Department of Risk Analysis for Products in Development at TNO, Netherlands
Innovative methods & tooling to stimulate healthy working with hazardous substances
Promotional Video Clip
Biography
Dr. Wouter Fransman is senior research scientist at the department of Risk Analysis for Products in Development at TNO in The Netherlands. His main fields of interest are exposure assessment in epidemiology and exposure assessment for risk assessment / risk management. He has extensive knowledge in measuring and assessing (occupational) exposure and statistical modeling, and is involved in a wide variety of projects on modeling of exposure variability. He coordinates studies on measuring exposure in different (work) situations and designing exposure / risk assessment models based on these measurement data. He has >90 peer reviewed publications in the areas of risk assessment, occupational exposure assessment and epidemiology Abstract
Special Lectures
-
Session chair: Seshananda Sanjel(Nepal)
Gurumurthy Ramachandran
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA
Data, Professional Judgment, and Modeling in Occupational Exposure Assessment
Promotional Video Clip
Biography
Dr. Gurumurthy “Ram” Ramachandran is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering in the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. He is also the Director of the Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). He has conducted research in various areas relating to human exposure assessment in occupational, residential, and outdoor settings. His research has included the development of occupational exposure assessment strategies for airborne contaminants, mathematical modeling, and statistical analysis including Bayesian methods. He teaches courses on measurement of airborne contaminants and human exposure assessment. He has served as a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and advisory committees for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). He is also serving on the editorial boards of the Annals of Work Exposures and Health, and the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. He has a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, a Master's degree in Environmental Engineering, and a Ph. D. in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from the University of North Carolina. Abstract
Exposure underestimates are a professional and ethical issue for Industrial Hygienists. This presentation will discuss the lack of adequate monitoring data for decision-making in industrial hygiene (IH), the over-reliance on professional judgment, and the limitations of professional judgments including their poor accuracy. It will discuss approaches and tools including the use of heuristics and mathematical models to improve the accuracy of professional judgment in industrial hygienists. The use of distributed low cost networks for monitoring will be discussed as another possible approach and the ethical implications of this.
-
Session chair: Seong-Kyu Kang (Korea)
Renate Lemke
ROHT (SAIOH), South Africa
[Co-Presentation] Enabling better protection of workers and managing exposure risks at remote mining sites in Africa
Biography
Renate Lemke, ROHT (SAIOH) is an Occupational Hygiene Advisor and Hazardous Substances Coordinator for Rössing Uranium mine located in Namibia. She is responsible for occupational hygiene at Rössing Uranium Ltd. heading programs involving hazardous materials, managing various occupational hygiene stressor programs as well as the monitoring and awareness training aspects of each program.
Renate has over 12 years’ experience in the mining industry. She began her career as a Fisheries Research Technician at the National Marine Information and Research Centre of Namibia working on the commercial hake fisheries for 4 years. Her interest in occupational hygiene was sparked after she moved to the mining industry, shortly thereafter she enrolled for several short courses in the field of Occupational Health and Safety and later pursued a full-time career in Occupational Hygiene.
She is a Registered Occupational Hygiene Technologist with the Southern African Institute for Occupational Hygiene (SAIOH) since 2016. Renate received her BSc with a double major in Microbiology & Physiological Biology and Environmental Biology from the University of Namibia. In 2020 she received her BSc HONS in Occupational Hygiene from the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Abstract Background
Respirable dust and respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust is a well-known occupational health hazard across several industries. Employee exposure to RCS/quartz dust, occurs in several occupational environments and industrial settings. Crushing, drilling, grinding, masonry, concrete work, sandblasting, and mining of silica containing rocks, soil, and sand results in the generation of RCS dust. Harmful effects of exposure to RCS include the risk of developing serious diseases such as silicosis, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and kidney disease.
