The American Society of Safety Engineers
(ASSE) Foundation has announced
the names of 20 recipients of the Professional
Development Grant Program given
to occupational safety and health practitioners
to help them advance in their career.
The ASSE Foundation is awarding
$13,500 in professional development grants
this year. The grant program provides assistance
to safety professionals as they advance
their occupational safety, health and
environmental careers through certification
study courses, professional development
seminars or symposiums, educational conferences
and college coursework.
The ASSE Foundation established a new
grant program this year, the Terrance M.
Hennessy Professional Development Grant.
The first ever recipients of this grant are
Shaman Ahuja of Auburn, AL; Michael
Coleman of Springdale, AR; and Elizabeth
C. Gabbett of Atlanta, GA. Ahuja, Research
Assistant at Auburn University, was
awarded $500 for Certified Safety Professional
(CSP) study guides.
Coleman, safety manager at Rockline Industries,
received $650 to help cover registration
fee for the ASSE annual Professional
Development Conference (PDC) held in
San Antonio this June. Gabbett, safety director
at Hogan Construction Group, was
awarded $850 for the CSP exam preparation
workshop and CSP exam fee.
Established in honor and memory of
ASSE Past-President Thomas Reilly and his
wife, Dorothy, the recipients of the Thomas
& Dorothy Reilly Professional Development
Grant are Brenda McCracken of Joliet, IL
and Edward S. Sowers, Jr. of Apopka, FL.
McCracken, adjunct faculty at Joliet Junior
College, was awarded $500 for the Associated
Safety Professional (ASP) exam preparation
workshop. Independent loss control
consultant, Sowers, received $500 for the
CSP exam and application fees.
The Medina Professional Development
Grant, established by ASSE member Rixio
Medina, CSP, and his wife Alejandra of
Houston, TX, has four recipients this year:
Byron Curtis of White, SD, and Cynthia
King, ASP, CET, of Henderson, CO, each
awarded $750 for the Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST) exam preparation
workshop and application fee; Peti Janine
Singletary of Spring, TX, awarded
$850 for the CHST workshop and application
fee; and Nick Nichols, Ph. D, of Durant,
OK, awarded $650 for registration to
ASSE’s PDC.
Curtis currently serves as a jobsite safety
specialist for Daktronics, Inc. King serves
as safety & training specialist for the City
of Aurora – Aurora Water, and Singletary
is a safety manager at GSE Lining Technology,
Inc. Dr. Nichols is an associate professor
at Southeastern Oklahoma State
University.
The Texas Safety Foundation Professional
Development Grant will be received
by: health & safety specialist at Rutgers University, Shaundree Davis of Bordentown,
NJ, awarded $1,000 for the ASP and CSP
exam preparation workshops; Jason Kawa
of Philadelphia, PA, safety director at P.
Agnes, Inc., awarded $500 for the CSP
exam preparation course; Vindi Minne of
Elizabeth, CO, safety coordinator at Highlands
Ranch Metro District, awarded $500 for the ASP exam preparation course; and
Crystal D. Turner of White Plaines, NY,
construction management EHS at Bidwell
Environmental LLC, awarded $500 for the
CHSET certification fee and study guides.
The seven recipients of the Delmar E.
Tally Professional Development Grant,
established by ASSE members Del and
Betty Tally of Austin, TX, include: Vincent
Bernd, ASP of Tamarac, FL,
awarded $1,000 for the CSP preparation
workshop and examination fee; Brian
Cook, CSP of Lakeland, FL, awarded
$650 for the ASSE PDC registration fee;
Jason Dean, CSP, of St. Louis, MO,
awarded $700 for college tuition; Kristopher
D. Johnson of Woodbury, MN,
awarded $1,000 for the ASP preparation
workshop and math review course;
Danny C. K. Lee of Holliston, MA,
awarded $500 for the ASP application fee
and study guide; Brian Maynard of Surfside
Beach, SC, awarded $500 for ASP
preparation workshop; and Simone A. Vu
of Los Angeles, CA, awarded $650 for
ASSE PDC registration.
Bernd serves as a safety specialist for the City of Tamarac; Cook is a safety & health
technical manager at Walt Disney Company;
Dean is a field safety specialist at Westaff; Johnson serves as health, environmental
and safety professional at Marathon
Petroleum Company; Lee serves as regional
loss control manager at AIM Mutual Insurance;
Maynard is a Hazmat safety manager
at DynCorp International; and Vu serves as
health & safety manager at AMVAC
Chemical.
KC Pro Acquires Jackson Products
Kimberly-Clark Corp. has acquired
Jackson Products, Inc., a privately held
safety products company headquartered
in Fenton, MO.
Jackson Products, Inc., more commonly
known within the industry as
Jackson Safety, is a leading provider of
welding safety products, personal protective
equipment and work zone safety
products.
“The acquisition of Jackson Safety is
consistent with our global business plan
strategy to accelerate growth of high-margin
workplace solutions,” said Jan Spencer, president of Kimberly-Clark Professional.
“Jackson Safety brings a wealth
of strengths to Kimberly-Clark’s Professional
business, including an outstanding
product portfolio and a highly experienced
sales force. It enables us to focus
resources more effectively by increasing
sales and marketing manpower to support
growth in safety while at the same
time dedicating other teams that will help
us sustain our leadership position and
grow our traditional washroom and wiper
businesses.”
