ASSE Big Sky Chapter
Newsletter
March 2011
In This Issue
ASSE/Big Sky Activities

Intermountain Northwest Safety
Conference, Butte
Member recognition
Member spotlight: Mike Wacker


Lessons learned
Preventing Sensitization from
Beryllium Exposure
NIOSH Workplace Safety Messages
on Spanish Language TV and more…
ASSE/Big Sky Chapter Activities
March 23, 2011 kicked off the Intermountain Northwest Safety Conference in
Butte, MT. One-hundred years prior, March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist

Factory caught fire and 146 lives were lost. We have come a long way in

establishing controls to prevent such tragedies; yet they still occur. Therefore, it
is essential to press on and do our best to ensure mothers, fathers, daughters,
Professional Development
sons, and loved ones return home at the end of their shift in healthy condition

ASSE 100th Year Celebration
and free from injury. Our quest can be draining, and at times we feel like we are

ASSE Webinars and Virtual
on an island; like there are no other challenges similar or as tough as our own.
Symposiums

S&H Focus Groups
Then, an opportunity arises to attend a professional development conference, to

Online Safety Training by 360 Training enhance our knowledge and skills, to network with our peers, and we return to

CSB Safety Videos
our duties refreshed with new ideas and more tenacity. I hope you have had that

NFPA 1600 free download
opportunity in recent years. If you haven’t, I encourage you to join the Big Sky
Chapter for its next professional development conference.
Safety Sense

