Atlantic Provinces Section

The AIHA - Atlantic Provinces Section is comprised of Industrial Hygienists, other occupational health and safety professionals and people who are interested in occupational and environmental health and safety.   Members come primarily from the four Atlantic Provinces with a few  members from other provinces.  Our section was founded on April 14, 1989.  It provides an opportunity for networking and professional development amongst the industrial hygiene community in the Atlantic provinces which was, and is, thinly dispersed over a large geographic area.   Formation of the local section also provided an opportunity for outreach and education to promote occupational health and safety and the industrial hygiene profession.

Our first executive was formed of the following members:

President - Judy Guernsey
President elect - Lee O'Blenis
Treasurer - Nancy Taylor
Secretary - Jim LeBlanc
Newfoundland Director - John Lewis
New Brunswick Director - Bandu Imbulgoda
Nova Scotia Director - Haylett Clark
PEI Director - Paul Deveau

Feeling nostalgic?  A copy of the announcement for our formation meeting may be viewed here , as well as our first ever newsletter .

Technical seminars are offered twice a year to provide low cost professional development opportunities on topics of current  interest to the occupational health professional. These low cost sessions offer cutting edge technical information for the safety professional and frequently feature internationally recognized experts.  Sessions are normally offered in Moncton, New Brunswick in the fall and in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the spring.  The spring session is held in conjunction with our annual general meeting.   To receive information on upcoming sessions you may join the section and be placed on our mailing list (application available here) or just check our home page periodically for session announcements. Membership also includes an annual membership directory.

Historically we have offered the following technical programs. Where available we have included the brochure from the session.  Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the brochures.  This free software from Adobe may be downloaded at this link ------->

June 25, 2011, Anticipation, Recognition, Evaluation and Control of Welding Health Hazards, Halifax, NS

Mike Harris of Hamlin and Harris did his acclaimed PDC on welding processes and the hazards associated with the various processes.  A discussion of exposure control strategies was included. view brochure

November 25, 2010, Introduction to the Safety Culture Improvement Process & Principles of OH&S in 18 Keywords, It’s Application to Marine Hot Work (Shipyards & Offshore), Halifax, NS  view brochure

Dr. Mark Fleming of Saint Mary's University, discussed workplace safety cultures, their assessment, safety culture maturity and the safety culture improvement process. Mr. Clive MacGregor discussed the elements and basics of occupational health and safety with emphasis on the offshore oil and gas industry.

April 14, 2010  Advanced Hearing Conservation Program,  Dartmouth , NS  view brochure

This comprehensive program reviewed concepts important to understanding sound, noise and the anatomy & physiology of the ear.  A Hearing Conservation Program (HCP) will be outlined in detail as well as an overview of the Canadian regulatory landscape.  The session included a demonstration of the 3M^TM EARFit^TM Validation system to measure the fit of hearing protection.

January 22, 2010 Industrial Hygiene at the Construction Site - Recognition, Issues, Challenges and Best Practices.  Moncton, NB.  view brochure.

Pam Susi, the Exposure Assessment Director from the Center for Construction Research and Training and Dr. Mark Goldberg , an Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at Hunter College of the City University of New York presented.  Topics discussed included the hazards on the construction site with emphasis on lead and silica and the challenges of assess and correcting occupational health hazards.

April 8, 2009 Assessment Methods for Nanoparticles and Other Aerosols in the Workplace, Dartmouth, NS.  view brochure.

Dr. Patrick O'Shaughnessy, from the University of Iowa and a member of the AIHA Aerosol Committee presented an overview of aerosol physics, gravimetric samplers, optical aerosol samplers, size distribution analysis, an overview of nanotechnology, nanoparticles and nanoparticle filtration.

October 23, 2008 Risk Communication and Outrage Management.  Halifax, NS.  view brochure.

One of the preeminent risk communication speakers and experts in North America. Dr. Peter Sandman,the creator of the “Risk =Hazard + Outrage” formula for risk communication, brought his unique insights, sense of humor and realism to lead an exciting workshop on risk communication and

outrage management.  Dr. Sandman, in his inimitable style, gave an introduction to risk communication, discussed strategies for outrage management. He covered the media and activists that make up the "outrage industry" and finished by discussing internal corporate barriers to effective risk communication using his model.

