The Leader Summer 2016

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3, SUMMER 2016

NANOTECHNOLOGY

APPLICATIONS IN CLOTHING

LEADER THE

VOL 3. ISSUE 3 SUMMER 2016

cover

CONTENTS

16

Nanotechnology Applications in Clothing Realized nanotechnology applications in textiles include antibacterial properties, odor control, UV protection, water repellence, wrinkle resistance, antistatic properties and strength enhancements.

Advanced technologies include incorporation of moisture, temperature, pressure sensors, drug release and fiber optics powered by textile-based batteries.

With the emergence of nanomaterials, these technologies are transitioning from rigid to seamlessly integrated flexible substrates while offering a light-weight feel for the wearer. Nanotechnology will undoubtedly evolve textiles, transcending style changes to shape the next big concept: the connected couture.

features

10

Itty Bitz—Introduction to Nanoparticles

The term nanoparticles refers to molecules that are measured on the nanoscale, typically 100 nanometers or less in size. How big are we talking about? Nanoparticles are extremely tiny.

If you were to expand a nanoparticle up to the size of a football, then correspondingly a red blood cell would become as big as a football field, and a donut would be as big as the islands of New Zealand.

4

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

12

Nanotechnology in Textiles— The New Black Nanoengineered functional textiles are going to revolutionize the clothing that you’ll wear. The potential of nanotechnology in the development of new materials in the textile industry is considerable. On the one hand, existing functionality can be improved using nanotechnology, and on the other, it could make possible the manufacture of textiles with entirely new properties or the combination of different functions in one textile material. Want your clothes to

change color at the push of a button in response to ambient heat or illumination, warn you about airborne pollutants or pollen or glow in the dark? The integration of optical technologies into garments will make this possible. When it comes to the potential applications for electronic textiles, it appears that there is no limit to what becomes possible. Imagine this: Chip-based credit cards and other smart cards on paper; intelligent sensors and electronics on doctors’ surgical gloves; health monitors printed on T-shirts; diagnostic devices embedded in your baby’s diapers and human machine interfaces on workers’ leather gloves.

www.vpppa.org

features continued

VPPPA National Board of Directors

24

29

Nanotechnology has been called the second Industrial Revolution. Its vast potential for improving our world will continue to inspire innovations in a dizzying array of beneficial applications.

Despite the promise this evolving, enabling technology has generated, the uncertainties surrounding the human health and environmental implications of engineered nanoparticles, the tiny engine driving this new transformative technology, inspire concern.

New this year, we are introducing a two-part Construction Panel on Tuesday, August 30. This will be its own track at the conference and will provide attendees with solutions that can be implemented immediately at their worksites. This intensive construction workshop will feature eight presentations on the hottest topics in the construction industry. A variety of construction professionals will be available to answer your questions and share their knowledge on topics such as confined spaces, dropped objects and global harmonization.

The Regulation of Nanoscale Chemicals and Materials: Leveraging Promise and Managing Uncertainty

Conference Section— Construction Panel

30

Congratulations to Shermco Industries, VPPPA’s 2016 Illustrated Journey Winner Shermco Industries in Irving, TX, raised their VPP flag in May 2015. The site can attest to the fact that the road to achieving VPP is long but completely worth it. Employee involvement at the site is high and every person in the facility feels a sense of ownership for what has been achieved.

sections GLOBAL SAFETY AND HEALTH WATCH

6

WASHINGTON UPDATE

8

INFOGRAPHIC CORNER

9

MEMBER INFO CORNER

Look for these topics highlighted in the top right corner of each section.

Chairperson Mike Maddox, NuStar Energy, LP Vice Chairperson Mike Guillory, SGE, The Brock Group Treasurer Chris Adolfson, Idaho National Laboratory Secretary Terry Schulte, NuStar Energy, LP Director from a Site With a Collective Bargaining Agent Don Johnson, Phillips 66 Director from a Site Without a Collective Bargaining Agent Rob Henson, LyondellBasell Director from a DOE-VPP Site Stacy Thursby, Washington Closure Hanford Director from a VPP Contractor/ Construction Site Richard McConnell, Austin Industrial at LyondellBasell Director-at-Large Bill Harkins, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company Director-at-Large J.A. Rodriguez, Jr., CSP, SGE , Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC Director-at-Large Kristyn Grow, CSP, CHMM, SGE Cintas Corporation Director-at-Large Kimberly Watson, Southwire Director-at-Large Bill Linneweh, Hendrickson Editor Sarah Neely, VPPPA, Inc. Editorial Mission The Leader (ISSN 1081-261X) is published quarterly for VPPPA members. The Leader delivers articles from members for members, safety and health best practices, developments in the field of occupational safety and health, association activities, educational and networking opportunities and the latest VPP approvals.

Subscriptions are available for members as part of their membership benefits and at a 50 percent discount beyond the complimentary allotment.

The nonmember subscription rate is $25 a year.

G overnment

Ideas and opinions expressed within The Leader represent the independent views of the authors.

32

Membership

Postmaster >> Please send address changes to:

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

34

H ealth

VPPPA, Inc. • 7600-E Leesburg Pike • Ste. 100 Falls Church, VA 22043-2004

STATE-PLAN MONITOR

35

Business

VPPPA CHAPTER ROUND-UPS 40 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

43

Outreach

VPPPA, Inc., the premier global safety and health organization, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization that promotes advances in worker safety and health excellence through best practices and cooperative efforts among workers, employers, the government and communities.

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

5

global safety and health watch

Rio 2016: Not All Fun and Olympic Games

BY JAMIE MITCHELL, COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, VPPPA, INC.

I

n August and September Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will become the first South American country to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The country was awarded the Olympics in 2009, when Brazil was undergoing prolonged economic growth and political stability, but in the final months before the Games, organizers seem to face a new challenge every week. Drama tends to surround the event at every turn, ranging from Zika, pollution, security, poverty and more. We have all heard the constant news updates regarding the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus and the detrimental effects it can cause if contracted by pregnant women. The United States Olympic Committee told U.S. sports federations that any athletes who did not feel comfortable going to Brazil should opt out of competing, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has advised pregnant women, or those considering becoming pregnant, to avoid travel to places with outbreaks. In addition, hundreds of scientists and doctors have called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to relocate or postpone the Olympics and Paralympics because of the Zika virus. Yet, despite the risk, the Games are scheduled to continue as planned, exposing thousands of foreign tourists who could potentially acquire the illness in Brazil, return home, and further the epidemic. While Zika is a major concern, there are several additional health and safety issues that will directly affect both athletes and spectators.

Pollution Contaminated water in the Guanabara Bay, the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon and off of Copacabana Beach, where marathon swimmers, sailors, canoers and rowers will compete, is another major cause for concern for athletes.

Raw sewage from the Rio metropolitan area’s millions of people flows into these waters every day. Mario Moscatelli, a Brazilian biologist,

6

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

blames a portion of the filth on the huge swells seen in April 2016 that sent waves into the city’s inland lagoons—churning up the seabed and releasing noxious gases and human waste from underwater. High tides in combination with the swells added fuel to the fire by contributing to the rupture of an eco-barrier (a temporary floating device that traps garbage) sending trash from the lagoon onto the beach. Tests on the Olympic waterways have revealed the bacteria to be at staggeringly high levels—up to 1.7 million times higher than what would be deemed hazardous on a beach in the United States, which would likely close it to the public.

Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, has commented that Brazil’s promise at the time of the Olympic bid to clean the waterways by 100 percent was a very ambitious undertaking, since there has been no attempt to clean those waters for decades. However, earlier this year he stated that he is “confident that we will have a safe environment for the athletes, guaranteeing a fair competition. And on the other hand, with the 60 percent cleaning, this is not the end but this will continue after the Games.” Regardless of Bach’s confidence in this matter, these venues are unfit for swimmers or boaters and ingesting even the smallest amount of water will likely result in flu-like illness such as vomiting, diarrhea and fever. Even fleeting contact with the water can cause skin irritations and sickness.

After an Olympic test event in August 2015, Olympic sailor Erik Heil was treated at a Berlin hospital for MRSA, an infection caused by a type of staph bacteria that’s resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat ordinary infections.

Pro surfer, Adrian Buchan, competed in Rio last year and became so sick he almost pulled out of the competition. In an interview with Public Radio International, he sent words of caution to the 2016 Olympic athletes stating, “I think the water situation in Rio is dire.” He hopes that the Olympics can bring more global awareness to the water contamination issues in Rio, “a magnificent city with so much to offer.”

In addition to the possibilities of getting sick from ingesting the water, the trash floating in the Olympic waterways makes it difficult to perform. Brazilian sailor Thomas Low-Beer reported that he once collided with a submerged sofa in the Guanabara Bay. He notes, “It can get really disgusting, with dog carcasses in some places and the water turning brown from sewage contamination,” leading us to wonder how the Games could possibly be fair while competing in these conditions.

Terrorism & Crime Unfortunately, Zika and contaminated water are not the only issues facing the 2016 Summer Olympics. While the Games are an opportunity for a peaceful gathering of nations, it is also a prime target for terrorist attacks as well as local

crime. Attacks like those in in Paris, Brussels, San Bernadino, Orlando and Istanbul plague today’s society—causing concern about terrorism affecting the Olympics this summer. Olympic organizers are planning to more than double the number of security agents used in the 2012 London Games to 85,000 policemen and soldiers, however, geographical and financial aspects are still a cause for alarm when it comes to security measures for the Games. Since Brazil features about 23,000 kilometers of borders with both the sea as well as other countries in South America, it is harder to control who gains access into the country. While Brazilian tourist authorities have issued statements saying that the Games would take place in “security and tranquility,” the odds are stacked against that notion. Brazil has been crippled financially with an economic recession, forcing noticeable cuts into the Olympic security budget—over $500 million—trimming money from a variety of things like security at the opening ceremony, accommodations at the Olympic Village as well as bonuses and overtime pay for the police securing these venues. The result is a conundrum: security must be increased, but with less money.

Outside terrorism is definitely a potential risk for the Olympic Games this year, yet violence and crime are also a local issue in Brazil, especially in parts of Rio where the event is taking place.

