February 2011 NUI Galway Researchers Participate in Occupational Hygiene Conference

Researchers at NUI Galway will participate in the Occupational Hygiene Society of Ireland (OHSI) Annual Conference which will take place on 16 to 17 February in the Clayton Hotel, Galway. The event will feature presentations from NUI Galway researchers who are pursuing projects in the area of Occupational Hygiene, which deals with the monitoring and control of hazards to health in all workplaces. Among those to present will be PhD student Patricia McDonnell, who is incoming President of the OHSI. Patricia will present a paper on her research project, which is sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, and involves the refinement and validation of an exposure model, known as the Advanced Reach Tool (ART) for use in the Pharmaceutical Industry. Catherine Healy, also a PhD student at NUI Galway will describe her research into the exposure of stone masons to silica dust. Both Patricia and Catherine are graduates of the taught MSc programme in Occupational Health and Safety, at NUI Galway. As well as contributors from NUI Galway, the conference will include presentations from other agencies including the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), the Health Safety Authority (HSA), the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) and Alvin Wooley and Associates, UK. The day before the annual conference (February 16) the OHSI present a court room drama entitled 'Hygiene in the Stand', in which an occupational hygienist will be put through his paces by barrister Roisin Liddy in a hypothetical court case. The barrister will scrutinise the report written by the hygienist, along with the work carried out and his professional competency. This will be beneficial to all those working as Health and Safety professionals in industry who wish to familiarise themselves with such court procedures. Commenting on the Conference, Dr Tom O Connor of the School of Physics at the University says: "NUI Galway has over 25 years experience in the area of Occupational Health and Safety. It is important that we in the University continue to contribute to industry at events such as this conference and it is a great testament to the quality of our courses to see students presenting at a national level." Dr O'Connor adds, "Drawing on the resources of the disciplines of Science, Medicine, Engineering, Law and Commerce, Occupational Health and Safety Courses at NUI Galway provide a multidisciplinary approach to health and safety and provide a very solid foundation for a career in occupational health and safety or a very useful additional qualification for many other professional careers." The OHSI is an organisation for all those interested in the area of Occupational Hygiene and it offers important networking opportunities for people involved in Health and Safety at work. -Ends-