The objectives of the workshop were to (1) highlight environmental and occupational noise sources and their hazards; (2) measurement techniques;

(3) innovative noise control options and (4) responsible management of human noise exposure.  Presenters were Mr. Tim Kelsall, Director of Noise and Vibration with Hatch Engineering and Mr. Rob Brauch, Industrial Hygiene Manager with Larson Davis. 

This workshop was presented in two parts by Dr. Linn Holness, an Occupational Physician with St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. The first part was a review the current knowledge related to occupational asthma and occupational contact dermatitis, from prevention through early recognition, diagnosis, management, return to work and outcomes. Newer research findings and identifying gaps in current evidence will be highlighted. Furthermore, the interactions between the lung and skin, both with respect to route of exposure and site of response will be examined. The second session focussed on resources in occupational health generally and occupational disease specifically. It explored new models of care for workers with occupational disease, specifically a multidisciplinary specialty clinic model of care that includes prevention, diagnosis, management and return to work. Part of this session was an interactive discussion about major current challenges in occupational health generally and occupational disease specifically. 

March 28, 2007, Halifax, NS.  "The Building Envelope and Indoor Air Quality."  view brochure

This workshop focussed on the building envelope’s design, construction and materials and how problems with these components can lead to moisture infiltration into buildings and thus indoor air quality problems for occupants. The presentation will include the following topics: (1) the fundamentals of building science, the functional requirements of the building envelope and the relationship between heat, air, moisture and IAQ; (2) the design and construction of buildings; (3) the codes and standards that regulate building construction in Canada, including the National Building Code; and (4) case studies to demonstrate real world application of building science.  Presented by Mr. William C. Brown, a Building Science Specialist with Morrison Hershfield Ltd.

October 5, 2006, Moncton, NB.  "Emergency Response and Preparedness" view brochure.

This workshop introduced the role and functions of US Environmental Protection Agency, case studies of actual emergency responses to events which happened such as Hurricane Katrina, Anthrax, and train derailment resulting in a major chlorine leak, and much more. The objective of the workshop was learn and gain an understanding and insight of actual emergency response events that took place from those professionals who actually were involved in the preparation, coordination, and remediation of these high profile state of emergencies. The workshop focused on occupational health and safety, industrial hygiene, public and environmental health issues faced during these catastrophic events and how they were dealt with. Video documentaries and pictures taken from the events were used as learning tools during the workshop. Guest speakers were Mark Johnson and Bob Safay from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and US Environmental Protection Agency and Ernie MacGillivray from the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization.

March 22, 2006, Halifax, NS.  " OHSAS 18001 & Making a Business Case for Occupational Health  & Safety" view brochure. 

This workshop introduced the 18001 standard, requirements of the main elements, best practices and observed pitfalls from registration audits. A comparison was made to the ANSI Z10 and CSA Z1000 and an audit scenario workshop was done. The objective of the workshop was to go through a sample scenario to form an audit finding, explain how the internal/registration auditor might approach the scenario, the 18001 standard requirements, any non-conformance on the face of the evidence presented, and how auditor might write-up a process-based audit. The afternoon session introduced participants to the scale of injury in Nova Scotia and provide an overview of the programs that the Workers' Compensation Board is introducing to act as a catalyst for change. It also provided an overview of the Preventing Workplace Injuries program and resource family which is available as a resource. As well, A representative from Deloitte's Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability Practice presented on emerging issues that affect OHS while offering a business focused approach.

September 30, 2005  Moncton, NB. "Dust Sampling Methodologies and Issues in Occupational Psychology" view brochure view brochure view brochure.

Dr. Philip Bigelow and Andrea Sass-Kortsak, both from the University of Toronto, opened the session with discussion of airborne particle behaviour, the new size selective TLV's categories for various particulates and size selective sampling methodologies.  Mr. Doug Dowis from SKC Inc. continued with the particulate sampling theme

with detailed information on size selective sampling equipment and a discussion of the relative merits of the many options available.  Mr. Martin McNeil closed the day's session with a discussion of stress and stress management in today's busy life.