Organized crime rings controlled by major drug gangs operate throughout Rio, which lead to frequent shootings, assaults and robberies.

Homicide and violent crime rates had previously decreased, but as the Olympics approach, crime rates have been crawling up again. Tatiana Lima, commander of the Santa Marta pacifying police unit (known by the acronym UPP), explains that the rise in crime is due to a new generation of criminals. “Youths have taken over the leadership role in the drug gangs, and they’re not worried about the consequences because of a lenient juvenile justice system.” As for the 2016 Olympics, the main concern for tourists will be muggers and thieves. Crime does not only occur for those walking alone at night, but on the crowded beaches during the day when someone could easily snatch a purse or wallet and disappear into the crowd.

In the late spring, Rio was in the news again when a 16-year-old girl was brutally raped by more than 30 men. This attack shocked many around the world and highlighted a prevalent issue in Brazilian society. Cases of sexual assault are vastly underreported in Brazil due to fear,

societal prejudices and the hostile attitude traditionally held by some authority figures.

Violence against women is a huge problem in the region and according to Maria Gabriela Prado Mansur, a gender violence specialist from the Sao Paulo Attorney General’s Office, “if every sexual assault was recorded it would lead to figures showing that in Brazil such a crime happens every 60 seconds.” Women should not live in a state of constant fear, yet the frequency of these assaults is a safety issue everyone should be aware of when traveling to Rio for the Games.

Poverty While health and safety issues undoubtedly affect tourists and athletes, the price of the Olympic Games will be paid by the people of Rio. While the rest of the world focuses on the Games, the people living in Brazil have serious concerns when it comes to the economic and political future of their country. One of many examples centers on the residents living in the Vila Autodromo favela (or lower-income neighborhood) near the Olympic Park that have felt pressure from the police and government to relocate, and many homes have been demolished. A local woman, Sandra Maria de Sousa, said in an interview, “They want to move people to the north and east zones because the world doesn’t want to see poverty. They want to keep tourists in the south zone—Copacabana, Ipanema—and now here, in this new commercial, luxury, west zone. It is a type of social cleansing.”

According to former state public security secretary, Luiz Eduardo Soares, in wealthier areas like Copacabana and Ipanema, Rio has one policeman for every 300 residents. Yet, in poorer areas that number is one policeman for every 2,000 residents. Unfortunately, this socioeconomic imbalance will most likely increase as the event takes place, possibly leading to even more protests and crime.

The Olympic Games have never taken place in South America before, making Brazil a seemingly obvious choice for this year’s Olympics. However, turning to a developing nation to host such a large-scale event amidst economic and political turmoil, health concerns and the ever-present worry over terrorism could prove disastrous. It is hard to believe any athlete with the opportunity to compete in the Olympics would refuse that chance despite the major health and safety concerns. With the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff on the horizon, and days running

out before the event takes place, only time will tell us what Brazil will do to address the various issues facing the Summer Games.

References • www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ mrsa/basics/definition/con-20024479 • www.rioolympicslater.org/ • buenosairesherald.com/article/215282/atleast-one-rape-every-11-minutes-in-brazil • www.osac.gov/MajorEvents/Pages/ ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=19071 • www.cbc.ca/news/world/brazil-crime-favelaolympics-1.3507336 • nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/12/ rio-waters-too-infested-for-olympiccompetition.html • www.infoplease.com/sports/olympics/ beijing-update.html • www.pri.org/stories/2016-05-19/rio-s-filthywater-already-making-pro-athletes-sick-justask-surfers • www.usatoday.com/story/ sports/2015/12/02/rio-olympics-waterquality-pollution-christine-brennancommentary/76682864/ • indianexpress.com/article/sports/sport-others/ olympics-2016-rio-security-chief-wantssoldiers-to-start-policing-city-2810315/ • www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ olympics/2016/02/04/ioc-president-thomasbach-rio-summer-games/79833346/ • www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/s0226summer-olympic-games.html • bigstory.ap.org/article/cabd453515244 bf2b1063e15f6b680c9/ap-test-rio-olympicwater-badly-polluted-even-far-offshore • www.theguardian.com/sustainablebusiness/2016/feb/01/funding-problems-hitplan-clean-rios-polluted-waterways-olympics • thebiglead.com/2016/02/09/the-rio-olympicsare-shaping-up-to-be-a-gigantic-disaster/ • www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/ archives/2016/04/04/2003643155/1 • edition.cnn.com/2015/12/02/sport/brazil2016-olympics-security-paris-terror-attacks/ • www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/opinion/ olympians-shouldnt-swim-through-sewage. html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0 • espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/ id/15476645/rio-de-janeiro-securitysecretary-says-cuts-affect-olympics-safety • www.aljazeera.com/indepth/ features/2016/01/real-cost-brazilianolympic-games-160125060759255.html THE LEADER

vpppa.org

7

washington update

BY COURTNEY MALVEAUX, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COUNSEL, VPPPA, INC.

VPP Legislation On April 28, 2016, Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced Senate Bill S. 2881, which is identical to the VPP Act working its way through the House of Representatives. Senators Enzi and Bennet both serve on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which is considering the bill.

The VPP Act is also gaining steam in the House of Representatives. H.R. 2500 was introduced last year by Congressman Todd Rokita (R-IN), who serves on the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections in the House Committee on Education and Workforce, which is considering the bill. Congressman Gene Green (D-TX) and Congresswoman Martha Roby (R-AL) are the initial co-sponsors, and now 39 members from both parties have signed on to the bill in support.

Continued VPP Funding Earlier this year, President Obama urged continued funding of VPP in his proposed budget in the amount of $3.5 million.

Secretary of Labor, Thomas E. Perez, echoed President Obama’s support, stating “[o]ur aim for 2016 is to expand VPP because we think it’s a great program.”

Since then, the U.S. Senate has passed a Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations that includes $3.5 million for VPP. While the House of Representatives has not yet passed its Labor, Health and Human Services appropriation bill yet, the bill does include $3.5 million as well. If the House of Representatives passes its appropriation bill, the two houses must reconcile their respective bills and send them to the President for his signature.

Electronic Injury and Illness Reporting On May 2, 2016, OSHA announced a final rule to modernize injury data collection to better inform workers, employers, the public and OSHA about workplace hazards. The rule will require employers in hazardous industries to report injury and illness data to OSHA for publication on its website.

As of August 10, 2016, all establishments with 250 or more employees in industries

8

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

covered by the recordkeeping regulation must electronically submit injury and illness information from OSHA Forms 300, 300A and 301. Establishments with 20 to 249 employees in certain industries must submit information electronically from OSHA Form 300A only.

The rule also requires employers to have a reasonable procedure for reporting work-related injuries that does not discourage employees from reporting, and applies whistleblower protections if such procedures are violated.

“Since high injury rates are a sign of poor management, no employer wants to be seen publicly as operating a dangerous workplace,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “Our new reporting requirements will ‘nudge’ employers to prevent worker injuries and illnesses to demonstrate to investors, job seekers, customers and the public that they operate safe and wellmanaged facilities.”

Silica Final Rule Challenged in Court OSHA’s recently announced final rule to increase permissible exposure limits for silica exposure was challenged in court in advance of its effective date of June 23, 2016. The compliance dates were slated to go into effect on June 23, 2017 for the construction industry, on June 23, 2016 for general industry and maritime employers and on June 23, 2021 for oil and gas hydraulic fracturing. Now the effective date and compliance dates have been put on hold.

Potentially on hold is the adoption of the rule’s requirements by state plan states that operate their own safety and health regimes under OSHA’s authority. OSHA wanted state-plan states to adopt rules at least as effective as the federal rule within six months.

Several states had begun the process to adopt the federal states in their own regulations.

To date, seven lawsuits have been filed in six federal appeals courts. All seven lawsuits have been consolidated into one, which will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Industry groups brought five of the lawsuits on the basis that the rule is not technically or economically feasible, is costprohibitive and will require OSHA to rely on out-of-date data. Labor organizations brought two other suits on the basis that the medical surveillance requirements can be improved, and that the medical removal protections in the rule are insufficient. Other lawsuits may be filed and joined by the time the court takes up the matter.

Whistleblower-Severe Violator Pilot Program OSHA has launched a new four-state pilot program to crack down on severe violators of existing whistleblower protections. As of May 27, 2016, employers in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri have been subject to enhanced penalties if included in a new W-SVEP log. In Iowa, the program has applied to employers falling under federal OSHA jurisdiction only.

The criteria for inclusion on the W-SVEP log are: • All significant whistleblower cases.

• Cases deemed worthy of either litigation or the issuance of merit secretary’s findings in connection with egregious citations, a fatality or a rate-based incentive program for work-related injuries.

• A merit whistleblower case where the employer is already on the enforcement SVEP log.

• A company with three or more merit whistleblower cases within the past three years.

After three years, an employer on the W-SVEP log may petition the regional administrator for a follow-up visit and removal from the program. At that time, OSHA will complete a comprehensive review of the company’s policies and practices to determine if the employer has merited removal by addressing and remedying the retaliation and its effects sufficiently.

“W-SVEP will focus on employers that engage in egregious behavior and blatant retaliation against workers who report unsafe working conditions and violations of the law,” said Karena Lorek, OSHA’s acting regional administrator in Kansas City.

“Employers that act in that manner deserve greater public scrutiny and a powerful response from OSHA.”

infographic corner

Your fingernails grow at a rate of about

one nanometer In 2014, the global smart textiles market was assessed at $795 million.

It is anticipated to reach $4.72 billion by 2020 .

The prefix

“nano”

means a factor of one billionth and can be applied to time,

volume, weight or length.

A single hair

per second.

Military and security sectors have the largest shares of the smart textiles sector, accounting for about

27 percent of the total market.

from

your head is about

50,000–100,000

nanometers thick.

The President’s 2016 budget provides

Nanotechnology has been around long before we coined the term—medieval artists used

gold nanoparticles to achieve the bright red color in church windows.