In order to protect employees from the harmful effects of RCS, effective and timely exposure monitoring and sample analysis is essential. Conventional monitoring techniques consists of placing a flow pump with sampling media attached within the workplace or in the breathing zone of the worker. After collecting the dust on a filter, gravimetric and subsequent chemical analysis is performed on the filter. The constraints with this are that it is a time-consuming and costly process. Traditional analysis methods may present a time lag of weeks before exposure data is received. The turnaround time is constrained by the distance between the sampling site and the laboratory, transport arrangements to the site, as well as the workload of the specific laboratory. Mining sites located in remote areas often need to send samples to a significantly distanced geographic location or even a different country due to the unavailability of appropriate laboratory facilities. This means that crucial results, especially in the case of exposures that exceed the permissible levels are delayed. Real-time and near real-time monitoring can be the solution to this. Nanozen developed a personal dust monitor, the DustCount 9000. This unit can be worn by employees or placed within the work area. An optical particle counter and size separating part provides dust mass concentrations in real-time. During sampling, the DustCount contains a sampling filter that can be removed for additional gravimetric and chemical analysis. The United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) developed a non-destructive analytical method to quantify respirable crystalline silica (RCS) deposited on sampling filters, at the end of a shift (EoS), at site where sample collection has occurred. A portable FTIR Spectrometer is used to analyse the dust collected on the sampling filter. This provides the end user with a near-real time RCS content quantification.
Aims
The primary intent of the studies conducted were to understand whether the newly developed personal airborne dust sampling technology (Nanozen DustCount 9000), can provide sufficient accuracy and precision when employed to quantify full-shift worker respirable dust exposure mass concentrations. Additionally, to test the suitability of the new analytical technique developed by NIOSH in relation to a conventional analytical technique (X-Ray Diffraction).
Study Design
Areas of concern at 2 different mines in Africa were selected based on the nature of operations and historical exposure data to test this technology.
To meet the study intent, a sampling methodology was created whereby conventional sampling which consists of a standard flow pump fitted with a cyclone and filter cassette would be carried out alongside sampling using the DustCount 9000. Sampling occurred in a “side by side” fashion meaning a conventional sampling pump and a DustCount 9000 were fitted simultaneously to the same worker and sampling was carried out over a large proportion of the work shift whilst the worker being sampled was carrying out normal work duties. To validate the data, conventional sampling results were compared with historical sampling data collected over many years. Thereafter, sampling results i.e., the real-time sampling results and near real-time analytical results, were compared with conventional sampling results and conventional analytical technique results. NIOSH direct-on-filter portable FTIR and laboratory XRD analysis was performed on all filter samples collected.
Results
A strong correlation between the NIOSH direct on filter (DoF) FTIR and XRD measurements was found. Statistical analysis of these results indicated that NIOSH direct on filter (DoF) FTIR values were consistently higher when compared to XRD values. Both methods reported LOD (Limit of Detection) consistently. In other words, when the XRD analytical method reported results below the LOD the NIOSH direct on filter (DoF) FTIR method also reported results within its LOD range. In low exposure environments i.e., where respirable dust concentrations are expected to be well below respirable dust permissible exposure levels, the studies revealed poor parity between the mass concentration results delivered by the DustCount and the mass concentration results delivered by the conventional gravimetric sampling technique. This said, it must also be mentioned that both sampling techniques measured consistently low in this environment. Sampling carried out in higher respirable dust environments, revealed results between both methods being more comparable and on par with one another. At both high and low respirable dust exposure scenarios, the DustCount results exhibited less variation than those of the conventional gravimetric sampling method.
Conclusions
It can therefore be concluded that the DustCount sampling method is more precise than that of the conventional gravimetric sampling method. The conventional gravimetric sampling method is regarded as the current reference method for respirable dust sampling and therefore results delivered by this method were the standard aimed for. For this reason, at lower respirable dust concentration scenarios, the DustCount was less accurate and at higher respirable dust scenarios comparably accurate to the conventional gravimetric sampling method.
Considering all the study findings, the following can be concluded:
Introduction of the real-time and near real-time sampling techniques within any work environment needs to be done in such a manner that it taken cognisance of current technology implementation requirements and caters for these. Such requirements include developing site-specific reference standards to ensure accuracy and precision of results.