March 30, 2005  Halifax, NS.  "New Developments and Trends in Occupational Toxicolgy"  view brochure    This workshop, presented by Dr. Ugis Bickis of Phoenix OHC, began with the fundamental concepts, principles and applications of Occupational Toxicology. The derived tool of the practitioner (i.e. Occupational Exposure Limits) was explored with respect to how they are derived, applied and misapplied. Hormesis, recognizing the essentiality of some substances which are certainly "toxic", was considered. Recent developments in both our understanding of disease etiology and the associated risk assessment was presented as a series of case studies, focusing on the "newest" occupational diseases recognized. Finally, a number of rejected workers' comp claims were reviewed, from the viewpoint that the Boards' decisions were ill-advised.

November 18-19, 2004 Moncton, NB  -  AIHA TeleWeb "HVAC & IAQ Dilution Ventilation: Applying AIHA's 2004 Guideline" and "Presentations on HVAC Evaluation and Maintenance."  view brochure

This workshop included a TeleWeb by Jeff Burton on the new AIHA Guideline 3 - "Recommendations for the Management, Operation, Testing, and Maintenance of HVAC Systems," which describes suggested practices and objectives for existing HVAC systems used to provide acceptable indoor air quality using dilution ventilation.

Following presentations were given by Helen Mersereau, UCCB, on the evaluation of HVAC systems and by representatives from Power Vac on duct cleaning and inspection procedures.

March 24, 2004  Halifax, NS  "Building Drying, A Mould Prevention Technique"  view brochure

This workshop explored the use of building drying, a fast economical approach to moisture control and recovery of water damaged materials.  Presentors were Dr. Thomas Rand, a Public Works Canada Accredited Mycologist and Professor of Biology at Saint Mary's University and Mr. Dan Murray, a Certified Restorer and partner in SystemCare Cleaning & Restoration Limited and SystemCare Environmental.  The session covered mould growth promoters, drying techniques for different materials, factors affecting the drying period and an introduction to moisture control in buildings. Experts in the field of moulds and the science of building drying have been invited to introduce the participants to the concepts of building drying and mould minimization.

November 13, 2003  Amherst, NS.  "Basic Occupational Exposure Assessment Strategies" view brochure 

 This Workshop provided an overview of some of the elements that must be considered when occupational exposure assessments are required.  Dr. Chris Keil discussed basic occupational exposure assessment strategies. Dr. Keil is an Associate Professor of the Environmental Health Program at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio; an Adjunct Associate Professor of Public Health, Medical College of Ohio, a Certified Industrial Hygienist and a member of the Exposure Assessment Strategies Committee, of the American Industrial Hygiene Association.  Topics covered included monitoring objectives, exposure variability, collection and analysis, sampling designs, basic statistical concepts, distribution of sample results and decision making.

March 19, 2003 Halifax NS.  "Heat Stress in the Workplace, A Practical Look at the Issues"
A one day seminar examining heat stress, health effects, evaluation and management programs.

November 27, 2002 Moncton, NB. "Legal and Ethical Issues in Performing Occupational Hygiene and Indoor Air Quality Work"  view brochure
A one day seminar covering topics such as the current experience in Canadian mold litigation, how to be an expert witness, laboratory method accreditation and method evaluation, practical concerns for the expert witness, and occupational hygiene ethics.  Speakers included attorneys Maria Henheffer and Cyril Johnston of Barry Spalding Richard, Clive MacGregor, Seatec Limited, Stewart Sampson, NS Department of Environment and Labour and Greg Johnstone, Pharmatox Inc.

March 20, 2002  Halifax, NS.  "Current Topics in Occupational Health"  view brochure
A one day seminar covering epidemiology, toxicology, laboratory and fume hood ventilation requirements and fume hood applications and testing. Presenters were Dr. Judy Guernsey, Dalhousie University; Greg Johnstone, Pharmatox Inc.; Greg DeLuga and Jeff Waters, both with Siemens Building Technologies.