$1.5 billion

national nanotechnology initiative. for the

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

9

ITTY BITZ—

10

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

BY BRENDA WIEDERKEHR ACCESS COMPLIANCE, LLC, OWNER & VPPPA REGION II CHAIRPERSON

Nanoparticles: When did humans first begin to experience and be exposed to nanoparticles? Well . . . forever. The term nanoparticles refer to molecules that are measured on the nanoscale, typically 100 nanometers or less in size. How big are we talking about? Nanoparticles are extremely tiny. If you were to expand a nanoparticle up to the size of a football, then correspondingly a red blood cell would become as big as a football field, and a donut would be as big as the islands of New Zealand. They are pretty small, 10-9 meters. In fact, if we talk about asbestos fibers measured in the micrometer range, they are particles 1,000 times larger than nanoparticles. No wonder there is little benefit from using the workplace barriers designed for these much larger particles when working with nanoparticles.

T

here are many categories of nanoparticles identified and new structures created on a continuous basis. Some of the basic classes of nanoparticles include: Carbon-based particles: • Fullerenes which are cage-like structures • Carbon nanotubes which may be single walled or more complex • Buckyballs which are 60 atom ball shaped spheres Metal-based: • Quantum dots (i.e. silicone with germanium or cadmium with selenium) • Metal oxides (i.e. Titanium Dioxide) • Pure metal nanoparticles (i.e. silver, gold) Nanoparticle polymers (i.e. silicone nanospheres much harder than silicon with a hardness between sapphire and diamond) Nanoparticle Conglomerates (i.e. DNA biocomposites where DNA and nanoparticles are combined) As mentioned, we encounter nanoparticles all the time. We have been exposed in nature well before we began creating them in industry and laboratories.

Viruses are often nanoparticle sized, but so are particles found in ocean spray, volcanic ash, fine sand and dust. Humans create nanoparticles when we make fire, run a diesel engine, in large-scale mining or in

many activities we commonly perform.

These are called incidental nanoparticles.

We are already surrounded by manufactured or engineered nanoparticles.

They may be found in products ranging from tires to sunscreen. They are in our food. For example, a Korean company boasts that each milliliter of colloidal silver they produce to coat food containers, which provides a 99.9 percent antibacterial effect, contains 25,000 silver particles and each container holds a 500,000 billionth of a meter-sized silver particle. We eat from those containers.

Basically we are taking substances we are familiar with and know the toxicity of, and converting them, by virtue of size, to materials that behave differently and for which we have little idea of the health effects. As creatures, we are composed of majority water, and substances this size may flow in ways through our bodies we have yet to understand. The early data raises questions. Yet the benefits drive the push to create new and different substances every day.

In the last decade, there has been a virtual explosion of product development for nanoparticles. Over 1,800 consumer products now list nanoparticle ingredients. (www.nanotechproject.org/cpi/browse/)

These products are being created in laboratories all over the world without any toxicity studies. We do not know toxic levels. We do not know lethal levels. At the same time, there has been a wave of medical research trying to identify how these entirely new materials react with our bodies and the environment. Scientists bemoan the fact that the researchers are often inexperienced at doing formal toxicology studies and the data is very hard to use or interpret. Articles that raise alarm with regard to the health effects are often followed by articles showing that the studies were based upon exposures or routes of exposure that do not simulate realistic or reasonable exposures at work or at home. There is no handbook to give definitive guidance.

Any occupation in which exposure to nanoparticles is routine or anticipated should provide all levels of control, including administrative, engineering and personal protective equipment. Current and ongoing research of the medical and safety literature for any substance which may be used should be done at the onset of use in a work environment AND should be reviewed at regular intervals. The help of a toxicologist and a safety engineer may be useful to assure the best level of safety be afforded to our workers. While there has been less public concern about nanotechnological hazards than GMO products, the truth is, we just don’t have any idea of the long-term health hazards created by the new materials being developed and placed in our environment each day. From a workplace safety standpoint, it is prudent to deal with nanosized materials in the same way as any hazard for which we do not know the toxicity or health risks. We have to assume our standard personal protective equipment, particularly the respiratory protective devices, may not offer the level of protection we may desire, and perhaps we should shift focus to other mechanisms of control. A careful hazard risk analysis, to the best of our current abilities, should be done.

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

11

A version of this article was originally posted on Feb. 29, 2016 on nanowerk.com

12

Nanoengineered functional textiles are

existing functionality can be improved using

going to revolutionize the clothing that you’ll

nanotechnology, and on the other, it could make

wear. The potential of nanotechnology in the

possible the manufacture of textiles with entirely

development of new materials in the textile

new properties or the combination of different

industry is considerable. On the one hand,

functions in one textile material.

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

BY MICHAEL BERGER NANOWERK.COM EDITOR AND FOUNDER

THE NEW BLACK A

first generation of nano-enhanced textiles benefitted from nano finishing.

Coating the surface of textiles and clothing with nanoparticles is an approach to the production of highly active surfaces to have UV-blocking, antimicrobial, anti-static,

flame retardant, water and oil repellent, wrinkle resistant and self-cleaning properties.

One stubborn hurdle that prevents nanomaterial-enhanced textiles from becoming more of a commercial reality is the insufficient durability of nanocoatings on textile fibers or

the stability of various properties endowed by nanoparticles. Quite simply put, the ‘smart’ comes off during washing.

While antimicrobial properties are exerted by nano-silver, UV-blocking, self-cleaning and flame-retardant properties are imparted

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

13

When it comes to the potential applications for electronic textiles, it appears that there is no limit to what becomes possible. Imagine this: Chip-based credit cards and other smart cards on paper; intelligent sensors and electronics on doctors’ surgical gloves; health monitors printed on T-shirts; diagnostic devices embedded in your baby’s diapers and human machine interfaces on workers’ leather gloves.

by nano-metal oxide coatings. Zinc oxide nanoparticles embedded in polymer matrices like soluble starch are a good example of functional nanostructures with potential for applications such as UV-protection in textiles and sunscreens, and antibacterial finishes in medical textiles and inner wears.

A recently published review paper in the February 26, 2016 online edition of ACS Nano (“Nanotechnology in Textiles,” ACS Nano, 2016, 10 (3), pp 3042–3068) discusses electronic and photonic nanotechnologies that are integrated with textiles and shows their applications in displays, sensing and drug release within the context of performance, durability and connectivity. In these smart clothes, the textile structures themselves perform electronic or electric functions.

Ideally, the nanoelectronic components will be completely fused with the textile material, resulting in textile and non-textile components not being differentiated and ‘foreign particles’ no longer seen or felt. [Editor’s note: The article referenced above is the extended version of the article running on pages 16–23 of The Leader.]

Electronics in textiles There are numerous applications for smart textiles, for instance: • Energy-scavenging fabrics that lead to wearable ‘smart’ clothes that can power integrated electronics and sensors through ordinary body movements; • Interwoven solar cells that turn T-shirts into power textiles; • A wearable textile battery that can be recharged by sunlight; • Nanoelectronics at the tip of a gloved finger; • Graphene yarns that facilitate energy storage textiles; • Graphene-coated ‘e-textiles’ that detect noxious gases.

In their review, the authors discuss the electrical conductivity of conducting polymers and graphene, both of which are attractive for creating textiles that enable the incorporation of sensors and actuators. Another section of the review is dedicated to power sources suitable for e-textiles.

Adding digital components to these e-textiles would open up an entirely new area of functional clothing. Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) in fiber form could lead to revolutionary applications by integrating optical and optoelectronic devices into textiles.

14

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

Combined with nanoelectronic devices, we might one day see flexible optical sensors and display screens woven into shirts and other garments. You could literally wear your nextgeneration smart phone or iPad on your sleeves; including the solar panels to power them.

When it comes to the potential applications for electronic textiles, it appears that there is no limit to what becomes possible. Imagine this: Chip-based credit cards and other smart cards on paper; intelligent sensors and electronics on doctors’ surgical gloves; health monitors printed on T-shirts; diagnostic devices embedded in your baby’s diapers and human machine interfaces on workers’ leather gloves. These are just some of the systems that researchers envision today that will become a reality tomorrow, thanks to research teams like John Rogers’ group at the University of Illinois.

Nanotechnology-enabled electronics of the future will be invisible, i.e. transparent, flexible or both. One of the areas Rogers’ group focuses on is creating materials and processes that will allow high-performance electronics that are flexible and stretchable, an electronic circuit on folded paper. Previous work by Rogers’ group showed the ability to use silicon nanomaterials for flexible and stretchable circuits on plastic and rubber substrates, respectively.

“We have demonstrated examples of CMOS circuits (complementary metal– oxide–semiconductor circuits—a technology for constructing integrated circuits used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM and other digital logic circuits) on paper, fabric, leather and vinyl,” Rogers reported to Nanowerk in 2009. “To our knowledge, this is the first example of active electronics integrated with such substrates.

An additional advantage of our approaches is that the properties of the circuits and transistors are as good as those of devices with comparable feature sizes formed on the rigid, brittle surfaces of semiconductor wafers. The use of silicon as the active material enables this outcome.”

To demonstrate their CMOS circuits on leather and vinyl, the team integrated arrays of inverters at finger joints in gloves made of these materials. Moving the fingers causes the circuits to stretch and release, with no noticeable change in the electronic properties.

“Similar circuits on paper are particularly interesting, not only for applications in smart

cards and related but also for their capacity to add functionality to paper-based microfluidic diagnostic devices” says Rogers. “This approach to electronics on paper provides an alternative to those that rely on direct thin film deposition of organic or inorganic electronic materials.”

Photonic technologies for textiles Want your clothes to change color at the push of a button in response to ambient heat or illumination, warn you about airborne pollutants or pollen or glow in the dark?

The integration of optical technologies into garments will make this possible. As the authors of “Nanotechnology in Textiles” write, “photonic materials and devices including films, nanoadditives or optical fibers have been adopted in the fabrication of textiles and garments to not only enhance the aesthetic performance but also endow the garments with additional functionalities. The most distinctive and basic application of optical technologies on fabrics or garments is perhaps tuning their appearance by controlling the intensity, color and pattern of light. For example, optical films made of periodical dielectric multilayers could be directly coated on fabrics, thus offering a highly reflective colorful appearance and enabling different color perceptions depending on the angle of observation. Holographic films may also achieve similar functions and even provide a more complex 3D visual effect.