Tom Burns, current president and CEO
of Jackson Safety said, “Jackson Safety is
an excellent fit with Kimberly-Clark Professional,
as our products are complementary
to Kimberly-Clark’s current
safety business. I’m excited about this
combination because it improves our
prospects for growth in the U.S., Europe
and emerging markets around the world.”
Burns will continue to lead this business
as a division of Kimberly-Clark
Professional. Jackson Safety was
founded in 1933 and has approximately
400 employees.
Zoll Initiates
Recall of AED Plus
ZOLL Medical Corp., a manufacturer of
resuscitation devices and related software
solutions, has initiated a voluntary worldwide
field corrective action on its ZOLL
AED Plus automated external defibrillator.
The company has determined that some
batteries do not work properly when used
with AED Plus defibrillators manufactured
prior to Feb. 12, 2009 (serial numbers below
X_ _ _200000).
In addition, the version of the AED Plus
self-test software installed in these devices
does not adequately detect defective batteries.
As a result of these two issues, the AED
Plus defibrillator may fail to deliver defibrillation
shocks during treatment of sudden
cardiac arrest. The Company’s investigation
is not complete at this time.
This corrective action applies to approximately
180,000 units. Devices installed for
at least three years are at the highest risk, a
population of approximately 80,000. Although
this issue was identified through customer
reports from non-clinical testing, there
has been one clinical event reported in
which a defibrillation shock was not delivered, the patient subsequently died, and an
evaluation of the device found that the batteries
experienced the identified problem.
At this time ZOLL has reviewed all reported
patient events and found up to three
additional cases in which a shock was not
delivered to a patient and the battery may
have experienced the identified problem.
The company was informed that in one of
the cases the patient subsequently died.
The required correction is available
in the form of a software update, which
can be easily downloaded from the company’s
web site and installed by the
user. This new software, which is included
in current shipments of the AED
Plus, can detect this battery defect condition
if it occurs within the maximum
five-year standby lifetime, and alert the
user to install fresh batteries.
Working with its distributors, ZOLL began
notifying customers with affected devices
on February 12th, advising the
immediate replacement of batteries on a
three-year schedule until their device software
can be updated. There is no need to remove
devices from service pending the corrective
action.
More information on this corrective action,
including instructions for downloading software
and ordering replacement batteries is
available at http://www.zollaedplusbatteryhelp.
com/. Customers can also call ZOLL
Technical Support at 1 (800) 348-9011 or
email Tservice_AED@zoll.com.
Although the root cause investigation is
not fully complete, it appears that high internal
resistance can develop in some batteries
after several years in standby mode.
It is possible that this can lengthen charging
time beyond specified and clinically acceptable
limits, resulting in the failure of the
AED Plus to deliver a defibrillation shock. It
is difficult to predict which batteries may
develop this condition, and the affected devices’
self-test does not detect this condition.
The FDA has been notified of this
problem and is expected to classify it as a
recall.
This action does not apply to AED Plus
devices manufactured after February 12,
2009 (serial numbers above X_ _ _200000).
NIOSH Reiterates Guidance
on Workplace Nanotech Exposure
The National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently
issued an updated and expanded
edition of its document, “Approaches
to Safe Nanotechnology.” The updated
document reiterates NIOSH’s standing
interim recommendation that employers
take prudent measures to control
occupational exposures in the manufacture
and industrial use of engineered
nanomaterials, as research
advances for determining if such materials
pose work-related health and
safety risks.
The new document, which is available
at www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2009-
125/, reflects new scientific findings
from ongoing research that have been
published in the peer-reviewed scientific
literature since the last revised
draft version of “Approaches” was issued
in 2006. These include findings
from NIOSH’s own strategic research
program, as well as research by scientific
partners from the U.S. and abroad.
The revised document: Includes an expanded section on risk
management, with a detailed discussion
of factors that may affect occupational
exposure to engineered nanomaterials,
and expanded interim recommendations
for controlling work-related exposures.
Expands the discussion of exposure
assessment and characterization for engineered nanomaterials, including a
new summary table of instruments and
measurement methods used in the evaluation
of nanomaterial exposures.
Is issued as a NIOSH numbered document,
so that it can be cited more easily
as a resource in peer-reviewed scientific
publications. The original draft version
in 2004 and the previous revised draft
edition in 2006 were web-based electronic
documents that did not have a formal
NIOSH publication number.
“Health and safety practitioners and
business observers have agreed that robust
scientific research and authoritative,
science-based recommendations
are vital for the responsible development
and growth of nanotechnology,” said NIOSH Acting Director Christine
M. Branche, Ph.D. “NIOSH is pleased
to issue the updated ‘Approaches to
Safe Nanotechnology’ to provide ongoing
interim guidance, reflect the astonishing
advance of complex research in
this area, and engage public review and
comment.”
More information about NIOSH’s
strategic research program on the occupational
health and safety implications
and applications of nanotechnology can
be found at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/
nanotech/.
NIOSH’s collaborative research addresses
critical gaps in information
needed for risk assessment in this
emerging field.
These include current gaps in information
on ways in which workers may
be exposed, ways for characterizing and
measuring exposures, and potential effects
of exposure. NIOSH’s research
and interim recommendations have
been widely cited in the U.S. and
abroad.
