OHS Section Chair

The OHS Section is active both inside and outside APHA.  On the advocacy front, we have worked with APHA to send a letter to Canada’s premier urging Quebec to not underwrite a $58 million loan that would allow an asbestos mine to be re-opened. APHA is one of a large number of scientist and public health groups to oppose the plan, which would result in the export of the cancer-causing material to developing countries.  As of this writing, a decision on the loan had not been made.

There is widespread concern among Section members on the Obama administration’s moves to step back from OSHA regulations, such as an administrative interpretation of the noise standard that would place more emphasis on the higher levels of the hierarchy of controls in eliminating noise hazards rather than using personal protective equipment as a long term solution, as well as not moving forward on having a checkbox for cumulative musculoskeletal disorders on the recordkeeping form. While the Section has great confidence in the current leadership of OSHA (David Michaels, the head of OSHA, is a long-time OHS Section member, as is Jordan Barab, the deputy assistant secretary), there is a clear anti-regulatory push after the last election and in the current unemployment crisis that is resonating throughout the government. Past Section chair Celeste Monforton is coordinating our advocacy activities, and her award of an Energizer bunny at the last meeting is a good indicator of her energy level.

The OHS Section will be celebrating our 100^th anniversary at the 2014 meeting in New Orleans, and planning is already beginning, with APHA President (and OHS Section member) Linda Rae Murray and Bob Harrison leading the way. If you would like to be involved or have suggestions for ways to celebrate, please contact Bob at Robert.Harrison@ucsf.edu.

The Section is very happy to have a new and very active OHS Section liaison to the APHA student assembly, Alberto Caban-Martinez, who is generating a lot of ideas for involving more students and young occupational health professionals. We are planning to have an awards program for best posters at the next meeting, and we will be extending the deadline for submitting student posters so that we can take advantage of spring semester projects. We also expect to have more activities directed to career paths and mentorship, which will include involving the more than 40 OHS professionals who signed up to be mentors at the last meeting. Members interested in these activities can contact Alberto at acaban@med.miami.edu.

We encourage you to become involved in the Section in leadership activities or submitting abstracts or award nominees. More information is available on our newly revitalized website being overseen by Brad King at http://www.apha.org/membergroups/sections/aphasections/occupational.