Sensing and drug release in textiles

For example, the designer Matilda Ceesay created a hooded body suit embedded at the molecular level with insecticides to ward off mosquitoes infected with malaria. The cotton mesh used for this anti-malaria garment was coated with a material where an insect repellent and fabric are bound at the nano level using metal organic framework molecules (MOFs). Concluding their review, after an extensive discussion of fabrication methods and functionalities, the authors also address the issues of toxicity of nanomaterials in textiles as well as commercial trends in the global nanotechnology-enhanced textile market.

Combined with drug-loaded nanoparticles, textile fibers could provide programmable release of therapeutic drugs.

Michael Berger is the Founder of Nanowerk LLC and since 2005, editor of the company’s popular nanotechnology website, nanowerk. com. His goal with Nanowerk is to educate, inform and inspire about nanosciences, nanotechnologies and other emerging technologies. Michael received masters’ degrees from New York University and LudwigMaximilians-Universität München. He has lived and worked in Munich, New York, London, Hong Kong, Honolulu and Berlin.

Michael is author of two books by the Royal Society of Chemistry: Nano-Society: Pushing the Boundaries of Technology (RSC Nanoscience & Nanotechnology) and Nanotechnology: The Future is Tiny.

Read more about nanotechnology applications on a range of topics at www.nanowerk.com.

Lab-on-fiber technology will allow the implementation of sophisticated, autonomous multifunction sensing and actuating systems—all integrated in individual optical fibers. Such multifunctional labs integrated into a single optical fiber, exchanging information and combining sensorial data, could provide effective auto-diagnostic features as well as new photonic and electrooptic functionalities.

Already, temperature, humidity and pressure sensors have been incorporated in textiles. In the future, microfluidics can be incorporated in thread-based channels for application in point-of-care diagnostics.

Combined with LEDs, these textiles can give visual sensing information. Combined with drug-loaded nanoparticles, textile fibers could provide programmable release of therapeutic drugs.

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

15

16

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

BY ALI K. YETISEN HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL, WELLMAN CENTER FOR PHOTOMEDICINE, MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL AND HARVARD-MIT HEALTH SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY

NANOTECHNOLOGY

APPLICATIONS

IN CLOTHING Increasing customer demand for durable and functional apparel manufactured in a sustainable manner has created an opportunity for nanomaterials to be integrated into textile substrates. Nanoparticles can induce stain repellence, wrinkle-freeness, static elimination and electrical conductivity to fibers without compromising their comfort and flexibility.

Nanomaterials also offer a wider application potential to create connected garments that can sense and respond to external stimuli via electrical, color or physiological signals.

An extended, in-depth version of this article was originally published in ACS Nano in February 2016.

The version of the article being run in The Leader was condensed by Sarah Neely, Communications Manager, VPPPA, Inc.

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

17

T

he concept of clothing is undergoing a transformation through innovation in wearable technologies. Intelligent clothing has an increasing presence in prominent fashion weeks in New York, London and Paris. Fashion designers are creating functional materials and integrating emerging communication devices, flexible electronics and nanomaterials into garments and designer clothes. Who could forget Claire Danes’ glow in the dark, Cinderella-esque dress from the 2016 Met Gala? The dress, designed by Zac Posen, was made of ultrathin optical fibers woven into organza. And this isn’t the only recent example that we have seen.

Philips designed a dress (Bubelle) that can tune its colors based on the wearer’s mood.

Black Eyed Peas has also embraced technology on the stage; for example, they used organic light-emitting diode (OLED)-based clothing and adaptive materials in their performances.

Fashion and technology company Studio XO has created a “digital mermaid bra,” whose crystals sparkled in time to Azealia Banks’ realtime rapping.

Singers, artists, designers and fashion icons have directed their interest to new materials that can stand out at public events and in the media. The designers that have pioneered the use of technology in fashion include Ralph Lauren, Diane von Furstenberg, Hussein Chalayan, Zac Posen, Rebecca Minkoff, Richard Nicoll and Iris van Herpen.

Flexible electronics, optical devices and sensors can be integrated into textiles.1 The applications of the functionalized textiles include medical monitoring of body function and metabolism,2,3 rehabilitation4 and electronic devices integrated into clothes.5 A new frontier in clothing technology is nano-engineered textiles.6−8 The advantage of nanomaterials concerns creating function without altering the comfort properties of the substrate.9 Textile is a universal interface and ideal substrate for the integration of nanomaterials, electronics and optical devices.

Such integrated materials and technologies offer a platform that responds to mechanical, chemical, electrical, thermal, optical or magnetic stimuli.

Such textiles may include sensors, data transmission and processing units. These engineered materials should seamlessly integrate into garments and be flexible and comfortable. Additionally, such materials need to satisfy weight, performance and appearance

18

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

properties such as color. A significant challenge in the textile industry is that conventional approaches to functionalize fabrics do not lead to permanent effects. For example, laundering decreases imparted functional effects. Hence, nanotechnology can play a part in introducing new and permanent functions to fabrics.

Textiles can be nanoengineered to have specific functions including hydrophobicity (water repelling qualities), antibacterial properties, conductivity, anti-wrinkle properties, anti-static behavior and light guidance and scattering (Figure 1). Using nanotechnology, these properties can be achieved without affecting breathability or texture of fabrics. Such materials may be in the form of surface coatings, voided patterns, fillers or foams.

GLOBAL DEMAND FOR NANOTECHNOLOGY In 2014, the global smart textiles market was assessed at $795 million, which is anticipated to reach $4.72 billion by 2020.10 Major drivers for the smart textiles market are wearable electronics, increasing demand for devices with advanced functions, miniaturization of electronics and rapid growth of low-cost wireless sensor networks. Military and security sectors have the largest shares of the smart textiles, accounting for about 27 percent of the total market. The market shares for the sports and fitness segments are expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40 percent until 2020.10 The Americas accounted for 41 percent of the global smart textiles market in 2014, followed by Europe (25 percent) and Asia-Pacific (21 percent).10 However, the Asia-Pacific market is expected to have the highest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44 percent in the next five years. The United States’ market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 31 percent until 2020.10 Furthermore, the market for nanofiber-based products is expected to reach over $1 billion by 2020.11 However, this market is not limited to the textile and apparel industry.10,12 With a demanding market for wearables and a growing trend for nanofiber-based products, the applications are diverse for nanotextile products ranging from consumer apparel to medical wearables.13 A driving force for the smart textiles industry is sensing technologies with internet connection. This capability can be used to communicate data such as location as well as physiological parameters (e.g., heart rate),

which are important in healthcare, sports and fitness. Therefore, this trend is expected to affect the market globally. These technologies aim to evaluate the patient’s synoptic data.

The process involves the development of smart textiles, communicating the data over the network to make informed decisions. One of the challenges facing the apparel industry in the use of such communication devices is ensuring simultaneous wearability and functionality of efficient and portable power supplies.

In general, fashionable functional products transcending the conventional fabrics are highly desirable. Growth in the fashion and entertainment industry is expected to contribute to overall market growth. Additionally, the demand from the sports and fitness sector has increased due to growing awareness about healthy lifestyles. End users participating in extreme sports, running and skiing have also contributed to the demand for smart textiles.

NANOENGINEERED TEXTILES Cotton is a widely used fiber type that exhibits high water absorption, softness and breathability. However, the use of cotton in nonclassical applications is limited since its fibers have relatively low strength, low durability, easy creasing and soiling and flammability.1 Synthetic fibers can be antimicrobial and stain/crease-resistant but generally lack comfort compared to cotton.

The development of new fiber types that combine the advantages of both natural and synthetic fibers, as well as offering novel functions, has been desirable since the 1940s.2 Customer demand for improved appearance, color, shape, texture and functionality has also motivated the investigation of nanoengineered textiles.1

Water and Oil Repellence Water repellence can be imparted to textiles by forming nanowhiskers consisting of hydrocarbons that are three orders of magnitude smaller than a typical cotton fiber.

Nanowhiskers are integrated within the fabric to create a peach fuzz effect.14 Analogous to the Lotus Effect (self-cleaning due to liquid repellence induced by nano or microscale surface structures), the spaces between individual whiskers are smaller than a drop of water but larger than water molecules, producing a high surface tension that allows the water to remain on the surface.15,16 The whiskers maintain breathability as they permeate gases. Water

repellence can also be induced through the creation of 3D surface structures on the fabric by adding gelforming additives or coating the textile with nanoparticulate film.17 Oil-repellent textiles have also been produced.

Polyester fabric could be coated with silicone nanofilaments and treated with plasma fluorination to impart superoleophobic properties to textiles.18 The produced fabric samples had an oil repellency grade of eight and repelled alkanes.

Hydrophobic and oleophobic properties could be simultaneously imparted to textiles.

Figure 1

Wrinkle Resistance Cellulose molecules in cotton linearly organize themselves passing through the crystalline and amorphous sections of the fibers. Hydrogen bonds hold together cellulose molecules in their positions. Upon applying a force to the fibers, the cellulose chains displace from their original positions and hydrogen bonds re-form at new locations. Nanocoatings that prevent crease while maintaining comfort is desirable in textile products. Traditionally, fabrics are impregnated with resin to impart wrinkle resistance to textiles. However, this approach decreases tensile strength of the fiber, abrasion resistance and dyeability while inducing hydrophobicity. To impart wrinkle resistance, nanoparticles (NPs) have been applied to cotton and silk.

UV Blocking Inorganic UV blockers are nontoxic and chemically stable at high temperatures. Nanoscale semiconductor oxides such as Titanium Oxide (TiO2) and Zinc Oxide (ZnO) efficiently absorb and scatter UV radiation.19−22 At the nanoscale, scattering depends on the wavelength and the size of the NP. For example, to scatter UV light (200−400 nm), the optimum particle size is 20−40 nm.23 Sol−gel Method (process of producing solid materials from small molecules) can be used to form a thin layer of TiO2 on the surface of the treated cotton. The UV protection effect may be maintained up to 50 launderings.24 Furthermore, ZnO nanorods (10−50 nm) have been incorporated in cotton to induce scattering, showing a high UV protective factor rating.25

Antibacterial Properties Silver (Ag), Titanium Oxide (TiO2) and Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles can be utilized to impart antibacterial and fungicidal properties to textiles.21,23,26−28 Ag NPs have large surface areas that increase their contact with bacteria and fungi.

