Torey Nalbone Elected Chair Of American Board Of Industrial Hygiene

Leads New Slate of ABIH Directors

Lansing, MI - J. Torey Nalbone, PhD, CIH, an Associate Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of the University of Texas at Tyler, has been elected Chair of the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH).

ABIH is the certifying organization for Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIH). He has served on the Board since March 2008. He holds a doctorate in Interdisciplinary Engineering from Texas A&M University and has been a practicing industrial hygienist for over 25 years. Dr. Nalbone has previously served as Secretary/Treasurer on the Academy of Industrial Hygiene and has been active on technical committees of both the American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA).

Nalbone is replacing Scott E. Merkle, CIH, who is rotating off the Board of Directors after four years of service, two years as Board Chair.

Nalbone will lead a slate of ABIH Directors that includes a new Public Member, three new CIH Directors, and six returning CIH Directors. The new Board will be officially installed at the conclusion of the February 2010 Board meeting. Each CIH Director serves a four-year term.

The new Public Member is Mr. Charles Laszewski, Communications Director for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), a non-profit corporation that assists in the legal defense/prosecution of environmental standards and compliance agency obligations.

The three new CIH Directors include:

• Kimberly Castillon, CIH, Assistant Area Director for the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration, Syracuse Area office. She has a BS in Biology from Missouri Southern State University. Castillon has technology and regulatory experiences across multiple industries while serving in a variety of leadership roles with OSHA.
• Mark Finn, PhD, CIH, Global Head of Safety for BP Corporation. His PhD is in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has held a variety of health, safety, environmental and product stewardship roles at both the manufacturing and corporate levels of BP.
• Shamini Samuel, CIH, Senior Occupational Hygienist/Project Manager at Golder Associates Ltd.'s Calgary office. She has a B. Eng in Environmental Engineering from the University of Western Australia, and a Masters of Technology (Environmental Management), from the University of Malaya, Malaysia, and brings a wealth of consulting and international experience to the board.

The six continuing CIH Directors are:

• Eric Bauer, CIH
• Janice Camp, CIH, COHN-S, of the University of Washington
• Janet Keyes, CIH. a Principal in CHESS, Inc
• John Henshaw, CIH, of Henshaw and Associates, Inc.
• Lydia Renton, CIH, ROH, a Senior Partner/Owner of WESA, Inc.
• Jeff V. Throckmorton, CIH, of the University of Utah in Salt Lake, Utah and Health & Safety Services

Four Directors have completed their service and will leave the Board in March 2008. They include;

• Nancy McClellan, CIH, CHMM, Advanced Technologies and Laboratories International, Inc.
• Scott E. Merkle, CIH, Chief, Health and Safety Branch at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
• Lawrence P. Postol, JD, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
• Mario Vasquez, CIH, Flint Hills Resources

"I am humbled by the election as Chair and hope to capably follow behind the sense of cooperation and progress set out by Mr. Merkle in his two years as the Board's leader," Nalbone said. "The occupational safety, health and environmental professions play a vital role in our society by protecting workers and the public from the numerous hazards they encounter in their everyday lives.

"There are great opportunities to continue encouraging the professional and ethical practice of industrial hygiene and move our history of certification success into the global spotlight. I look forward to the challenges of enhancing the value and recognition of industrial hygiene and the CIH credential."

ABIH administers the CIH and the Certified Associate Industrial Hygienist (CAIH) programs. Earning the CIH requires that candidates meet rigorous education and experience requirements, pass an examination, and recertify every five years by fulfilling continuing education requirements. More than 6,500 industrial hygienists currently hold the CIH and CAIH designations.

SOURCE: American Board Of Industrial Hygiene