-
Session chair: Thomas Fuller (USA)
Rafael Moure-Eraso
University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA
Catastrophic Investigations:The Fallacy of Human Error
Promotional Video Clip
Biography
Rafael Moure-Eraso earned graduate degrees in chemical engineering and a Ph.D. in environmental and occupational health. He has taught occupational and environmental health for 23 years at UMass Lowell. During his career he consulted full time in occupational health matters for two international labor unions (UAW, OCAW) for 15 years. He served the Obama administration as chair of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board in Washington DC for five years (2010-15). He is a Fulbright Scholar and have taught Process Safety Management and Mayor Accident Investigation Methods in various international venues (Thailand, Australia, Mexico and Colombia). He is a naturalized US citizen from Colombia. Abstract
"Human error" concepts (the finding of culprits) is a fallacy that create difficulties to professional investigations of root causes of disasters (Train wrecks, plane accidents and industrial major fires and explosions). Drawing on experiences of directing fire and explosion investigations at the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard investigation Board (CSB) for 5 years (2010-15), Dr. Moure-Eraso will discuss 3 major disasters (train derailment , Quebec, 2013, refinery fire, Richmond CA, 2012, West , TX town destruction, 2013).
The problems of finding blame as a serious obstacle to learn lessons for prevention will be explored. It is either: Blame or Learn
The accident investigation methods will describe contributions of Industrial Hygiene concepts in CSB work, such as, inherently Safer Technologies (ISTs) and Hierarchy of Controls. An application to a major refinery accident will illustrate IH applications. -
Session chair: Perng-Jy Tsai (Taiwan)
Ying-Fang Wang
Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan
Application of Sensor, IoT and Big Data for Occupational Exposure Assessment
Biography
Ying-Fang Wang is an assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan.
My research interests include developing exposure assessment methods for hazard materials and control strategy in the variety areas of occupational health, such as long-term multiple chemical exposure assessment and control techniques of nanoparticle exposure assessment.
I have a strong interest in developing long-term exposure assessment technology and application in the workplace. My recent work was focusing on development of smart monitoring system for workplace hazardous materials, such as developing gas sensing devices and computation analyzing technology to characterize exposure conditions and combined with gas sensor continuous monitoring and indoor positioning technology to conduct personal long-term exposure.
-
Session chair: Seong-Kyu Kang (Korea)
Veruschka Jansen
SAIOH, South Africa
[Co-Presentation] Enabling better protection of workers and managing exposure risks at remote mining sites in Africa
Biography
Veruschka Jansen is registered as an Occupational Hygiene Assistant with the Southern African Institute for Occupational Hygiene (SAIOH). She is currently employed at Sedulitas, a monitoring solutions provider.
Veruschka is responsible for consulting with clients, conducting surveys and assists with product development. She completed her Bachelor of Health Sciences degree in Occupational Hygiene at the North West University in South Africa in 2019 and has experience in research with a keen interest in the development of monitoring solutions. Veruschka aims to obtain her master’s degree in Occupational Hygiene in 2021 and has recently commenced with her career in the field of occupational hygiene, working towards obtaining professional registration as an occupational hygienist within the next few years.
Her interest in protecting workers and improving their quality of life has developed over several years. Specifically, through participation in various projects, where she has been able to see first-hand the change that can be brought on by caring for others. She plans to enrol for various health & safety related courses within the near future to improve her knowledge across different industries. She believes that health and safety should always be a priority and there should be no compromises when it comes to protecting life. Abstract Background
Respirable dust and respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust is a well-known occupational health hazard across several industries. Employee exposure to RCS/quartz dust, occurs in several occupational environments and industrial settings. Crushing, drilling, grinding, masonry, concrete work, sandblasting, and mining of silica containing rocks, soil, and sand results in the generation of RCS dust. Harmful effects of exposure to RCS include the risk of developing serious diseases such as silicosis, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and kidney disease.