The antiseptic mechanism of Ag NPs is based

on reacting with proteins in these organisms and adversely affecting their cellular function and inhibiting cell growth. When Ag NPs contact with moisture or bacteria, they adhere to the cell wall and membrane.29 While the Ag NPs in their metal state are inert, they ionize in the presence of moisture. The Ag+ ions are reactive, and they diffuse through the cell wall and membrane into the cytoplasm. Ag+ ions bind to sulfur-containing proteins on the cell membrane to structurally change the cell wall.30 These structural changes result in the release of the cellular components to extracellular fluid due to the changes in the osmotic pressure. Additionally, the Ag+ ions bind to phosphate-containing proteins to condense DNA, leading to a reaction with thiol group proteins to cause cell death. They also suppress the function of enzymes.31 Ag NPs slow the growth and multiplication of bacteria and fungi that are involved in odor creation and itchiness. For example, Ag NPs can be applied to socks to prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi.

Textile is a universal interface and ideal substrate for the integration of nanomaterials, electronics and optical devices.

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

19

Companies That Have Commercialized Micro- and Nanotechnology-Based Apparel, Their Major Products and Applications

Year founded

Number of Pending patents /granted

Auxetic Technologies Ltd (UK)

2004

3

μ/Nano

Brandix Lanka Limited (Sri Lanka)

2002

N/A

Nano

Clothing Plus Ltd (Finland)

2001

2

μ

1802 (sold its textiles business to Koch Industries in 2004)

>100, out of which 32 is related to garment

μ/Nano

Exo2 (US)

2007

N/A

Nano

FibeRio Technology Corporation (US)

2009

2

μ/Nano

Fibretronic limited (Hong Kong)

2004

N/A

μ

Freudenberg Group (Germany)

1849

N/A

μ/Nano

Gentherm Incorporated (US)

1960

18

μ

Heating and cooling comfort

1998, partnered with Levi Strauss & Co.

N/A

μ

Jacquard: a microfiber-woven textile

Hollingsworth and Vose (US)

1843

3

μ/Nano

Filtration and nonwoven materials

HeiQ (Switzerland)

2005

6

μ/Nano

Dynamic cooling, water and oil repellency on textiles

Interactive Wear AG (Germany)

2005

2

μ

Functional textile products: textile cable, heating pads, interactive wearable solar energy source

International Fashion Machines, Inc. (US)

2002

2

μ

Electronically controllable flexible substrate

Midé Technology Corporation (US)

1989

11

μ

Piezo cooling, haptic actuators, energy harvesting, data logging)

Nanohorizons (US)

2002

2

Nano

Ag NPs

Nanotex (US)

1998

22

Nano

Nanoengineered polymers

Ohmatex Aps (Denmark)

2004

N/A

μ

Peratech Ltd (UK)

1996

12

Nano

Sarvint Technologies, Inc. (US)

2014

6

μ/Nano

Functional wearables

Schoeller Textiles AG (Germany)

1967

9

μ/Nano

Stretchable fabrics, protection fabrics, soft shells, protective fabrics

Sensium Healthcare (UK)

2000

N/A

μ

SensiumVitals®, a lightweight patch reading of patients’ heart rate, respiration and temperature

Sensoria Inc. (US)

2010

3

μ

Body-sensing wearable devices

SNS Nano (US)

2007

4

Nano

Texas Instruments (US)

1951

>100

μ

Textronics, Inc. (US)

2005

13

μ/Nano

Thermosoft International (US)

1996

6

μ

Flexible electric heaters

VivoMetrics Inc (US)

2009

8

μ

Body worn sensors: Hexoskin (Sports Shirt), Nonin (Wrist worn Bluetooth pulse oximeter), Onyx (Finger clip Wireless pulse oximeter, LifeShirt (garment with embedded sensors)

Wearable Information Technologies (Weartech) (Spain)

2007

1

μ

Smart fabrics and interactive textiles

W. L. Gore & Associates

1958

48 (Gore-Tex or PTFE): 13 in garments

μ/Nano

Company

DuPont (US)

Google Inc. (US)

20

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

Area (μ /Nano) Technology & Products Auxetic materials (becomes thinner when stretched, and thicker when compressed) Functional clothing Heart rate sensing shirt (Combined textiles and electronics) Lycra® (spandex), a stretch fiber FabRoc™ and ThermoKnitt™ heating technology Micro- and nanofibers Textile electronics Housewares and cleaning products, automobile parts and textile

Elastic textile cables, conductive textiles, textile-based sensors Electroactive polymeric material QTC (Quantum Tunnelling Composites)

Debris and particle absorbent materials Semiconductors, microcontrollers DLP Products & MEMS NuMetrex, soft textile sensors

Gore-Tex is a waterproof, breathable fabric membrane

ELECTRONICS IN TEXTILES Applications Composite material, auxetic foams Fabric and garment accessories Comfortable biometric sensor electronics for sports and medical applications Stretchable, compression and shaped garments, home furnishings Wireless heated outdoor clothing Apparel, filtration, healthcare and electronics Wearable electronics and smart fabrics (sensors, heating and cooling elements) Nonwoven fabrics and textile materials Thermoelectrically heated and cooled seat system (automotive, medical, bedding) Textile with digital sensing microfibers Composite materials, home furnishings, apparel

While the aforementioned information has covered some applications that nanoengineered fabrics could provide, we have not even scratched the surface of nanotechnology applications in textiles.

Various technologies exist to produce textiles that can have conductive properties. These fibers can enable the incorporation of sensors to monitor a person’s heart rate, blood flow, body temperature and more, or it could be applied to sensing hazardous particles or gases in the air around the wearer.

There are also ways to infuse textiles with super-capacitator electrodes that would enable clothes with power sources embedded in fabric. This realm of technology could allow for self-powered clothing that could store energy, collect solar energy and convert solar energy into electrical energy. This could enable Bluetooth technology to our phones, homes, computers, cars and more without reliance on batteries or wired power sources.

Outdoor products, medical implants

FUTURE APPLICATIONS

Integrated textile systems

The integration of high-computing microprocessors and miniaturized computers can enable the capability to collect information throughout a garment. For example, the physiology of the body and posture data collection in garments could allow for correcting unhealthy postures.

Wearing high heels shifts the center of gravity forward, causing disturbances in the posture.

This produces strains on the calf muscles and thigh muscles and a forward tilt in the pelvis.

These changes have negative implications in the body including misalignment of hips and spine and increase in the pressure on the forefoot, leading to degenerative arthritis in the knee.

New wearable technologies can be incorporated in garments and shoes to measure the pressure and posture pattern and alert the user. Such technologies can loosen or stiffen the dress or shoe based on the motion to prevent pain or sag.

Weight loss is another potential area that can be explored with nanoengineered textiles. For instance, vibration motors can be integrated in textiles to promote blood circulation and weight loss. These devices may also achieve wireless powering of the internal or external electrical components. A significant area that nanotechnology-based energy sources can provide a solution for is cooling. Highly dense fabric batteries or solar cells need to be developed for power

Electronic textiles, which behave as an electronic circuit or device General wearables NanoAg textiles Moisture resistance, odor management Textiles combined with IT technology Force and touch sensing within e lectronic circuits Garment with intelligence capability NP-containing fibers Wireless monitoring of vital signs Anklet and sensor infused socks and fitness bras and t-shirts with heart rate monitor Textile composite material Wearable displays, Bluetooth wearable watch Health and fitness monitoring Heated fabric, conductive textile, heated bedding and clothing Continuous ambulatory physiological monitoring sensor systems Sports, fitness, health prevention, healthcare and industrial safety Widespread products, including fashion and apparel

cooling without compromising comfort.

Such powering mechanisms can be coupled with phase-change materials to cool the body in hot environments or cool the electronic components in the textile.

Interactive garments in fashion will also evolve. Programmable visual components, LEDs and fiber optics in garments will find increasing use in fashion and entertainment industries. Incorporation of new approaches including structural colors, luminescence, plasmonics, metamaterials, holography, photonic crystals (PCs) and LED displays in textiles can create mesmerizing effects on garments. These dresses can be combined with pressure or motion sensors that can change the color of the dress based on touch, movement, temperature, light, electric field or other external stimuli. The material may also include bioinspired patterns and chemical reactions with the environment.

In addition to serving as light-emitting elements to enable the shining and colorful appearance for fashion apparel, optical fibers offer more capabilities. For example, an array of fibers can be weaved into a garment to constitute a programmable fiber optic display that is able to show dynamic graphics. Optical fibers can also be used as sensing components in multifunctional garments for sports and fashion. Recently, Cambridge Consultants has developed Xelflex fabric that was equipped with optical fiber sensors for tracking movements of the human body.32 Xelflex could be used in fitness and sports coaching as well as part of physiotherapy.

Additionally, fiber-sensor-based gloves and garments that can recognize postures of the human hand and body have been demonstrated.33 Physical or chemical stimuli such as strain, pressure, temperature, humidity and metabolites may be detected by on-garment fiber sensors.34 Thus, in the near future, a fully functionalized sportswear based on optical fiber sensors will be produced for monitoring physiological conditions of the human body including heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, body motions, temperature and even potential disease risks. Such garments can also be used for increasing the interaction and connectivity of the user with gaming consoles and virtual reality platforms.

Integration of optical displays into textiles or garments is desirable for many applications. Current textile displays are THE LEADER

vpppa.org

21

mostly based on LEDs. Although LEDs are low cost, small and available in an array of different colors, they are not truly compatible with textiles due to their rigidity. Additionally, the resolution of the LED textile displays is typically low (LED pitch = 1−100 mm).35 The LCDs that are commonly used in current smartphones, tablets and computers are usually inflexible.36 Considering the flexibility and light weight required for textile displays, OLEDs composed of thin films of organic molecules are promising for wearable devices.37 Combining holograms with garments and wearable devices is another potential research direction.38,39 A hologram is first produced by encoding interference information on an object on a recording medium. A 3D image of the recorded object can be reconstructed by illuminating the holographic film with a broadband light.40,41 To date, a variety of holographic films have been used as decorative coatings that were able to provide garments with iridescent appearances and 3D graphics.42 Holograms may also be used in other wearable gadgets such as helmets and glasses for virtual reality applications. In Hololens (Microsoft), holographic gears are equipped on a headset.43 Thus, wearers of Hololens may appreciate a virtual life experience by visualizing and interacting with the environment on demand.