Newsletter Distribution
You can receive your newsletter via
e-mail by contacting Marilyn Cameron at:
mcameron@mtech.edu
Big Sky Chapter Board
Members
Jamey Wheeler – President
jam.wheeler@mt.gov
Darrel Storey –Past President
darrel_storey@cinfin.com
Tina Smollack – President-Elect
tsmollack@q.com
Marissa Morgan – Treasurer
msalo@mt.gov
Dawn Schwartz – Secretary
Dawn.schwartz@libertynorthwest.com
Jon Croston – Prof. Development Coord.
Jonathan.j.croston@altria.com
Marilyn Cameron – Communications Coord.
mcameron@mtech.edu
Roger Jensen – Delegate
RJensen@mtech.edu
The Intermountain Northwest Safety Conference was a great success. The
speakers and sessions were jammed packed with information; the vendors
exhibited the latest and greatest in products; and a good time was had by all.
Following the first day of sessions, a member meeting and social was held to
include ASSE updates, member announcements, member recognitions, oh and
not to forget pizza and icy cold beverages. All who attended the member social
left with a Big Sky Chapter stein in hand. Following the second day of sessions,
a vendor social took place. Of course that included more food, drinks, games,
and prizes.
We are ever grateful for our sponsors who helped make the conference possible:
Montana State Fund, Liberty Northwest, Barrick Gold Corp., Butte Copper
Company, and Town Pump. Thanks are also extended to our speakers,
vendors, and student helpers. Special appreciation is expressed to Jim Gallup,
PE, CSP, Region II Vice President for providing his support. Most of all thank
you for attending! I hope to meet more chapter members in the near future.
Jamey Wheeler
President, Big Sky Chapter
Member Recognition
The following members were recognized at the Intermountain Northwest
Safety Conference for their membership and their contributions to the Big
Sky Chapter.
 5 Years or More: Chris Turner, Keith Wing, Kraig Keltz, Lance
Steilman, Mike Allison, Mike Huff, Bob Kruckenberg. Also Mike Huff
for his ASP designation recently earned.
 Continued Support to ASSE Chapter and Well over 5 years: Marilyn
Cameron, Roger Jensen, Tina Smollack, Darrel Storey
 Kellie Hicks, Student Section Chair and Roger Jensen, Student
Section Advisor, for their work with student section.
 Dawn Schwartz, Cinda Seys, Marissa Morgan, Jon Croston, Jamey
Wheeler, Marilyn Cameron, Tina Smollack, Darrel Storey and Roger
Jensen for help with conference.
 Jim Gallup for his support and efforts in Region 2.
American Society of Safety Engineers
Big Sky Chapter Newsletter
Member Spotlight – Mike Wacker
Mike is one of our newest
members, a transfer from the
Southern Colorado Chapter. He
now resides in Columbia Falls,
working as the Safety Engineer for
Plum Creek Plywood in Columbia
Falls and Kalispell, MT. Welcome
to Montana, Mike!
Mike is a graduate of Texas A & M University with a
BBA degree in Business Management.
He has worked in the loss control insurance field for
36+ years and has spent 20+ years working for an
insurance carrier and almost 16 years in the insurance
broker arena. Mike has assisted a variety of clients in
their loss prevention and safety efforts including
construction, general industry, oilfield, hospitality,
transportation and multi-family housing and has
assisted clients with their safety and loss prevention
efforts thru development of risk prevention programs,
conducting site audits, developing and conducting
training sessions, claims loss analysis and safety
consulting.
Mike is a Certified Safety Professional and has been a
member of the American Society of Safety Engineers
(ASSE) since 11/1/75. He has also been designated
as a “Professional Member” by ASSE.
Welcome New Members
A big welcome to our newest members since
Mike Wacker, transfer from the So. Colorado Chapter,
now in Columbia Falls
Steven Clegg, Cody WY
The following are new members of the Student
Section at Montana Tech:
Matt Curran and Mike Hyman
Help a colleague, friend, or associate succeed
professionally when you open their eyes to the world of
benefits and services the American Society of Safety
Engineers provides. Refer a friend, have them put your
name on the application as their sponsor; they can
take $25.00 off the application fee. You can send them
a “ready-made” email right now.
Professional Development Opportunities
ASSE will be celebrating its 100th year in 2011 in
Chicago, IL. Put it on your calendar now: June 12-15,
2011. In honor of ASSE and safety professionals,
ASSE wants to hear from you. To submit your story of
milestones, best practices, or community influence
please visit: http://www.asse.org/100/
ASSE Webinars and Virtual Symposiums
Live Webinars
May 4, 2011 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM CDT
Safety Incentives, Rewards & Positive Reinforcement:
Applications to Enrich a Work Culture
May 11, 2011 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM CDT
Virtual Symposiums
View all Webinars
Professional Development Seminars
Check out http://www.asse.org/education/2011schedule.php
for a complete schedule of ASSE seminars.
Safety and Health Focus Groups
Focus groups are held throughout the state, and most
meet monthly with presentations on various safety &
health topics. Please visit the Big Sky Chapter’s website
for a list of cities, topics, times, and locations. Note that
SMASH is being reorganized and will resume meeting
soon. The website is in the process of being updated.
All sessions are free to the public and no reservations are
needed. Employers and employees are encouraged to use
these sessions for training and/or informational purposes.
Safety committee members and all other persons
concerned with improving the safety and health in their
workplaces are encouraged to attend.
360 Training
360 Training Courses are available through the Big
Sky Chapter Website at http://www.bigsky.asse.org.
There are industrial safety courses as well as Human
Resources Courses.
The online courses are very inexpensive and a great
way to get training for you or your employees at the
convenience of a computer.
Click for a demo: Dealing with Conflict and
Confrontation
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American Society of Safety Engineers