In order to protect employees from the harmful effects of RCS, effective and timely exposure monitoring and sample analysis is essential. Conventional monitoring techniques consists of placing a flow pump with sampling media attached within the workplace or in the breathing zone of the worker. After collecting the dust on a filter, gravimetric and subsequent chemical analysis is performed on the filter. The constraints with this are that it is a time-consuming and costly process. Traditional analysis methods may present a time lag of weeks before exposure data is received. The turnaround time is constrained by the distance between the sampling site and the laboratory, transport arrangements to the site, as well as the workload of the specific laboratory. Mining sites located in remote areas often need to send samples to a significantly distanced geographic location or even a different country due to the unavailability of appropriate laboratory facilities. This means that crucial results, especially in the case of exposures that exceed the permissible levels are delayed. Real-time and near real-time monitoring can be the solution to this. Nanozen developed a personal dust monitor, the DustCount 9000. This unit can be worn by employees or placed within the work area. An optical particle counter and size separating part provides dust mass concentrations in real-time. During sampling, the DustCount contains a sampling filter that can be removed for additional gravimetric and chemical analysis. The United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) developed a non-destructive analytical method to quantify respirable crystalline silica (RCS) deposited on sampling filters, at the end of a shift (EoS), at site where sample collection has occurred. A portable FTIR Spectrometer is used to analyse the dust collected on the sampling filter. This provides the end user with a near-real time RCS content quantification.
Aims
The primary intent of the studies conducted were to understand whether the newly developed personal airborne dust sampling technology (Nanozen DustCount 9000), can provide sufficient accuracy and precision when employed to quantify full-shift worker respirable dust exposure mass concentrations. Additionally, to test the suitability of the new analytical technique developed by NIOSH in relation to a conventional analytical technique (X-Ray Diffraction).
Study Design
Areas of concern at 2 different mines in Africa were selected based on the nature of operations and historical exposure data to test this technology.
To meet the study intent, a sampling methodology was created whereby conventional sampling which consists of a standard flow pump fitted with a cyclone and filter cassette would be carried out alongside sampling using the DustCount 9000. Sampling occurred in a “side by side” fashion meaning a conventional sampling pump and a DustCount 9000 were fitted simultaneously to the same worker and sampling was carried out over a large proportion of the work shift whilst the worker being sampled was carrying out normal work duties. To validate the data, conventional sampling results were compared with historical sampling data collected over many years. Thereafter, sampling results i.e., the real-time sampling results and near real-time analytical results, were compared with conventional sampling results and conventional analytical technique results. NIOSH direct-on-filter portable FTIR and laboratory XRD analysis was performed on all filter samples collected.
Results
A strong correlation between the NIOSH direct on filter (DoF) FTIR and XRD measurements was found. Statistical analysis of these results indicated that NIOSH direct on filter (DoF) FTIR values were consistently higher when compared to XRD values. Both methods reported LOD (Limit of Detection) consistently. In other words, when the XRD analytical method reported results below the LOD the NIOSH direct on filter (DoF) FTIR method also reported results within its LOD range. In low exposure environments i.e., where respirable dust concentrations are expected to be well below respirable dust permissible exposure levels, the studies revealed poor parity between the mass concentration results delivered by the DustCount and the mass concentration results delivered by the conventional gravimetric sampling technique. This said, it must also be mentioned that both sampling techniques measured consistently low in this environment. Sampling carried out in higher respirable dust environments, revealed results between both methods being more comparable and on par with one another. At both high and low respirable dust exposure scenarios, the DustCount results exhibited less variation than those of the conventional gravimetric sampling method.
Conclusions
It can therefore be concluded that the DustCount sampling method is more precise than that of the conventional gravimetric sampling method. The conventional gravimetric sampling method is regarded as the current reference method for respirable dust sampling and therefore results delivered by this method were the standard aimed for. For this reason, at lower respirable dust concentration scenarios, the DustCount was less accurate and at higher respirable dust scenarios comparably accurate to the conventional gravimetric sampling method.