Moreover, holographic sensors that are fabricated into thin films can also be integrated into garments for detecting metabolic function.44−49 Metamaterials (artificial structured substances made by assembling composite materials such as metals and plastics in periodic patterns at scales that are smaller than the wavelength of interest).50 have potential for the development of cloaking devices that are used to make a defined region invisibly isolated from the passing electromagnetic waves. While some progress on metamaterial-based cloaking devices was made at microwave51 and THz frequencies,52,53 truly invisible garments may be realized in the visible spectral region.

CONCLUSIONS The customer demand in improved appearance, functionality, and connectivity in fashion has motivated the development of nanotechnology-based textiles. The development of these nanomaterials also create new fabrication methods involving particle impregnation, spray coating, multifunctional composite fiber drawing

22

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

and direct weaving at an industrial scale.

The application of nanomaterials in the form of surface modifications, electronics and optics offers functionality as well as the potential of improved appearance. Realized nanotechnology applications in textiles include antibacterial properties, odor control, UV protection, water repellence, wrinkle resistance, anti-static properties and strength enhancements. Advanced technologies included incorporation of moisture, temperature, pressure sensors, drug release and fiber optics powered by textile-based batteries.

With the emergence of nanomaterials, these technologies are transitioning from rigid to seamlessly integrated flexible substrates while offering a light-weight feel for the wearer.

Nanotechnology will undoubtedly evolve textiles, transcending style changes to shape the next big concept: the connected couture.

REFERENCES 1. Cherenack, K.; van Pieterson, L. Smart textiles: challenges and opportunities. J. Appl.

Phys. 2012, 112, 091301.

2. Paradiso, R.; Loriga, G.; Taccini, N.; Gemignani, A.; Ghelarducci, B. Wealthy-a wearable healthcare system: new frontier on e-textile. J. Telecomm. Inf. Technol. 2005, 105–113.

3. Cheng, M.-H.; Chen, L.-C.; Hung, Y.-C.; Yang, C. M. In A realtime maximum-likelihood heart-rate estimator for wearable textile sensors, Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2008. EMBS 2008. 30th Annual International Conference of the IEEE, IEEE 2008, 254–257.

4. Mattmann, C.; Amft, O.; Harms, H.; Tröster, G.; Clemens, F. Recognizing Upper Body Postures Using Textile Strain Sensors. In 11th IEEE International Symposium on Wearable Computers; Boston, MA, 2007; pp 29–36.

5. Jung, S.; Lauterbach, C.; Strasser, M.; Weber, W. Enabling technologies for disappearing electronics in smart textiles. Proceedings of IEEE ISSCC03 2003, 1, 386–387.

6. Hu, L.; Cui, Y. Energy and environmental nanotechnology in conductive paper and textiles. Energy Environ. Sci. 2012, 5, 6423–6435.

7. Brown, P.; Stevens, K. Nanofibers and Nanotechnology in Textiles; Woodhead Publishing: Cambridge, UK, 2007.

8. Hinestroza, J. P. Can nanotechnology be fashionable? Mater. Today 2007, 10, 64.

11. FibeRio Technology Corporation, Nanofibers; fiberiotech.com/technology/nanofibers/ (accessed on February 2016).

12. PRNewswire. Smart Textiles Market Worth 4,722.81 Million USD by 2020, 2015.

13. Cientifica Ltd., Smart Textiles and Nanotechnologies: Applications Technologies and Markets, September 2015.

14. Russell, E. Nanotechnologies and the shrinking world of textiles. Textile Horizons 2002, 9, 7–9.

15. Marmur, A. The lotus effect: superhydrophobicity and metastability. Langmuir 2004, 20, 3517–3519.

16. Gao, L.; McCarthy, T. J. The “lotus effect” explained: two reasons why two length scales of topography are important. Langmuir 2006, 22, 2966–2967.

17. El-Khatib, E. Antimicrobial and Self-cleaning Textiles using Nanotechnology. Res. J. Text.

Apparel 2012, 16, 156–174.

18. Artus, G. R.; Zimmermann, J.; Reifler, F. A.; Brewer, S. A.; Seeger, S. A superoleophobic textile repellent towards impacting drops of alkanes. Appl. Surf. Sci. 2012, 258, 3835–3840.

19. Xin, J.; Daoud, W.; Kong, Y. A new approach to UV-blocking treatment for cotton fabrics.

Text. Res. J. 2004, 74, 97–100.

20. Yang, H.; Zhu, S.; Pan, N. Studying the mechanisms of titanium dioxide as ultraviolet-blocking additive for films and fabrics by an improved scheme. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2004, 92, 3201–3210.

21. Saito, M. Antibacterial, deodorizing, and UV absorbing materials obtained with zinc oxide (ZnO) coated fabrics. J. Ind. Text. 1993, 23, 150–164.

22. Xiong, M.; Gu, G.; You, B.; Wu, L. Preparation and characterization of poly (styrene butylacrylate) latex/nano-ZnO nanocomposites.

J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2003, 90, 1923–1931.

23. Burniston, N.; Bygott, C.; Stratton, J. Nano technology meets titanium dioxide. Surf.

Coat. Int., Part A 2004, 87, 179–184.

24. Daoud, W. A.; Xin, J. H. Low temperature solgel processed photocatalytic titania coating. J. Sol-Gel Sci. Technol. 2004, 29, 25–29.

25. Wang, R.; Xin, J. H.; Tao, X. M.; Daoud, W. A. ZnO nanorods grown on cotton fabrics at low temperature. Chem. Phys. Lett. 2004, 398, 250–255.

26. Yeo, S. Y.; Lee, H. J.; Jeong, S. H. Preparation of nanocomposite fibers for permanent antibacterial effect. J. Mater. Sci. 2003, 38, 2143–2147.

27. Lee, H.; Yeo, S.; Jeong, S. Antibacterial effect of nanosized silver colloidal solution on textile fabrics. J. Mater. Sci. 2003, 38, 2199–2204.

9. Avila, A. G.; Hinestroza, J. P. Smart textiles: Tough cotton. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2008, 3, 458–459.

28. Yeo, S. Y.; Jeong, S. H. Preparation and characterization of polypropylene/silver nanocomposite fibers. Polym. Int. 2003, 52, 1053–1057.

10. Research and Markets, Smart Textiles Market

by Type, Function, Industry, & Geography Global Forecast to 2020, July 2015.

29. Klasen, H. J. Historical review of the use of silver in the treatment of burns. I. Early uses.

Burns 2000, 26, 117–130.

30. Feng, Q. L.; Wu, J.; Chen, G. Q.; Cui, F. Z.; Kim, T. N.; Kim, J. O. A mechanistic study of the antibacterial effect of silver ions on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

J. Biomed. Mater. Res. 2000, 52, 662–668.

45. Yetisen, A. K.; Montelongo, Y.; Qasim, M. M.; Butt, H.; Wilkinson, T. D.; Monteiro, M. J.; Yun, S. H. Photonic Nanosensor for Colorimetric Detection of Metal Ions. Anal. Chem. 2015, 87, 5101–5108.

31. Yamanaka, M.; Hara, K.; Kudo, J. Bactericidal actions of a silver ion solution on Escherichia coli, studied by energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy and proteomic analysis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.

2005, 71, 7589–7593.

46. Yetisen, A. K.; Montelongo, Y.; da Cruz Vasconcellos, F.; Martinez-Hurtado, J. L.; Neupane, S.; Butt, H.; Qasim, M. M.; Blyth, J.; Burling, K.; Carmody, J. B.; Evans, M.; Wilkinson, T. D.; Kubota, L. T.; Monteiro, M. J.; Lowe, C. R. Reusable, robust, and accurate lasergenerated photonic nanosensor. Nano Lett. 2014, 14, 3587–93.

32. Innovation in Wearable Tech, Cambridge Consultants; www.cambridgeconsultants. com/media/press-releases/innovationwearable-tech (accessed on February 8, 2016).

33. Koyama, Y.; Nishiyama, M.; Watanabe, K. In Multi-channel measurement for hetero-core optical fiber sensor by using CMOS ACS Nano Review DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b08176 ACS Nano 2016, 10, 3042–3068 3066 camera, Fifth Asia Pacific Optical Sensors Conference. Proc. SPIE 2015, 965525.

34. Shah, R.; Agrawal, Y. Introduction to fiber optics: Sensors for biomedical applications.

Indian J. Pharm. Sci. 2011, 73, 17. (375) Cochrane, C.; Meunier, L.; Kelly, F. M.; Koncar, V. Flexible displays for smart clothing: Part I-Overview. Indian J Fibre Textile Res.2011, 36, 422.

35. Cochrane, C.; Meunier, L.; Kelly, F. M.; Koncar, V. Flexible displays for smart clothing: Part I-Overview. Indian Journal of Fibre and Textile Research 2011, 36, 422.

47. Yetisen, A. K.; Butt, H.; da Cruz Vasconcellos, F.; Montelongo, Y.; Davidson, C. A.; Blyth, J.; Chan, L.; Carmody, J. B.; Vignolini, S.; Steiner, U. Light-Directed Writing of Chemically Tunable Narrow-Band Holographic Sensors.

Adv. Opt. Mater. 2014, 2, 250–254.

48. Yetisen, A. K.; Montelongo, Y.; Farandos, N. M.; Naydenova, I.; Lowe, C. R.; Yun, S. H. Mechanism of multiple grating formation in high-energy recording of holographic sensors. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2014,105, 261106.

49. Yetisen, A. K.; Qasim, M. M.; Nosheen, S.; Wilkinson, T. D.; Lowe, C. R. Pulsed laser writing of holographic nanosensors. J. Mater.

Chem. C 2014, 2, 3569–3576.

