Thursday, 20 October 2011 00:00
Mark Baumgardner
Always wanted to go to Alaska ?—here is your chance ! The Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals (AHMP) has announced that the location of its 2012 National Meeting will be in Anchorage !
AHMP normally rotates the location of its annual meetings. This year in was in the Central part of the country—Austin 2011. Next year it is scheduled to be in the western part of the country and a unique travel opportunity to Alaska was approved by the Board. Their research indicated that there many EHS & S professionals that need training but are unable to come to the lower 48 states for training. These include Oil exploration, pipe line and transportation professionals; the Coast Guard and other government personnel, laboratories and consultants, to name a few.
By the same token, many AHMP members would jump at the chance to go to Alaska. The meeting will be held at the Anchorage Hilton and room rates are only $159 per night (lower than the recent venues in Atlanta and Austin.) While airfare may be somewhat higher, this can be reduced by advanced bookings. If you present a paper, your registration fee is waived for the day you present it. NEOCHMM will most likely be offering some limited assistance to the Chapter delegate and perhaps other key persons attending the meeting.
Meeting details are still being planned, and will be announced on the AHMP website, but a number of pre meeting and post meeting technical and social excursions are going to be included. See you in Anchorage !
Tuesday, 06 September 2011 23:38
Mark Baumgardner
 Herbert Mausser, CHMM has been named a Fellow of the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management (IHMM). The Announcement was made by Elizabeth Pfeiffer, IHMM Board Chair, during the IHMM Report at the AHMP National Meeting in Austin, Texas.
Mausser has been a Certified Hazardous Material Manager (CHMM) since 2001. He served as President of the Northeast Ohio Chapter of Hazardous Material Managers
(NEOCHMM) in 2008. He has been very active in chapter activities for over 10 years, including setting up an annual networking social with related organizations such as AHIA, ASSE and AWMA. He has sponsored numerous chapter meetings at Cuyahoga Community College, including an annual EHMM ("Essentials") Course. He was named the Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals (AHMP) "Member of the Month" in 2008.
Mausser has served on numerous community wide Boards, including the Cuyahoga County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and Brownfields Committee. He has served IHMM on the Scoring Panel for the CHMM exam and on the Advisory Panel for the CHMP Credential.
Mausser has over 30 years experience as a corporate geologist, spill response manager and as an Instructor/ Environmental Health and Safety Technology Program Manager at Cuyahoga Community College. He was recently promoted to Assistant Dean, Honors & Experiential Learning Programs, at the College. Mausser holds a BS and MS in Geology from Case Western Reserve University.
Herb Mausser is described by his peers as having an infectious "can do" attitude and energy with those he works with and rarely takes credit for "making things go." He joins only 70 other Fellows in over
15,000 persons that have been certified as CHMM's.
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Friday, 02 September 2011 19:42
NEOCHMM Website Administrator
 At the Tuesday evening Awards Ceremony at the AHMP National Meeting in Austin, Mark Baumgardner received the “Champions of Excellence” Award from the Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals. The Champions of Excellence award is given to those CHMM’s which make significant contributions to the AHMP and the profession. Selection is based upon nine criteria and at least five must be met. The Champion of Excellence Award can be given annually for contributions during the past year.
Baumgardner has earned this award numerous times, including the past five consecutive years. Congratulations to Mark !
Starting in 2011 (for Awards given at the 2012 meeting), the awards criteria have changed slightly. All NEOCHMM members interested in an award, are urged to check these criteria to make sure you meet them in 2011. The Chapter can then nominate you for an award by April 30, 2012.
Last Updated on Friday, 07 October 2011 15:18
Wednesday, 03 August 2011 21:41
Aaron Sommer
NEOCHMM members attending the July 28, 2011 meeting were enlighten by Valerie Madarasz’s, Business Development Manager with CSA Standards, for her presentation on the professions developing and verifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories, or “counting carbon”, and the experience and credentials they possess . Developing GHG emission inventories is relatively new and there are many GHG inventory protocols currently used throughout North America and Europe. The issue is further compounded by the fact the United States does not currently have federal legislation mandating GHG inventories. However, many U.S. companies have elected to voluntarily count their carbon emissions and others have requested it of their suppliers. For instance Walmart requested their vendors to provide carbon counting details concerning home appliances sold in their stores. Additionally, certain non-federal jurisdictions such as the State of California have created regulations mandating carbon counting. The questions raised by Ms. Madarasz are who should be conducting carbon counting for an organization, who should be auditing or “verifying” carbon counting, and are the individuals conducting these tasks qualified to count carbon and to audit carbon counting?