Considering all the study findings, the following can be concluded:
Introduction of the real-time and near real-time sampling techniques within any work environment needs to be done in such a manner that it taken cognisance of current technology implementation requirements and caters for these. Such requirements include developing site-specific reference standards to ensure accuracy and precision of results. -
Session chair: Eun-A Kim (Korea)
Laurence Svirchev
Svirchev OHS Management Systems, Canada
The International Trajectory of SARS-CoV-2 & COVID-19 from Localized Epidemic in Wuhan China to Pandemic End-Phase
Promotional Video Clip
Biography
Laurence Svirchev, CIH, has a four-decade career in Occupational Health and Safety spanning occupational cancer epidemiological research as an occupational hygienist at the British Columbia Canada Cancer Agency, a Health and Safety Officer and Fatalities Investigator at the Workers' Compensation Board of BC, and as the OHS Manager for large Chinese Infrastructure Construction companies building hydro-electric infrastructure in Fiji, Niger, Indonesia and Pakistan. He was a member of the BC SARS Scientific Committee in 2002. He has a long history of volunteer work in the International Affairs Committee of the American Industrial Hygiene Association. He holds a BSc from the Montana School of Mines in Occupational Health and Safety and an MA from Royal Roads University in Disaster and Emergency Management. He also spent four years investigating the geological and social effects of the 2008 Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan China with the Chengdu University of Technology. He was a member of the International Scientific Committee, 2018 IOHA Conference, Washington DC and the present IOHA Korea Conference. Mr. Svirchev has authored and co-authored 17 peer-reviewed articles in the industrial hygiene, disaster management, and geology literature.
-
Session chair: Mohammed Virji (USA)
Chungsik Yoon
Seoul National University, Korea
Aerosol, Bioaerosol, and Mask
Promotional Video Clip
Biography
He is a professor of the Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University and president of the Korean Industrial Hygiene Association
He has published more than 150 peer reviewed papers. He also published many papers on the respirators used in workplace and for general citizens.
Recently, his research area includes nanomaterial assessment of the consumer as well as workers and health hazards in the semiconductor industry and liquid crystal display industry. He is also studying how to deal with unknown risks in the workplace. Abstract In the age of Covid-19, interest in the use of masks is increasing.
Different countries have different standards for masks and also different wearing guidelines for Covid-19. Also, there are disagreements about wearing masks to protect the health of ordinary citizens and workers. This lecture will provide information on the comparison of mask standards in many countries and the performance of masks on aerosols and bioaerosols. In particular, it will explain the difference between WHO's droplet definition (including its inadequacy) and aerosols defined by environmental health and occupational health realm, and explain the results of existing studies on how much filtration efficiency a mask has for bio aerosols.
This lecture will provide accurate information about facts that occupational health professionals know superficially or are inaccurate. Therefore, after listening to this lecture, the listeners can learn about aerosols and bio-aerosols, and knowledge of the proper use of masks. -
Session chair: Jinjoo Chung (Korea)
Karen Messing
Professor, University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada
Making workplaces safer for women: Gathering data & developing strategies
Promotional Video Clip
Biography
Karen Messing is an ergonomics researcher at the CINBIOSE research centre and professor emerita in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Québec in Montréal, Canada. She is the author of Bent Out of Shape: Shame, Solidarity and Women’s Bodies at Work (2021), Pain and Prejudice: What Science Can Learn About Work from the People Who Do It (2014) and One-eyed Science: Occupational Health and Working Women (1998). She has received various awards such as Officer status in the Order of Canada (2020), the Governor General of Canada award for contributions to women's well-being (2009) and the William P. Yant Award (2014) from the American Industrial Hygiene Association for contributions to industrial hygiene. Her current research concerns the interface between gender, biology and occupational health, and the identification of factors that facilitate or hinder incorporating a gender perspective in ergonomic analysis.