50. Smith, D. R.; Pendry, J. B.; Wiltshire, M. C. Metamaterials and negative refractive index. Science 2004, 305, 788–792.

51. Schurig, D.; Mock, J.; Justice, B.; Cummer, S. A.; Pendry, J. B.; Starr, A.; Smith, D. Metamaterial electromagnetic cloak at microwave frequencies. Science 2006, 314, 977–980.

52. Liang, D.; Gu, J.; Han, J.; Yang, Y.; Zhang, S.; Zhang, W. Robust large dimension terahertz cloaking. Adv. Mater. 2012, 24, 916–921.

53. Zhou, F.; Bao, Y.; Cao, W.; Stuart, C. T.; Gu, J.; Zhang, W.; Sun, C. Hiding a realistic object using a broadband terahertz invisibility cloak. Sci. Rep. 2011, 1, 00078.

Ali K. Yetisen is the Tosteson postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School and the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. He also lectures at Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology from the University of Cambridge, where he was the Cambridge Infectious Diseases fellow and taught entrepreneurship at Judge Business School.

He researches nanotechnology, photonics, wearables and arts.

36. Lee, J.-H.; Liu, D. N.; Wu, S.-T. Introduction to Flat Panel Displays; John Wiley & Sons: Chichester, UK, 2008; Vol. 20.

37. Geffroy, B.; Le Roy, P.; Prat, C. Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology: materials, devices and display technologies.

Polym. Int. 2006, 55, 572–582.

38. Zhao, Q.; Yetisen, A. K.; Sabouri, A.; Yun, S. H.; Butt, H. Printable Nanophotonic Devices via Holographic Laser Ablation. ACS Nano 2015, 9, 9062–9069.

39. Zhao, Q.; Yetisen, A. K.; Anthony, C. J.; Fowler, W. R.; Yun, S. H.; Butt, H. Printable ink holograms. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2015, 107, 041115.

40. Toal, V. Introduction to Holography; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2011.

41. Butt, H.; Montelongo, Y.; Butler, T.; Rajesekharan, R.; Dai, Q.; Shiva-Reddy, S. G.; Wilkinson, T. D.; Amaratunga, G. A. Carbon nanotube based high resolution holograms.

Adv. Mater. 2012, 24, OP331–OP336.

42. O'Mahony, M.; Braddock-Clarke, S. Techno textiles 2: revolutionary fabrics for fashion and design. 2nd Ed., Thames and Hudson: London, 2005.

43. Microsoft HoloLens; http://www.microsoft. com/microsofthololens/en-us (accessed February 8, 2016).

44. Yetisen, A. K.; Naydenova, I.; da Cruz Vasconcellos, F.; Blyth, J.; Lowe, C. R. Holographic Sensors: Three-Dimensional Analyte-Sensitive Nanostructures and Their Applications. Chem. Rev. 2014, 114, 10654–10696.

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

23

BY LYNN L. BERGESON OWNER, BERGESON & CAMPBELL PC

ION T H E R E G U L AT E OF NANOSCAL ND A S L A C I M E H C M AT E R I A L S :

LEVERAGING PROMISE AND

MANAGING UNCERTAINTY 24

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

Nanotechnology has been

Nanotechnology Defined

called the second Industrial

Nanotechnology is the science of nanomaterials, or forms of matter in a particular size range, roughly between one and 100 nanometers (nm). Engineered nanomaterials are bigger than molecules and smaller than bacteria cells. They can consist of groups of single elements such as metals, groups of compounds such as metal oxides, tubes or wires of elements, soccer ball structures, branching structures and infinite combinations of these. Nanomaterials can be regular and geometric like crystals or irregular like foam.

While nanomaterials are intentionally designed to be unique, what is common to all is their nano size, which imparts properties that are surprising and special. For example, bulk gold is gold in color when we wear it or spend it. A 25 nm nano-sized clump of gold atoms is red; a 50 nm clump of gold atoms is green. The optical properties, i.e., color, change merely because of the size. The gold we wear is not active. At the nanoscale, gold becomes an active catalyst, helping turn chemicals X and Y into product Z. Electrical properties can also change at the nanoscale. The rolled-up carbon chicken wire structure of carbon nanotubes is a conductor when the chicken wire falls in a straight line.

The nanotube is a semiconductor if the chicken wire is slightly twisted. Semiconductors form the basis of microprocessor chips and transistors included in our computers and communication devices. The giant magnetoresistance effect occurs at the nanoscale and enables computer hard drive storage and cell phone memory.

Because of the special properties of materials manufactured at the nanoscale, nanotechnology has permeated all sectors of our economy. Semiconductor technologies, memory and storage technologies, display technologies, optic/photonic technologies energy technologies, bio/health technologies and consumer products such as textiles and cosmetics all make use of nanoscale materials.

Revolution. Its vast potential for improving our world will continue to inspire innovations in a dizzying array of beneficial applications. Despite the promise this evolving enabling technology has generated, the uncertainties surrounding the human health and environmental implications of engineered nanoparticles, the tiny engine driving this new transformative technology, inspire concern. The federal agencies tasked with regulating and abating the potential risks from applications of nanotechnology— the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—are nimbly deploying the authorities given each agency under various enabling statutes to identify and control potential risks, and adapting risk management tools and practices to the unique attributes of materials manufactured at the nanoscale. This article briefly outlines key regulatory initiatives.

Key Uncertainties Surrounding Nanomaterials The world’s fascination with the science of the tiny is tempered by a disconcerting fear of the uncertainties surrounding nanomaterials.

The “unknown” in this case is the lack of knowledge in key areas regarding the human health and environmental implications of nanoparticles. Complete data sets for the most commercially common nanoscale materials— carbon nanotubes (CNT), metal oxides, carbon

fullerenes and related materials—do not exist, although we know far more now than we did 10 years ago. Some of the data that have emerged in the relatively recent past are, in some instances, troubling. Recent data, for example, indicate that multi-walled CNTs can penetrate the lining of the lung. These data supplement earlier pilot studies that show multi-walled CNTs injected into the lining of the abdominal cavity of mice cause inflammation and mesothelioma of the abdominal lining, similar to other durable fibers, including asbestos.

Nanoparticles and nanomaterials pose unique environmental, health and safety (EHS) challenges for several reasons. The unique and highly variable physical-chemical nature of engineered nanoscale particles and materials can contribute significantly to commercial value of the nanoparticle and its hazard profile.

As a result, the ability to group materials (as is commonly done with bulk chemicals) because of their inherent similarities or to extrapolate from data pertinent to a nanoscale substance’s larger, conventionally-sized counterpart is attenuated due to the size differences and the inherently unpredictable nature of certain materials sized at the quantum level.

Additionally, conventional analytical tools and protocols may not in all cases accurately capture the hazard potential of nanoscale materials. It is widely acknowledged that traditional chemical analytical and monitoring tools and detection equipment are not typically calibrated or engineered to apply readily to nanoscale materials. Although such tools are not in all cases readily available, there is growing consensus on how to test nanomaterials, which such materials to test first and how existing test methods can be adapted to address nanoscale materials. To the extent there is broad agreement among nano stakeholders, it is rooted in the belief that more EHS testing needs to be done to identify, characterize and manage potential risks effectively to ensure that the commercialization of nanotechnology is sustainable. Again, much progress has been made in the recent past, but more work remains to be done.

In this regard, there are many nano EHS data development initiatives underway globally, too numerous to summarize here. While each is essential, taken as a whole they are helping to close the gap on the data that exist and the data that need to be developed to have a suitable EHS data set on the universe of nanomaterials most likely to be used in manufacturing operations.

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

25

Emerging Regulatory Frameworks The limited set of scientific data and information on engineered nanoparticles and nanomaterials has challenged the ability of regulatory agencies in the U.S. and globally to provide focused oversight of nanotechnology’s development and commercialization. The breadth of the commercial applications of nanotechnology necessarily involves a wide range of regulatory bodies, legal authorities and an equally diverse range of innovative governance strategies.

How domestic federal agencies and departments coordinate on nano research and development, policy and related activities is not easy to describe. Generally, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), created in 2001, is tasked with coordinating nanotechnology policy and research initiatives at the federal level. Twenty departments and independent federal agencies participate in the NNI. The federal regulatory agencies and departments themselves, however, are tasked with developing regulatory and governance frameworks for addressing nanotechnology pursuant to the legal authorities granted to each under the environmental laws each body is authorized to implement. Because the scope of nanotechnology applications is so broad, federal laws well beyond those considered strictly environmental are implicated, including OSHA, FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Discussion of these agencies is beyond the scope of this article. Outlined briefly below are emerging nanotechnology regulatory and governance frameworks under the core environmental laws.

Regulatory Initiatives Before discussing specific U.S. regulatory initiatives, a fundamental issue that has been debated for years, and which cuts across all laws and governance paradigms, is whether the entire range of existing legal authorities and governance tools are adequate to address the potential risks posed by nanotechnology. The consensus view is yes. In 2013, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Governing Council issued a recommendation noting that existing laws are sufficiently robust to regulate the safety of nanoscale materials. The NNI maintains this view, as does the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, which prepared a series of nanotechnology papers in 2007. The papers provide much needed legal analyses of the core

26

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

environmental statutes and the authority each conveys to EPA in mitigating and preventing potential risks from nanoscale materials.

While the debate continues, many believe that generally, current laws are, on the whole, adequate. Most would also agree, however, that the regulatory programs implementing the core environmental laws need revision to accommodate aspects unique to nanoscale materials. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), for example, the metric of choice for purposes of defining the availability of certain exemptions is volume-based. Similar exemptions apply under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (small quantity generators) and the Clean Air Act (de minimus releases). Volume/mass-based exemptions make little sense when applied to nanoscale materials.

These are merely examples as regulatory programs contain dozens of provisions designed for bulk chemicals, not nano-sized ones.

While EPA has not yet focused in all cases on these types of conforming amendments, EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) is well along in developing a growing body of work under TSCA pertinent to nanoscale materials. TSCA is the federal law pertinent to nanoscale chemical substances. EPA has received and reviewed over 170 new chemical notices under TSCA Section 5 for nanoscale materials, including CNTs, quantum dots and other chemical substances. To assist manufacturers in understanding the regulatory status of chemical nanoscale materials, EPA prepared a policy statement dated January 2008, TSCA Inventory Status of Nanoscale Substances—General Approach.