Big Sky Chapter Newsletter
OSHA issues guide to help small businesses
comply with new cranes & derrick rule
OSHA now offers a guidance document to help
small businesses comply with the agency's cranes
and derricks rule published in August 2010. This
new standard was issued to address the number of
worker injuries and deaths associated with the use
of cranes and derricks in construction. Chapters in
the Small Entity Compliance Guide for Final Rule for
Cranes and Derricks in Construction correspond to
sections of the standard to help employers
understand what they must do to protect their
workers from dangerous, sometimes fatal injuries.
This guide accompanies other OSHA compliance
materials on crane-related topics available on the
agency's Web site including a PowerPoint overview,
Web chat transcript, Webinar, list of frequently asked
questions and fact sheets.
Safety Sense
Dangers of Distracted Driving
Dangers of distracted driving
OSHA's new distracted driving brochure* explains
to employers and supervisors the importance of
preventing texting by their workers while driving.
Texting while driving dramatically increases the risk
of motor vehicle crashes, the leading cause of
worker fatalities. Distracted driving crashes killed
more than 5,400 people and injured nearly 500,000
in 2009. OSHA encourages trade associations to
share this brochure with their members. It can be
downloaded or ordered from the Publications page
of OSHA's Web site.
This resource is part of OSHA's Distracted Driving
Initiative, which OSHA Assistant Secretary David
Michaels discussed with stakeholders in a March 3
teleconference. Participants representing workers,
employers, trade associations, insurance
companies, small businesses, government agencies
and advocacy groups participated in a discussion of
strategies and plans to work cooperatively to help
inform businesses of the importance of preventing
texting while driving. See OSHA's Distracted Driving
Web page for more information on the agency's
efforts to protect workers from this growing hazard.
Faces of Distracted Driving Video
Faces of Distracted Driving is a video series exploring
the tragic consequences of texting and cell phone use
while driving. It features people from across the country
who have been injured or lost loved ones in distracted
driving crashes. In 2009, nearly 5,500 people died and
half a million were injured in accidents involving a
distracted driver. The series is part of Secretary
LaHood’s effort to raise greater awareness about the
dangers of distracted driving.
OSHA celebrates 40 years of helping to ensure
healthier workers, safer workplaces and a
stronger America
Throughout 2011, OSHA is presenting a series of
resources and activities to celebrate the agency's
40th anniversary. Visit the OSHA at 40 Web page
for an interactive timeline of the agency's history, an
anniversary message from OSHA Assistant
Secretary David Michaels and a commemoration of
the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire.
Occupational Health Nurses and Safety
Do you recall having a job description that focused
on a single area of responsibility? With today’s
challenging business environment, responsibilities
have increased for most environment, health and
safety (EHS) professionals. The role of the
occupational health nurse is no exception.
Certified Occupational Health Nurses (COHN) and
Certified Occupational Health Nurse-Specialists
(COHN-S) demonstrate professionalism and
competency on a daily basis. Certified OHNs impact
business decisions in various business sectors.
Companies who employ these highly trained and
skilled professionals often look to the OHN for
leadership; not only in the occupational health,
treatment and wellness arenas but also in
accident/injury prevention. Because of their unique
background and skills, OHNs are a natural fit for
safety! In fact, many occupational health nurses
have responsibilities in areas that fall within the
safety arena. Examples include responsibility or
oversight for:
 OSHA recordkeeping.
 Conducting accident investigations/root
cause analysis and recommending
corrective and preventive actions.
 Personal protective equipment (PPE) hazard
assessments.
 Assisting with respiratory protection:
selection, fit-testing and training.
 Performing noise area monitoring/ personal
sampling to determine exposure;
recommending engineering or administrative
controls to reduce that exposure and
assisting with PPE selection and training.
 Conducting ergonomic assessments to
identify hazards, assess risk and
recommend control methods (following the
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Big Sky Chapter Newsletter
hierarchy of controls) to reduce risk to
tolerable levels.
It makes sense for those occupational health nurses
who work in safety to demonstrate professionalism,
expertise and competency. For safety professionals,
this means qualifying for credentialing such as the
Associate Safety Professional (ASP), Certified
Safety Professional (CSP) or Occupational and
Safety Technologist (OHST) offered through the
Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP). To
promote the same level of professionalism in safety
for occupational health nurses, the American Board
for Occupational Health Nurses (ABOHN), partnered
with BCSP to develop the Safety Manager (SM)
professional safety specialty credential.
Safety Manager (SM) – Professional Safety
Specialty Credential
The Safety Manager credential (SM) is the premier
safety specialty credential offered by the American
Board for Occupational Health Nurses (ABOHN).
Achieving the SM credential reflects expertise and
competency of the OHN with safety responsibility.
To qualify to sit for the board certification exam,
applicants must: hold the core credential (COHN or
COHN-S), earn fifty contact hours related to safety,
demonstrate work experience related to safety
domains and have a minimum of 25% of safety
responsibilities in their job. The SM credential:
 Is the same level as the Associate Safety
Professional (ASP) offered by the BCSP.
 May serve as a terminal certification (does
not expire if renewed-CEU requirements are
applied).