Symposia Information
-
Case study of In-depth Work Environment Measurement and Assessment in Occupational Disease Epidemiology Investigation
ModeratorJee Yoen Jeong(Korea, Republic of) SpeakerJungah Shin(Korea, Republic of), Wonsuk Cha(Korea, Republic of), Eunyoung Kim(Korea, Republic of), Boowook Kim(Korea, Republic of) -
OH Issues in the Semiconductor Industry Symposium 2 - Epidemiological Study and issues in the semiconductor Industry
ModeratorHyoung-Ryoul Kim(Korea, Republic of) SpeakerEun-A Kim(Korea, Republic of), Myounghee Kim(Korea, Republic of), Hyoung-Ryoul Kim(Korea, Republic of)
-
Advancing Occupational Hygiene Education Internationally on Three Fronts: 1) Formal Academic Program Development, 2) Philanthropic Grass-Roots Outreach and Collaboration, and 3) Structured Online Certificate Programs
ModeratorThomas Fuller(USA) SpeakerThomas Fuller(USA), Marianne Levitsky(Canada), David Zalk(USA) -
Exposures, Controls and Respiratory Health in Coffee Workers
ModeratorMohammed Virji(USA) SpeakerMohammed Virji(USA), Reid Harvey(USA), Ryan LeBouf(USA), Brie Blackley(USA), Alyson Fortner(USA), Mohammed Virji(USA), Ethan Fechter-Leggett(USA), Marcia Stanton(USA), Jean Cox-Ganser(USA)
-
OH Issues in the Semiconductor Industry Symposium 1- Chemical and EMF hazards in recent semiconductor Industry
ModeratorChungsik Yoon(Korea, Republic of) SpeakerChungsik Yoon(Korea, Republic of), Sangjun Choi(Korea, Republic of), Seunghon Ham(Korea, Republic of) -
Marginalized workers in the global economy: protecting child workers, slaves, migrants and workers in the informal sector
ModeratorMarianne Levitsky(Canada) SpeakerMarianne Levitsky(Canada), Thomas Fuller(USA)
-
Expanding Occupational Safety and Health for Disabled Workers
ModeratorThomas Fuller(USA) SpeakerThomas Fuller(USA), Ilise Feitshans(France) -
Addressing the workforce capability and capacity for occupational hygienists in New Zealand
ModeratorDerek Miller(New Zealand) SpeakerDerek Miller(New Zealand), Suzanne Broadbent(New Zealand), Sue Reed(Australia)
-
Identification of Known, New and Emerging Work-Related Diseases
ModeratorYogindra Samant(Norway) SpeakerJukka Takala(Finland), Lode Godderis(Belgium), Frank Hearl(USA), Olivier Lo(Singapore), Riitta Sauni(Finland) -
International Cooperation
ModeratorRene Leblanc(Canada) SpeakerThomas Fuller(USA), Donguk Park(Korea, Republic of), Marianne Levitsky(Canada)
-
Exposure assessment tools for occupational safety and health regulations: state of the art and directions for the future
ModeratorHenri Heussen(Netherlands) SpeakerHenri Heussen(Netherlands), Dorothea Koppisch(Germany), Wouter Fransman(Netherlands) -
ANOH Session I: COVID-19 cluster outbreaks among workers in Asia-Pacific countries
ModeratorDerek Miller(New Zealand) SpeakerMila Tejamaya(Indonesia), Brian Eva(Australia), Wantanee Phanprasit(Thailand), Donguk Park(Korea, Republic of)
-
Overcoming Challenges in Chemical Exposure Assessment: From Field Work to Controls Implementation
ModeratorWan Sabrina Wan Mohamad(Malaysia) SpeakerNor Rahmah Nor Hashim(Malaysia), Grace Cordelia Boniface Deyoi(Malaysia), Nor Rahmah Nor Hashim(Malaysia), Aliff Firdaus Mat Yusoff(Malaysia) -
NOISE CONTROL ENGINEERING IN INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS
ModeratorDiego Mauricio Murillo Gómez(Colombia) SpeakerDiego Mauricio Murillo Gómez(Colombia), Juan Pablo Ugarte(Colombia), Miguel Angel Mesa(Colombia)