A CSA Standards survey indicated the following professionals are being tasked with carbon counting within their organizations: Environmental Health & Safety, Accounting, Human Resources, Engineering, IT, and various other professions. Of these organizations it could be the interns or senior staff members that are carbon counting. Some organizations have been relying on consultants to help navigate through GHG protocols.
As a result of the various GHG protocols, pending regulations, and various professionals conducting the work, carbon counting is becoming a new profession. In becoming a new profession CSA Standards recognized the need to identify qualified professionals and as a result created two new credentials in accordance with ISO17024. The two certifications CSA Standards developed include: Greenhouse Gas Inventory Quantifier for professionals developing a GHG inventory, and Greenhouse Gas Verifier for professionals auditing GHG inventories. These certifications provide companies, as well as governments, a mechanism for identifying employees and consultants with the proper experience and knowledge to be able to develop and audit GHG inventories. Additional information concerning these certifications may be found online at:
( http://www.csa-america.org/personnel_certification/ghgquantifier_certification/)
( http://www.csa-america.org/personnel_certification/ghg_verifier/)
Last Updated on Tuesday, 06 December 2011 20:20
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Friday, 02 September 2011 13:59
Mark Baumgardner
AHMP is looking for chapter authors, contributors and reviewers for the Third Edition of the Hazardous Materials Management Desk Reference. The Third Edition will be a substantial revision of the Second Edition published in 2005. This Third Edition is expected to be available in about 1 to 1 ½ years.
Chapters will be reoriented in a more logical format and designed to be made available on line. This format will eventually allow easier and more frequent updating as the science, technology and regulations change. It also will allow students that studying for the CHMM exam to download specific chapters or information for review. CHMM’s should have faster reference to specific subject matter for review.
Now is the time to show off your technical expertise, to get published and to support the CHMM credential and the AHMP. Those acting as authors, contributors or reviewers will be eligible for recertification points.
To volunteer your services, please contact Al Arnofsky, CHMM of the New Jersey Chapter or Charles Kubler of the North Star Chapter. Al can be reached at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or at (973) 927-0346 and Charley at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or at(952) 912-5803.
Last Updated on Friday, 02 September 2011 19:26
Wednesday, 26 October 2011 19:56
Erik Shamberger
Future demand for occupational health and safety services will outpace the number of OHS professionals, according to a recently released NIOSH-commissioned survey. The survey, which was commissioned in 2008 and conducted by Westat, an independent research firm, suggests that as OHS professionals retire and new positions are created, the number of individuals with the necessary training, skills and experience to provide occupational health and safety services is declining.
According to the survey, only about 12,000 new graduates from occupational health and safety programs are expected to be available to fill nearly 25,000 positions within the industry. Hiring estimates include new or replacement jobs—some of which may be filled by individuals without occupational health and safety training.
"The results of this NIOSH-commissioned survey suggest a troubling shortfall of professional expertise at a time when such services are most needed,” NIOSH Director John Howard, MD, stated in an Oct. 20 NIOSH Update. “The need for an adequate supply of trained professionals is particularly great as we anticipate that growing numbers of older professionals will retire over the next decade, and as new technologies continue to enter the workplace, requiring specialized skills and knowledge.”
The survey notes that contributing factors to the decline in the number of future OHS professionals include the reduction in funding for OHS degree programs that are not funded through NIOSH, students’ lack of knowledge about these programs, and insufficient or limited financial aid. In addition, the survey found that employers would like new graduates to have training in other related areas, such as leadership and communication.
Learn more about the “National Assessment of the Occupational Safety and Health Workforce” survey.
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