Is accepted by the BCSP for qualification to
sit directly for the Certified Safety
Professional (CSP) professional certification.
If you are an OHN with safety responsibility or have
an OHN working for you who does, the SM specialty
credential is essential to demonstrate competency!
For more information, visit the ABOHN website at
www.abohn.org.
This article is from a guest writer, Peggy Ross, RN, MS,
COHN-S/CM/SM, COHC, CSP. Peggy has worked in the
occupational health and safety field for over 20 years. She is
currently an EHS manager for corporate occupational health
and safety at Baxter Healthcare Corporation. Her focus is on
safety, ergonomics, non-regulated fleet, case management
and occupational health. She has presented at various
national conferences and been published in Professional
Safety and the AAOHN Journal on a variety of topics. She is
currently serving on the American Board for Occupational
Health Nurses, Board of Directors. She is scheduled to
present Session number 644 at the upcoming ASSE PDC in
Chicago.
ISEA announces update of hand protection
selection consensus standard
An updated standard designed to help in the
evaluation and selection of adequate hand
protection for specific applications has been
published by the International Safety Equipment
Association (ISEA).
The standard called American National Standard for
Hand Protection Selection Criteria (ANSI/ISEA 1052011) aims to assist users and employers in the
appropriate selection of gloves for identifiable
workplace hazards that could result in chemical
burns, severe cuts and lacerations, and burns
caused by heat and flame exposures.
Like previous editions, ANSI/ISEA 105-2011 uses a
numeric rating scheme for classifying hand
protection against a variety of performance
assessments. Updates reflected in the current
edition focus on distinct test methods to determine a
gloves’ abrasion resistance depending on the
material type, and cited test methods to ensure they
represent the state-of-the-art in materials
performance and technology. Perhaps the most
notable update to the standard is the acceptance of
different ASTM methods for evaluating cutresistance performance. Some studies show that
nearly 20 percent of workplace injuries involve cuts
and lacerations to the hand and fingers, prompting
ISEA members to focus on ways to provide
meaningful information in this critical area.
To this end, the updated document includes a
standardized template for use in classifying gloves
specifically designed to protect against cuts.
Educating users on how to use the data in the
selection process will be key, according to ISEA.
For more information, visit www.safetyequipment.org
OSHA Issues Guidance on Spirometry Testing
to Prevent Respiratory Hazard Exposure
OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) developed two
guidance documents, one for workers and one
for employers, describing the use of spirometry
testing to help reduce and prevent worker
exposure to respiratory hazards.
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American Society of Safety Engineers
Big Sky Chapter Newsletter
Spirometry is a common pulmonary function test
that measures how well a person moves air in and
out of the lungs. Workers who inhale some types of
dusts, gases or other air contaminants can, over
time, experience lung damage. The spirometry test
may detect breathing problems or significant
changes in a worker’s lung function at an early
stage.
“Spirometry is the best available test for early
detection of decreasing or abnormal lung function,”
said OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels. “Our
joint effort with NIOSH in developing these products
will help broaden outreach and enhance knowledge
of preventive measures aimed at protecting worker
health and safety.”
The Documents
The information in these new guidance documents
assists employers with identifying and eliminating
hazardous workplace exposures and helping reduce
or prevent the chances of workers developing lung
disease.
The new guidance document for employers clarifies
what spirometry is, when it is needed and critical
elements that employers can use to evaluate the
quality of spirometry services provided to their
workers. It also describes how monitoring workers’
lung function over time can help individuals by
identifying problems early and make the workplace
safer by identifying when workplace respiratory
hazards are causing problems that must be
corrected.
The companion document, OSHA-NIOSH Worker
Info, explains to workers the importance of taking a
spirometry test, what to do during the test and their
right to receive an explanation and copy of test
results.
“We are pleased to join with OSHA in emphasizing
the important role of spirometry in preventing costly,
debilitating and potentially fatal occupational lung
diseases,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D.
“These tests are a vital component of health and
safety programs in workplaces where workers may
be exposed to hazardous airborne contaminants.”
OSHA also recommends spirometry testing for
workers exposed to diacetyl and diacetyl substitutes.
The agency recently issued a safety and health
bulletin, Occupational Exposure to Flavoring
Substances: Health Effects and Hazard Control, and
a companion Worker Alert on Diacetyl and
Substitutes. These documents recommend that
employers include spirometry testing in their medical
surveillance programs to identify workers
experiencing adverse health effects from exposure
to flavorings, including food flavorings containing
diacetyl.
Share the Safety
We are soliciting ideas and articles for the next issue of
the Big Sky Chapter newsletter. Do you have a
technical article you would like to share? Have you
solved a problem that would benefit others? Do you
have a success story that we could all learn from? Are
you offering a class that others might be interested in?
Anything that would be of interest to our members?
Please send any articles, notices, etc. to Marilyn
Cameron, mcameron@mtech.edu, before April 15
for inclusion in the newsletter. We look forward to
hearing from our members.
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American Society of Safety Engineers