-
Sampling and Analytical Challenges in Meeting Ever- Lower OELs for Metals and Metalloids
ModeratorSteven Verpaele(Belgium) SpeakerMichael Brisson(USA), Katrin Pitzke(Germany), Steven Verpaele(Belgium) -
Occupational Hygiene aspects in the Pharmaceutical Industry 1
ModeratorMichel Vangeel(Belgium) SpeakerEster Lovsin Barle(Switzerland), Michel Vangeel(Belgium), Cordula Meier(Switzerland)
-
Occupational Health: Present and Future
ModeratorChanho Jin(Korea, Republic of) SpeakerYouth Sokhpeara(Cambodia), Wook Kim(Korea, Republic of), Luong Mai Ahn(Vietnam), Indra SETIAWAN(Indonesia), Kyungwoo Kim(Korea, Republic of) -
New Challenges for the Workplace Environment Measurement and Control
ModeratorSeunghon Ham(Korea, Republic of) SpeakerKwonchul Ha(Korea, Republic of), Wook Kim(Korea, Republic of), Seunghon Ham(Korea, Republic of)
-
Driving Sustainable IH Solutions from Capability Building to Technical Controls – An Experience from Malaysia’s Oil and Gas Company
ModeratorRina Ronaldin(Malaysia) SpeakerAzizin Zainudin(Malaysia), Marina Zainal Farid(Malaysia), Zulfikar Said(Malaysia) -
Control Banding as Risk Communication
ModeratorDavid Zalk(USA) SpeakerDavid Zalk(USA), Mike Phibbs(Canada), Marianne Levitsky(Canada)
-
Occupational health and safety in agriculture : Challenges and opportunities
ModeratorYunkeun Lee(Korea, Republic of) SpeakerKyungran Kim(Korea, Republic of), Yong Heo(Korea, Republic of), Yongku Kong(Korea, Republic of), Hyocher Kim(Korea, Republic of) -
ANOH Session II: Protecting workers from COVID-19 infection risk in Asia-Pacific countries
ModeratorYu-Wen Lin(Taiwan) SpeakerEngr Nelia Granadillos(Philippines), Yu-Wen Lin(Taiwan), Go Muto(Japan), Derek Miller(New Zealand)
-
Status of exposure assessment and diffusive sampling approaches for VOCs in Korea
ModeratorSeung-Hyun Park(Korea, Republic of) SpeakerJung-Keun Park(Korea, Republic of), Gwang Yong Yi(Korea, Republic of), Hae Dong Park(Korea, Republic of) -
Additive Manufacturing for Occupational Hygiene: Processes, emissions, and exposures
ModeratorJohan du Plessis(South Africa) SpeakerJohan du Plessis(South Africa), Sonette du Preez(South Africa), Aleksandr Stefaniak(USA), Aleksandr Stefaniak(USA), Sonette du Preez(South Africa)
-
Changes in the Occupational Safety and Health Policy for 40 Years in South Korea : Focusing on the role of policy actors and contextual factors in policy agenda setting and formulation
ModeratorMijin Park(Korea, Republic of) SpeakerTaesun Kang(Korea, Republic of), Myoung-hee Kim(Korea, Republic of), Domyung Paek(Korea, Republic of) -
Global Chemical Management at Workplaces: SDS Regulations, GHS Implementation, and Hazard Communication
ModeratorEun-ah Cho(Korea, Republic of) SpeakerRaleigh Davis(USA), Ann Johnson(USA), Naroo Lee(Korea, Republic of)
-
Occupational Hygiene aspects in the Pharmaceutical Industry 2
ModeratorMichel Vangeel(Belgium) SpeakerKomal Shiyani(Switzerland), Brian Schmidt(Switzerland), Nathalie Argentin(France), Sungho Kim(Korea, Republic of) -
Institutional Improvement Suggestion on Chemical Management for preventing workplace hazardous chemical exposure in Korea
ModeratorTaesun Kang(Korea, Republic of) SpeakerNaroo Lee(Korea, Republic of), Mijin Park(Korea, Republic of), Youngeun Choi(Korea, Republic of)
-
How to build safety cultures in the laboratories - Efforts will continue!