March 28, 2001 Halifax, NS.  "Industrial Hygiene and Offshore Oil and Gas" view brochure
A one day seminar on the hazards associated with the burgeoning offshore oil and gas industry.  Topics included human factors in escaping from and surviving a ditched helicopter, medical monitoring issues, radiation hazards, and hydrogen sulfide.  Speakers included Dr. Chris Brooks, Survival Systems; Dr. Ciarin O'Shea, Atlantic Offshore Medical Services; Jason Bridger, Schlumberger; and Frank Simmons, Frontline Safety.

November 26-27, 2001 Charlottetown, PEI.  "Microbial Remediation Supervisor"  view brochure
A two day certification course presented by Kim Strong of Maritime Testing covering how to properly and safely provide remediation of mould, mildew and bacteria
in indoor environments. 

Nov. 27, 2000  "Perspectives on Risk Management."

November 3, 1999 Moncton, NB.  "Biological Contaminants and Indoor Air Quality"  view brochure
A one day seminar presented by Dr. David Miller of the AIHA's Biosafety Committee.  Dr. Miller discussed:

• research on microbial contamination and health, 
• AIHA (1998), ACGIH (1999), New York (1999), Government of Canada (1994) and Government of Ontario (1999) advice on mold contamination
• investigation methods including sampling and mold documentation
• approaches for mold remediation Quality Assurance

April 29, 1999 Dartmouth, NS.  Chemical Protective Clothing   view brochure
A one day seminar presented by Zack Mansdorf, AIHA Past-President and author of numerous publications on chemical protective clothing.  Topics presented included the types of chemical protective clothing (CPC), materials used for fabricating CPC, permeation and degradation testing, selection criteria and effective CPC programs.

December 3, 1998  Moncton, NB.  "Adjustment of TLV's to Accommodate Specific Conditions in the Workplace"
A demanding one day professional development course presented by John Elias of the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre.  Topics included discussion of the derivation of TLV's and physiological assumptions, adjusting for human factors such as age, health, sex, and sensitization, and adjusting for workplace conditions such as work shifts, multiple routes of entry, exposure to multiple chemicals, work rate and variation in the exposure.

April 15, 1998 Dartmouth, NS.  "What You Should Know About Confined Spaces." view brochure
A one day course covering confined space hazards and best practices for working in confined spaces.  The session was presented by John Rekus of AIHA's Confined Spaces Committee and author of the Complete Confined Spaces Handbook.

November 20, 1997  Moncton NB.  "Current Issues in Respiratory Protection" view brochure
A one day seminar on respiratory protection covering a variety of topics including, the new NIOSH 42CFR84 particulate filter approvals, compressed breathing air quality testing, CSA Z180.1 Compressed Breathing Air, respirator regulations, respiratory protection programs and fit testing.   Speakers included Matt Bowyer, NIOSH; Claire Austin, McGill University; Dave Lucas, 3M; Layton McLare, NB Workplace Health Safety and Compensation Commission; and Stewart Sampson, NS Department of Labour.

April 15, 1997 Dartmouth, NS.  "Welding Health and Safety - Professional Development Course"
A one day course on welding processes, hazards and safety presented by Mr., Gregory Naherne, Occupational Hygiene Consultant and formerly of the Welding Institute of Canada.  The course covered standards, guidelines, legislation, welding and cutting processes, fumes, gases, electrical hazards, arc radiation, thermal and fire hazards, noise, oxyfuel apparatus safety, confined spaces, cutting of used containers, robotic welding and ergonomics.

Fall 1996 Dieppe, NB.  "Assessing and Regulating the Hazards of the Mining Industry"
A one day seminar on the hazards of the mining industry, current regulations and mine rescue equipment.   Speakers included Suzanne Ball and Lee O'Blenis, NB Workplace Health Safety and compensation Commission, Mahe Gangal, Diesel Emissions Control Group of the CANMET Mining Laboratory, Dave Daigle and Donna Dvorsky, MSA, Bill Gallant, HRDC-Labour Program and Jim LeBlanc, NS Department of Labour.

May 4, 1995 Dartmouth, NS.  "Information Communication" view brochure

A one day seminar on the effective communication of sensitive, technical information in a series of case studies.  Presenters included Eileen MacIsaac, Camp Hill Medical Center, Michael Fuchs, Uvex, Kaye Parker, Atlantic Region Management Training Center and Mary Barker, Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia.

