RHP Risk Management is proud to have members of our Industrial Hygiene staff will be presenting at AIHA Connect 2025 in Kansas City, MO next week! Our sessions will cover a range of critical topics within the industrial hygiene and occupational health industry.
PDC 106: Creating an Exposure Assessment System Built on Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches
Instructors: Frank Pagone, PhD, CIH (RHP Risk Management, Inc.); Kent Candee, MS, CIH, CSP (Los Alamos National Laboratory); Dr. William Bullock, CIH, CSP (Environmental & Industrial Hygiene Services, LLC); Miriam Koesterich, MS, CIH, CSP (BSI);
Date & Time: Saturday, May 17 at 8:00 AM
Location: Room 2103 A
RHP’s Dr. Frank Pagone along with Kent Candee, Dr. William Bullock, and Miriam Koesterich will instruct attendees on creating comprehensive exposure assessment systems, crucial to industrial and occupational hygiene. The session will cover:
- Core components of an exposure assessment system
- Determining appropriate exposure limits (OELs)
- Identifying similar exposure groups (SEGs)
- Semi-quantitative and algorithmic exposure evaluation techniques
- Application of banding strategies
- Use of qualitative and quantitative exposure assessment (QLEA & QNEA)
- Exposure decision-making and reassessment protocols
Learning Outcomes: Participants will gain practical skills to classify SEGs, analyze hazard data, apply prioritization methodologies, and interpret exposure profiles.
Instructors: Ben Heckman, MPH, CIH (RHP Risk Management, Inc.); Alan Rossner, PhD, CIH (Clarkson University); Ryan LeBouf (CDC/NIOSH); Julie Roth (Baker Hughes Company); Dr. Pamela Williams, MS, ScD, CIH (E Risk Sciences LLP)
Date & Time: Sunday, May 18 at 8:00 AM
Location: Room 2504 A
RHP’s Ben Heckman, along with Alan Rossner, Ryan LeBouf, Julie Roth, and Dr. Pamela Williams will teach attendees how to utilize IH Mod 2.0, a powerful exposure modeling tool. Topics include:
- Overview of IH Mod 2.0’s model types and Excel-based interface
- Selecting models for different exposure scenarios
- Deterministic vs. probabilistic modeling
- Running Monte Carlo simulations to quantify uncertainty
- Comparing modeled vs. measured exposure data
Learning Outcomes: Participants will leave equipped to use modeling in assessments, conduct uncertainty analyses, and understand when to apply modeling in place of sampling.
AIHA Defining the Science Initiative – Success Stories and Beyond
Instructors: Frank Pagone, PhD, CIH (RHP Risk Management, Inc.); Michele Twilley (AIHA)
Date & Time: Monday, May 19 at 9:55 AM
Location: Exhibit Hall D, Aisle 1200
RHP’s Dr. Frank Pagone will be joined by Michele Twilley to discuss the AIHA Advancing the Science and Practice Defining the Science (DTS) Initiative and the role of the DTS-Advisory Group, highlight important outcomes of the DTS Initiative and lessons learned, and present what the DTS-AG has planned for immediate future and how AIHA and ACGIH members and allied stakeholders can participate and support the DTS Initiative.
Presenters will highlight:
- DTS’s role in advancing research-to-practice implementation
- Impactful projects such as the Heat Stress App and State of the Art vs. Practice report
- Opportunities for members to contribute research ideas
The session underscores how collaborative innovation supports the field’s evolution.
Presenter: Rod Harvey, CIH, CSP, CHMM, PE (RHP Risk Management, Inc.); Amanda Cote, CIH, CSP (Microsoft); Santiago Cepeda (Chevron)
Date & Time: Tuesday, May 20 at 10:00 AM
Location: Room 3501 A
RHP’s Rod Harvey, along with Amanda Cote and Santiago Cepeda will present findings from a physiological study testing OSHA’s proposed heat acclimatization schedule. Key discussion points include:
- Measuring core body temperature and heart rate over five days of increasing exposure
- Comparing acclimatized vs. non-acclimatized responses
- Rate of physiological changes in early exposure periods
Objective: Provide data-backed insights into the effectiveness of OSHA’s schedule and highlight physiological variability between individuals.
The Impact of the Grimace Exercise During Quantitative Respirator Fit Testing
Presenter: Allison Persing, MS, CIH (RHP Risk Management, Inc.) and Jack Wachowski, MS
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 21 at 2:15 PM
Location: Room 3501 H
RHP’s Allison Persing and Jack Wachowski session will examine the role of the grimace exercise in respirator fit testing. Key focus areas include:
- Fit test protocols approved by OSHA in 2019
- Comparison between tests with and without the grimace
- Impact of grimacing on respirator seal and resealing
- Face size variability using the NIOSH bivariate panel
Objectives: Understand whether inclusion of the grimace affects fit test agreement and implications for real-world respirator use