ModeratorSaravanan Gunaratnam(Singapore) SpeakerSaravanan Gunaratnam(Singapore), Yoshiko Tsuji(Japan), Sunyoung Bae(Korea, Republic of), Fatma Lestari(Indonesia), Jiyoung Suh(Korea, Republic of) -
OH Issues in the Semiconductor Industry Symposium 3- Science, struggling of the victims, role of the professionals and NGOs for unveiling risks in the Semiconductor industry in Korea
ModeratorJongyoung Kim(Korea, Republic of) SpeakerJeongok Kong(Korea, Republic of), Jawoon Lim(Korea, Republic of), Jongyoung Kim(Korea, Republic of)
-
Occupational Heat Stress: sustainable solutions and adaptation strategies provided by the HEAT-SHIELD project
ModeratorLars Nybo(Denmark) SpeakerLars Nybo(Denmark), Andreas Flouris(Greece), Jolanda Willems(Netherlands), Tord Kjellstrom(Cyprus) -
Development of Population Exposure Methodology Using Exposure Assessment Advancement (Eye-of-Horus Exposure Study)
ModeratorWonho Yang(Korea, Republic of) SpeakerWonho Yang(Korea, Republic of), Jeong il Lee(Korea, Republic of), SungChul Seo(Korea, Republic of), Chulmin Lee(Korea, Republic of), Hunjoo Lee(Korea, Republic of)
-
Exposure assessment in the Exposome context - need for precise - broad-scope - external exposure assessment
ModeratorAnjoeka Pronk(Netherlands) SpeakerMiranda Loh(United Kingdom), Maaike Le Feber(Netherlands), Murali jayapala(Belgium), Jeroen Vanoirbeek(Belgium) -
AIHA: Pivoting in Times of the Pandemic
ModeratorJohn Mulhausen(USA) SpeakerLydia Renton(Canada), Corey Boles(USA), Lawrence Sloan(USA)
-
Exposure characterization for international programs in global burden of disease estimation and cancer hazard identification: needs and opportunities for collaboration
ModeratorThomas Fuller(USA) SpeakerMichael Brauer(USA), Tim Driscoll(Australia), Mary Schubauer-Berigan(France), Daniel Middleton(France) -
The Opportunities for Women Practitioners in Bridging Gaps in Occupational Hygiene Development
ModeratorNorhazlina Mydin(Malaysia) SpeakerChris Laszcz-Davis(USA), Andrea Hiddinga(Netherlands), Jeongim Park(Korea, Republic of), Elsye as-Safira(Indonesia)
PDC Information
-
An Introduction to the Basic Principles in Occupational Hygiene OHTA PDC
PDC CodeC01 InstructorSteven Verpaele, MSc, Nickel Institute -
Fundamental Industrial Ventilation System Design Principles
PDC CodeC02 InstructorGregg Grubb, Grubb Industrial Hygiene Services, LLC
-
Stoffenmanager®: a validated and regulatory accepted chemical exposure management tool combining latest exposure intelligence and smart IT
PDC CodeC03 InstructorHenri Heussen, Cosanta BV -
Industrial Hygiene Principle – Advance
PDC CodeC04 InstructorShrenik Ranpura, RECOH EHS Services LLP
-
Aerosol Sampling Methods Update
PDC CodeC05 InstructorMartin Harper, Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, U. of Florida -
Local Exhaust Ventilation - Design criteria, Evaluation & Maintenance
PDC CodeC06 InstructorShrenik Ranpura, RECOH EHS Services LLP
-
Occupational hygiene and Emergency Response involving chemicals
PDC CodeC07 InstructorRene Leblanc, IOHA / GHD Consultant -
Practical heat stress assessment utilizing basic tools and phone/tablet applications.
PDC CodeC08 InstructorRoss Di Corleto, Monitor Consulting Services
-
Application of Engineering Economics Principles towards Assessing Economical Feasibility of OEHS Controls and Solutions
PDC CodeC09 InstructorSergio Augusto Caporali Filho, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus -
Industrial Laser risk management and safety at the workplace
PDC CodeC10 InstructorHA yousefi rizi, Applied Laser Technology Lab
