Conference for the century

• By Mel Zimmerman, PhD
• May 01, 1999

Occupational and environmental health and safety professionals will gather in Canada's largest city next month for a world-class exhibition. The 1999 American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Exposition (AIHCE) will be held June 5-11 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, in Toronto, Ontario. Sponsored by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) and the American Conference of Governmental Hygienists (ACGIH), the exposition's theme, "Going Global," will be explored in symposia highlighting the challenges of the 21st century. Conference attendees can earn credit as they prepare for the future. The American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) will count attendance at the conference toward certification maintenance (CM) points for ABIH-certified industrial hygienists. Diplomates of the board will receive 0.5 CM points per half-day attendance. A registrant will receive 4.5 CM points for full-week attendance. Diplomates who lecture at professional development courses (PDCs) held on June 5-6 will receive one point per half day (3 hours). Poster presentations for a roundtable will be worth 0.5 CM points. Platform speakers will receive 0.25 CM point per 20-minute presentation. A copy of the conference registration receipt and hotel bill or approved expense report will be required by ABIH as proof of attendance. PDC attendees must also provide a copy of an AIHCE-issued certificate. The conference sessions will include case studies, roundtables, technical sessions and poster sessions. Topic categories will include symposia on: industrial hygiene general practice; occupational epidemiology; safety; sampling and laboratory analysis; air sampling instrument performance; laboratory health and safety; personal protective clothing and equipment; social concerns; bioaerosols; gas and vapor detection; law; toxicology; biological monitoring; contaminant control; hazard communication; lead; radiation; ventilation; biosafety and biotechnology; environmental issues; management and leadership; respiratory protection; ergonomics; indoor environmental quality, and more. Several technical tours will be made available to conference attendees for a $20 fee per tour. Participants should register early, as space is limited. On Monday, June 7, a tour of Spar Aerospace Limited in Brampton, Ontario will provide guests with a look at a leading Canadian advanced technology company. On Tuesday, June 8, a tour will be conducted at the IMAX Corporation in Mississauga, Ontario. On Wednesday, June 9, General Motors of Canada Ltd. Truck Plant in Oshawa, Ontario, will show groups several of the principal steps in its truck assembly process. International Occupational Health and Safety Performance Management, a special two-day symposium sponsored by the AIHA Management Committee, will be held June 5-6 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. It will highlight existing knowledge of occupational health and safety management, then focus on emerging performance measurement and management system approaches. Attendees will receive 2.0 CM points and 1.6 continuing education units. The conference's exposition will feature over 400 suppliers of health and safety products and services. A special software showcase will include computer applications, software and Web services. The exposition will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 7-8, and from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on June 9. Job hunters should also check out the Employment Services Center, set up in the convention center. Potential employers and employees can use this unique forum to post resumes and job openings and network with their industry peers. The AIHCE '99 Job Book, containing the conference's postings, demographics and a salary survey will also be made available. While the conference's headquarters is the Toronto Convention Centre, the Royal York Hotel will be the location of AIHA board and committee meetings, and the Westin Harbour Castle the ACGIH board and committee meetings. On-site conference registration will be at the convention center, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on June 4; 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. June 5-6; 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 7; 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 8-10 and 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on June 11. Hotel reservations should be made through the AIHCE '99 Hotel Reservation Bureau. First-time visitors to Toronto should be sure to venture outside their hotels for a look at this dynamic city, the 10th largest metropolitan area in North America. With the world's longest street (Yonge Street - about 1,200 miles) and the world's tallest building (the CN Tower, one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World), Toronto has also been designated as the world's most ethnically diverse city by the United Nations. For more information, call AIHCE at (202) 347-6672, or see AIHA's Web site at www.aiha.org. Photo courtesy of Tourism Toronto.

This article originally appeared in the 05/01/1999 issue of Environmental Protection.