NFPA Board Appoints New Chair, Two to Standards Council

The Board of Directors of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has appointed new members Danny McDaniel of Williamsburg, VA, and Dr. Jim Milke of Columbia, MD, to the Association’s Standards Council.

The Board also appointed Jim Pauley of Lexington, KY as the new chair of the council.

McDaniel is the director of the Dept. of Security, Safety & Transportation at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He has been an NFPA technical committee member since 1980 and served as chair of the NFPA Technical Committee on Cultural Resources from 1991-2001.

He has more than 30 years of experience in safety and security and has previously held positions as safety inspector and manager at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Milke is an associate professor and associate chair in the fire protection-engineering department at the University of Maryland. He has been a technical committee member since 1982 and served as chair for the NFPA Technical Committee on Smoke Management Systems from 1997-2006.

For more than 25 years, Milke has held teaching positions at the University of Maryland, where he earned a Doctor of Philosophy in 1991. He currently serves as vice president for the Society of Fire Protection Engineers and is Associate Editor of Fire Technology.

Pauley, the new chair of the Council, is vice-president of industry and government relations at Schneider Electric/Square D Co. He has been a code-making panel member since 1993 and was first appointed as a member of the Standards Council in 2000.

Pauley serves on NEC Code-Making Panel 2 and the Building Systems Technical Committee, and has served as a member of the National Electrical Code (NEC) Technical Correlating Committee.

Pauley is chair of NFPA’s Electrical Section and serves on the Correlating Committee on the Electrical Installation Codes of North America. Currently, he is serving as vice-chairman and officer for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), serves on the ANSI National Policy Committee, and is past chairman of the ANSI Executive Standards Council.

The duties of the NFPA Standards Council include supervising activities related to NFPA codes and standards development, acting as administer of rules and regulations, and serving as an appeals body.

Zink Employees Work 5 Million Hours with No Serious Injuries

Employees at John Zink Co., LLC, a manufacturer of advanced combustion systems, have worked more than 5 million hours and 1,090 consecutive days without an injury resulting in time away from work.

“John Zink Company employees are clearly focused on maintaining a safe work environment,” said Scott Taylor, vice-president of operations. “This achievement is a testament to their commitment to safety performance and practices.”

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration data indicate that the manufacturing industry averages 2.3 lost time injuries per 200,000 hours worked. John Zink employs more than 800 people at its Tulsa facility who work more than 1.7 million hours annually.

John Zink’s Tulsa facility has an OSHA Voluntary Protection Program Super Star site designation. OSHA VPP recognizes facilities with industry-leading safety performance as verified by an extensive audit.

In 2006, John Zink Company was recognized by Oklahoma’s Worker Safety Policy Council with the Safety Culture Award of Excellence as well as the Oklahoma Safety Council’s Governor’s Pinnacle Award for its remarkable results in workplace safety.

John Zink Co., a subsidiary of the Koch Chemical Technology Group, manufactures flares, process burners, duct burners, thermal oxidizers and vapor control systems.

ACHMM Names VP to Replace Kemp

Carol J. Carollo, CHMM, a 30-year environmental professional from Lemoore, CA, has been appointed to the Academy of Certified Hazardous Materials Managers (ACHMM) Board of Directors.

Carollo takes over the Board position previously held by Harry S. Kemp, CHMM, who was elected vice president of ACHMM by the membership in the fall and assumed his new post January 1st. She earned her Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) accreditation in 1992 and has been active in ACHMM’s CyberChapter since 2004.

She served as the virtual chapter’s president last year, and also was vice president and chair of its Professional Development Committee.

Professionally, Carollo manages environmental, health and safety (EHS) compliance and environmental permitting programs at Chemical Waste Management’s Kettleman Hills, CA hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility.

She supervises the EHS records staff and supports the operations, maintenance and engineering staff in balancing its need to maintain and improve operations with the need to meet EHS requirements.

Carollo also assists in the environmental planning process for changes and expansions at the facility, reviews NEPA/CEQA documents for submittal to the local planning department and manages the facility’s endangered species protection program.

Carollo earned a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from California State University in Fresno.

ACHMM’s 2008-2009 Board of Directors comprises five executive committee members and six national directors.

The ACHMM Executive Committee members are Michael J. Mandracchia, CHMM, president; Harry Kemp, vice president/president-elect; Elise Allen-Frankenfield, CHMM, secretary; W. Scott Butterfield, CHMM, treasurer; and Laureen McMurray Boyle, CHMM, immediate past president.

In addition to Carol Carollo, the organization’s directors are Zehra Schneider Graham, CHMM, business development director; Donna Ratkowski, CHMM, member services director; Robert F. Fletcher Jr., CHMM, government relations director; and directors at large Karen Rider, CHMM; Daniel Snyder, CHMM, M.Ed., CSP, SHSP, CET; and John Wolf, CHMM.

ACHMM is made up of more than 65 chapters in 37 states and India, and more than 4,000 credentialed hazardous materials managers throughout the world.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) has sent a letter to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg expressing its opposition to a bill to amend the city’s administrative code in relation to permits for atmospheric biological, chemical, and radiological detectors.

AIHA says it has been closely following the introduction and debate over a bill before the New York City Council known as “Int. No. 650.”

“We are aware the bill was “laid on the table” at the Council hearing on January 8th, but there is strong support from you and others to reconsider this bill at a future hearing,” wrote AIHA President Donald J. Hart, PhD, CIH. “Because of this, we feel it is of the utmost urgency that we contact you directly to again express our opposition to the bill.”