November 16, 1995  Dieppe, NB.  "Indoor Air Quality"  view agenda
A one day seminar covering a wide range of indoor air quality issues, including measurement tools, legislation, and building and ventilation management practices.  Speakers included Gregg Andrews, Polaris fire and safety Inc.; Doug Balcom, NS Department of Supply and Services; Adrian cowling, Buidling Owners and Managers Association, Gary Gates, NS Department of Supply and Services; Eric Gravel, Draeger Canada; Shelley Gray, NS Department of Labour; Dan Hirsh, Draeger Canada; Scott MacKnight, OCL Services; Fred Müller, Draeger Canada; Lee O'Blenis, NB Workplace Health Safety and compensation Commission; and Robert Reid, Human Resources Canada, Labour Program.

Spring 1994 Halifax, NS "Multiple Chemical Sensitivity" view brochure 
A one day seminar on the emerging issue of multiple chemical sensitivity.   Speakers presented on the experience with workers at a Camp Hill Hospital, the issues of a trying to make a clinical definition of the condition, the state of the existing knowledge, current research, and possible treatments and management of MCS.  Speakers included Dr. Ross, Dr. Tom Rand, Dr. Judy Guernsey and Kevin McNamara.

November 17, 1994  Moncton, NB.  "Computerization of Occupational Health and Safety Information" view brochure
A one day seminar on the effective use of existing and emerging computer technology in Occupational Health and Safety. Topics covered existing resources, a computerized industrial hygiene management system, the Internet, the development of uniform occupational exposure data and a database for hazardous material management.   Speakers included Lorraine Davison, CCOHS; Greg Rawls, Alumax; Karl Doerwald, Cantron Environmental; Diane Buhay, Saint John Public Library; and Robert Harvey, Newfoundland Envirotech Ltd.

October 21, 1993  New Brunswick.  "Health and Safety Auditing"
A speaker from A.D. Little and others presented on health and safety auditing tools and systems, ISO systems and practical experiences.

April 14 and 15, 1993  Dartmouth, NS.  "Ergonomic Issues for the 90's" view brochure
A two day workshop introducing participants to a wide range of ergonomic issues.  Topics included current legislation, tools and information sources, employee education prototypes, physical demands analysis, accommodation of workers and case studies.  The presenters were Carrie Taylor Van Velzer, Jonathon Tyson, Kelly Bang and John Kozey.

October 1, 1992 Fredericton, NB.  "Technical Session on Electric and Magnetic Fields"  view brochure
A one day session on the emerging issues of electric and magnetic fields.  Topics included the electromagnetic spectrum; interaction of fields with matter; the sources, health effects, measurement and control of radio frequency and ELF fields; exposure criteria and current issues and research trends.  The presenters were Dr. Maurice Bitran, Ontario Ministry of Labour; Timothy Hitchcock, IBM; and Dr. William Bailey, Bailey Research Associates.

April 28, 1992 Dartmouth, NS.  "Technical Session on Sampling Strategies" view brochure

A one day program discussing effective workplace sampling strategies.  The workshop encompassed the elements of hazard recognition, sample planning, the major components of an in-house occupational hygiene program and the elements of a validated sampling system.  Presented by Shelley Gray, Stewart Sampson and Jim Leblanc of the Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Dan Wurster of Michelin Tires and Robert Bove of Gillian Instruments.  

October 23, 1990  Moncton, NB.  "Technical Session on Indoor Air Quality"  view brochure

This seminar presented an overview of indoor air quality from the perspectives of both the building occupants and the building mangers.  The presentations and discussions dealt with identifying and characterizing IAQ complaints.  As well the seminar covered HVAC systems, air chemistry and microorganisms.  Presented by Shelley Gray, NS Department of Labour, Ted Nathanson, Public works Canada, and Dr. David Miller, Agriculture Canada.  

For more information contact us at webmaster@aihaaps.ca

You may also contact us by mail at the address below.  Be warned however that the mailbox is emptied somewhat infrequently (except on special occasions when we might actually expect there to be some mail in it).  Communication through this route can give new meaning to the term snail mail.

 

AIHA - Atlantic Provinces Section
P.O. Box 31081
Halifax, NS  B3K 5T9