OHSI 26th Annual Conference
"Made to Measure"
Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th March 2017

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CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

08.30	Registration
09.00	Conference Opening Dr Sharon McGuinness, Health & Safety Authority
09.10	Annual Tom O' Connor Lecture: Testing compliance with exposure limits: the new revision of European Standard EN 689 Dr. Trevor Ogden The revised standard gives guidance on how many exposures should be measured, how far below the OEL they must be to give confidence of compliance. The revised standard is due to be published early next year.
09.50	Understanding how OELs, DNELs and Risk Assessments from Different Legislative Regimes on Chemicals Can Work Together Bridget Ginnity It can be a struggle to combine the legislative requirements regarding the use of chemicals under REACH and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act. This presentation will outline of the current status and interim guidance regarding limit values - OELs, DNELs and their role in risk assessment and control measures. It will provide pragmatic advice and outline the steps underway to increase cohesion between the legislative regimes.
10.35	Tea/Coffee Break
11.00	Noise Induced Hearing Loss Peter Wilson The current cost of NIHL claims is unsustainable and demonstrates that the current approaches to risk management are not fit for purpose. This presentation summarises a radical new breed of risk assessment and management techniques that dramatically improve the process and dramatically reduce NIHL risk. The techniques include free Digital Noise Assessment templates and the use of smartphones and tablets to provide instant best practice feedback in the workplace.
11.40	Tackling Health in Construction Darren Arkins The HSA's strategy for the period from 2016 to 2018 includes a new direction in terms of workplace health. Darren will discuss recent initiatives taken by the HSA to tackle health issues in construction and actions to address exposure to silica and other construction based dusts.
12.20	Exhibitor Presentations Meet the exhibitors.
13.00	LUNCH & EXHIBITS
14.15	OHSI AGM
14.30	A Primer on Nanotechnology, Nanoparticles and their Measurement Dr Steve Hankin Nanotechnology and the assessment of potential risks presents new challenges and opportunities for businesses and the occupational hygienist needs to be well-informed on best practices and the limitations of conventional techniques for nanoscale particles. This presentation highlights who is utilising nanotechnology, the regulatory requirements, definitions & guidance, sampling and measurement techniques and the Standards to follow.
15.10	Legislative updates on REACH and CLP. Caroline Walsh, HSA Legislative updates on REACH and CLP. Caroline Walsh, HSA The presentation will discuss the latest updates on REACH and CLP including the 2018 registration deadline, 10 years of REACH, improved supports for downstream users and an overview of the latest ATPs to REACH and CLP, the associated guidance, support and the help available.
15.50	Occupational exposures to plant protection products among amenity horticulturists Alison Connolly European Union Directive 2009/128/EC has been implemented to ensure the safe and sustainable use of pesticides. Approximately 2.5 billion tonnes of pesticides are used annually and are linked to adverse health effects. A biomonitoring pilot study was conducted in 2015 among amenity horticulturists using pesticides. The work completed on this project including biological monitoring protocols, data collection, results and future research is presented here.
16.10	Conference Close. Dr Eoin Collins OHSI Hon. Pres.

SPEAKERS

Dr Trevor Ogden worked for the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh, and then for 19 years for the British Health and Safety Executive, mainly on dust problems. He chaired the British WATCH committee, on exposure limits and other controls, for three years, and was Chief Editor of Annals of Occupational Hygiene from 1997 to 2012. He is British representative (nominated by BOHS) on the European Standards (CEN) working group revising EN 689, which he is speaking about at this conference.

Bridget Ginnity is a chemist and occupational hygienist and has worked in ECHA, in private consultancy and in multinational corporations. In ECHA, Bridget was responsible for supporting downstream users under REACH and for aspects relating to chemical safety assessments and exposure scenarios. As owner/director of ANV Technology, she provided occupational hygiene consultancy for over 15 years, specialising in chemicals and noise. She is a chartered member of BOHS and holds degrees in chemistry and in manufacturing engineering and postgraduate diplomas in occupational hygiene and in acoustics.

Peter Wilson is Technical Director at INVC. An engineering background plus 30 years of experience have given Peter a very pragmatic approach to noise and vibration. Both he and the INVC have acquired a considerable reputation for developing innovative assessment and noise and vibration control techniques across a wide range of applications and industries. He developed the IOSH competency training courses in both noise and vibration and is in demand as a highly entertaining (and sometimes controversial) speaker on these traditionally dry and technical subjects.

Darren Arkins is a senior inspector with the Health and Safety Authority since 2008, and is a council member of OHSI. Darren heads up the Occupational Hygiene Unit (OHU) in the Chemical Business Services Division of the Authority. The Unit has responsibility for enforcement and administration of legislation in relation to asbestos, chemical agents, carcinogens and biological agents, including REACH and CLP.

Dr Steve Hankin is Director of Analytical Division and the SAFENANO unit at the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh, UK. He is a Chartered Chemist with BSc and PhD degrees in Chemistry and postgraduate diplomas in Medical Toxicology and Epidemiology. After research posts in Ottawa and Glasgow, he led activities concerning surveillance, control and response to hazardous materials exposures at Health Protection Scotland before moving to the IOM in 2007, where he leads a team of scientists providing research and consultancy services in chemical, mineralogical and particle analysis, exposure measurement, toxicology and risk assessment.

Alison Connolly obtained her BSc in Health and Safety Systems from the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2014. Alison is currently completing her PhD research project on 'Occupational exposures to plant protection products among amenity horticulturists' in the School of Physics, NUI Galway.

Caroline Walsh joined the HSA in 2001. She works in the Chemicals and Prevention Division where she manages the HSA's Chemicals Helpdesk and represents Ireland at the ECHA HelpNet Steering group for CLP. She leads on CLP policy and is currently working on the next legislative update to CLP, the review of the ECHA labelling and packaging guidance, CLP FAQs. For 2017 she will be involved in the ECHA train the trainers for the classification of mixtures. She provides technical support to her compliance Colleagues, Government Departments and Agencies involved in the REACH and CLP processes at home and abroad .