AIHA said it understands the desire of the City of New York to reduce the number of premature reactions to direct reading instruments by untrained individuals.

However, there are numerous problems with enacting legislation of this magnitude without enlisting the input and expertise of those who are currently qualified and have the experience of using these monitoring devises for years.

AIHA gave the following examples of its concerns in the letter:

• The definition of biological agent includes all biological entities. Existing science does not provide us with numbers that can be used to determine good or bad exposure. It depends on the specific conditions of the site, the types of organisms, the comparable concentration of the organisms, etc.

• The definition of detectors is also designed so liberally that each homeowner in the City will need to file for a permit for smoke detectors. Under the law, it determines a radioactive substance as any substance that “emits ionizing radiation including alpha, beta, gamma and/or neutron radiation.” Nearly all detectors on the market today are sourced with a small radioisotope.

• The permit application requires emergency response plans for use with the detectors. There is no way to determine what emergency plan could possibly beneeded for situations that have not yet arisen.

• All exceeded limits must be reported to the NYPD. How would this data be evaluated, responded to and recorded?

Perhaps more importantly, what will occur when the reviewer comes to a different conclusion than the site professional? Will the judgment of a seasoned exposure assessment scientist be disregarded in deference to the judgment of some administrator?

As you can see, we feel this legislation creates more concerns than the problem it addresses. Frankly, we are not convinced that there is a problem.

Perhaps rather than enacting a new law to alleviate potential fear, it may be more advisable to require all entities offering professional consulting in this arena to have properly credentialed consultants overseeing the evaluations. Designations such as a Certified Industrial Hygienist, Qualified Environmental Professional or Certified Hazardous Material Manager are a few examples.

This will insure that the individuals responsible for the final interpretation of data are qualified to make those decisions, and reduce the occurrences of untrained individuals creating unnecessary hysteria.

AIHA has assisted the City of New York in the past. Following 9/11, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration contacted AIHA to enlist volunteers to assist with air quality monitoring in businesses surrounding ground zero. AIHA submitted a list of Certified Industrial Hygienists to provide these services, when requested, at no charge.

In closing the letter, Hart said, “the AIHA is not opposed to the City of New York enacting legislation that would better protect its citizens. On the contrary, this is the type of legislation we support.

However, we ask that perhaps you step back for a moment to consider all of the potential problems created by enacting such a law with limited input from the professionals who provide these services on a daily basis.

“AIHA asks that you withhold future action on this legislation, invite affected stakeholders, i.e., citizens, law enforcement, government officials, professionals in health and safety, and others to begin a dialogue that will produce a law that protects the health and safety of citizens through the combined resources of experts in all fields. AIHA offers its assistance in this endeavor in any way possible.”

What are the human health and environmental risks and benefits of nanoscale chemical products? That’s what EPA wants to find out with its just-announced Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program (NMSP).

Engineered nanoscale materials range in size from 1-100 nanometers (nm), and may have very different properties than the same materials at a larger scale.

“This program will help strengthen the scientific understanding of nanoscale materials and allow the EPA to more quickly assemble the information needed to ensure appropriate oversight of the products of this promising technology,” said Jim Gulliford, EPA’s assistant administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. “Participation in this program can help assure the responsible development, use, and acceptance of these materials in the marketplace.”

The program calls on manufacturers, importers, processors, and users of engineered nanoscale materials to report to EPA key information about these materials within six months. The agency will evaluate the information to help ensure the safe manufacture and use of these nanoscale materials.

EPA will also work with manufacturers, importers, processors and users of nanoscale materials to develop test data to provide a scientific basis for assessing the hazards, exposures, and risks of nanoscale materials. The NMSP will complement and support EPA’s new and existing chemical programs under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

The NMSP includes, but is not limited to, existing chemical nanoscale materials manufactured or imported for commercial purposes as defined by TSCA.

EPA encourages manufacturers and importers of new chemical nanoscale materials, which are subject to TSCA reporting requirements prior to manufacture, as well as researchers to consider reporting under the NMSP.

The NMSP will help provide a firmer, scientific foundation for regulatory decisions by encouraging the development of key scientific information and use of risk management practices in developing and commercializing nanoscale materials.

For more information about Nanotechnology under Toxic Substances Control, go to http://epa.gov/oppt/nano.

National Safety Council President and CEO Alan McMillan has announced his retirement, effective Feb. 15.

McMillan has served the National Safety Council for more than 15 years. Initially a member of the Council’s Board of Directors, McMillan was named NSC Executive Vice President in 1995 and elected President and CEO in 2001.

“Every day I am humbled by the commitment of Council staff, our board leadership, and the volunteer spirit of the more than 50,000 companies, unions and government agencies that make up our membership,” McMillan said. “I leave knowing America is safer than ever before because of their efforts.”

McMillan’s career includes more than 42 years in government and private sector safety and health, including service with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), and the Employment Standards Administration (ESA).

At OSHA, McMillan served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, where he was responsible for day-to-day OSHA operations. As Acting Assistant Secretary for MSHA, he was responsible for the safety and health of America’s miners. McMillan also served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment Standards with responsibility for the Wage and Hour Administration, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance, and the Office of Worker Compensation Programs.

In 1990, McMillan was honored with the Presidential Award for Distinguished Executive Service, the highest award given to career executives by the president. McMillan is also a former Deputy Director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Environmental, Safety, Health and Quality programs.