The statement confirms that nanoscale chemical substances not listed on the TSCA Inventory will be considered new chemical substances for which TSCA Section 5 notification is necessary unless an exemption applies. If nanoscale versions of TSCA Inventory-listed chemical substances share the same molecular identity as their conventional counterparts, EPA considers the nanoscale version existing chemical substances for which no new notification is needed.

On April 6, 2015, EPA proposed a controversial TSCA Section 8(a) rule concerning reporting and recordkeeping requirements for certain chemical substances when manufactured (including imported) or processed at the nanoscale. EPA proposed a one-time reporting of certain information: specific chemical identity, production volume, methods of manufacture and processing, use, exposure and release information and available health and safety data. EPA modified an information reporting

form developed for the Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program (NMSP) for these purposes. Any person required to report under the proposed rule would supply the information identified in the form to the extent it is “known to or reasonably ascertainable” by them.

Manufacturers and processors of multiple nanoscale forms of the same chemical substance would in some cases need to report separately for each form of the reportable substance.

The proposed rule would apply to chemical substances manufactured or processed in a nanoscale form “solely as a component of a mixture, encapsulated material or composite.”

Chemical substances at the nanoscale that are manufactured but are then incorporated into mixtures, encapsulated materials or composites by that manufacturer would not require separate reporting for their incorporation.

Certain exemptions would apply. Not included are any foods, food additives, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, pesticides or other excluded materials. Also excluded are certain biological materials (e.g., DNA, RNA and proteins). EPA also proposed to exclude from the reporting requirements nanoclays, zinc oxide and chemical substances manufactured at the nanoscale as part of a film on a surface. Other exemptions under TSCA Section 8(a) also apply.

EPA proposed that persons who manufacture or process a discrete form of a reportable chemical substance at any time during the three years prior to the final effective date of the rule would report to the EPA six months after the final effective date of the rule. EPA also proposed a continuing requirement that anyone who intends to manufacture or process a discrete form of a reportable chemical substance on or after the effective date of the rule would report to EPA at least 135 days before commencement of manufacture or processing.

On the whole, EPA OPPT has done an excellent job of applying existing authorities to nanoscale substances, and no new grant of authority has been needed. EPA’s main impediment has been a lack of resources, not a lack of legal authority.

EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) has, to date, conditionally registered two nanoscale silver antimicrobial products. In December 2011, OPP registered the HeiQ product, a nanosilver-based antimicrobial pesticide product incorporated into textiles.

In May 2015, OPP registered a second product, Nanosilva’s nanosilver antimicrobial product. Both were judicially challenged by non-government organizations in the U.S.

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. HeiQ’s registration was essentially confirmed by the Court; the Nanosilva case is pending.

Non-Traditional Governance Strategies Based on the perception that traditional governance mechanisms, including statutory measures and notice and comment rulemakings, may be too slow to address potential nanomaterial EHS risks arising from nano commercialization activities, stakeholders globally are pursuing alternative governance strategies. These include government-initiated voluntary reporting programs, industry standard setting initiatives and private sector stewardship initiatives.

Government-Lead Voluntary Initiatives To assist regulatory agencies in making regulatory decisions about nanoscale materials, several nations have opted to launch voluntary reporting programs to obtain critically needed data and information on nanoparticles and products. EPA launched its voluntary NMSP in January 2008. Under the Basic Program, participants were invited voluntarily to report available information on the engineered nanoscale materials they manufacture, import, process or use. Under the In-Depth Program, participants voluntarily developed data over a longer period of time, alone or in consortia, for a particular nanoscale material.

The U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) initiated a similar voluntary reporting program in 2006.

Under it, DEFRA sought basic information on nanoscale materials, toxicological and ecotoxicological information and information on risk management practices.

Another governance mechanism growing in popularity involves the use of mandatory disclosure requirements. Perhaps influenced by the arguably tepid response to the DEFRA program, in 2015, Environment Canada (now Environment and Climate Change Canada) launched a mandatory nanomaterials datagathering program pursuant to Section 71 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA). Nano stakeholders were required to submit information to Environment and Climate Change Canada or risk fines.

Late in 2006, the Berkeley, CA, City Council approved a proposal to require businesses to report nanoparticles being used, provide available toxicological information, and outline

measures for safe handling of the materials. All businesses that manufacture or use nanoparticles must submit a written report of the current toxicology of the nanomaterials reported, and methods for safe handling, monitoring, containing, disposing, and tracking the inventory. A similar measure was considered in Cambridge, MA, but ultimately was defeated.

Another emerging governance strategy involves government participation in international organizations on voluntary initiatives to understand and address the environmental applications and implications of nanotechnology.

EPA’s OPPT is extensively involved with the OECD and its Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN). The OECD includes 30 member countries. Among other initiatives, the WPMN Sponsorship Program for the Testing of Manufactured Nanomaterials tested a representative list of manufactured nanoscale materials—fullerenes (C60); single-walled and multi-walled CNTs; silver nanoparticles; gold nanoparticles; titanium dioxide; cerium oxide; zinc oxide; silicon dioxide; dendrimers and nanoclays—for their nanomaterial information/ identification; physical-chemical properties and material characterization; environmental fate; toxicological and eco-toxicological effects; environmental toxicology; mammalian toxicology and material safety. The testing program involved 11 countries, with dozens of government agencies, universities, research institutions and businesses generating tests and data.

Industry Product Stewardship Strategies Given the limited, but growing, legal and regulatory standards specific to nano manufacturing operations, nanotech stakeholders have devoted considerable effort to developing standards involving nanotechnology. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 229 has published or is preparing international consensus standards on aspects of nanotechnology, including terminology and nomenclature; metrology and instrumentation, including specifications for reference materials; test methodologies; modeling and simulations and science-based health, safety and environmental practices.

ASTM International is working on a similar set of standards. ASTM International Committee E56 on Nanotechnology is developing standards and guidance for nanotechnology and nanomaterials. Its Technical Subcommittees address issues such as informatics

and terminology; physical and chemical characterization; EHS; intellectual property issues; liaison and international cooperation; nano-enabled consumer products and education and workforce development.

Nanotechnology has inspired unprecedented collaboration on the development of best practice standards. In 2007, Environmental Defense Fund and DuPont formally announced the release of their joint effort, the Nano Risk Framework.

The Framework has become the standard for measuring best management practice in the nano industry. The Framework defines “a systematic and disciplined process for identifying, managing and reducing potential environmental, health and safety risks of engineered nanomaterials across all stages of a product’s ‘lifecycle’—its full life from initial sourcing through manufacture, use, disposal or recycling and ultimate fate.” The Nano Risk Framework consists of six distinct steps and is intended to be used iteratively as stages of development advance and new information becomes available.

Conclusion This brief overview of regulatory and related governance initiatives underway in the U.S. is not exhaustive. Rather, it merely illustrates the types and numbers of governance initiatives in play to identify and address potential risks from nanoscale chemicals in the workplace and beyond. As research on nanomaterials continues, the government and private sectors alike can be expected to continue and refine their ongoing efforts to ensure nanotechnologies can be employed and utilized to their maximum advantage safely.

Lynn L. Bergeson has earned an international reputation for her deep and expansive understanding of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), European Union Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and especially how these regulatory programs pertain to nanotechnology, industrial biotechnology, synthetic biology and other emerging transformative technologies.

Her knowledge of and involvement in the policy process allows her to develop clientfocused strategies whether advocating before Congress, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or other governance and standard-setting bodies.

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

27

EDUCATE. COLLABORATE. ADVOCATE. The conference lasts four days...but the knowledge and experiences last a lifetime

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

NEW

THIS YEAR • Security Panel • Workplace SecurityThemed Education • 80 Percent of the Workshops are New • Free Preconference Workshops

JOIN thousands of the EHS industry’s most dedicated and ambitious professionals for four days of learning and networking BE INSPIRED by nationally-known keynote speaker— Elizabeth Smart

MEET and network with others from your region at your regional networking and chapter meetings

• Off-Site Wednesday Night Reception • In-Depth Construction Safety Training

84

PERCENT

of attendees ranked the value of the educational content as outstanding or very good

AUGUST 29–SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 IN KISSIMMEE, FL. Visit the conference website at www.vpppa.org/national-conference.

CHOOSE from more than 100 workshops on topics ranging from safety management systems, improving workplace security, managing your relationship with OSHA, best practices, safety culture and more

VISIT hundreds of safety and health exhibitors who feature the most up-to-date products available to the EHS community

WE HAVE A NEW CONSTRUCTION TRACK! Construction Education

Take a Selfie with a Board Member Contest

New this year, we are introducing a two-part construction panel on Tuesday, August 30. This will be its own track at the conference and will provide attendees with solutions that can be implemented immediately at their worksites.

This intensive construction workshop will feature eight presentations on the hottest topics in the construction industry. A variety of construction professionals will be available to answer your questions and share their knowledge on topics such as confined spaces, dropped objects and global harmonization. Don’t miss this opportunity to receive a thorough briefing on the vital safety issues and OSHA requirements in the construction industry.

The full line-up includes:

The selfie contest at last year’s national conference was so much fun, we are bringing it back! We had an overwhelmingly positive response and there were even a few people who were able to snag a selfie with all 12 of the National Board of Directors! What’s involved in this contest you may ask? That’s the best part—all you have to do is take a selfie . . . with a VPPPA Board Member! The more selfies you take, the better your odds of winning! However, each selfie you take must be with a different board member. Every time you take a selfie and post it to either VPPPA’s Facebook or Twitter page with the hashtag #VPPPA32, your name will be entered for a chance to win one of three Amazon.com gift cards.

Some opportune times to take selfies are directly after the Opening General Session or the Annual Meeting of the Membership, during receptions or when you’re hanging around the registration areas, as board members will be readily available.

Start familiarizing yourself with the national board members in advance! The list and pictures of the board members can be found on the website and can be viewed on the mobile app.

8:00 am

orking at Heights W Speaker: Gary Duncan, Safway Scaffolding

8:45 am

escue is Essential to your Fall Protection Program R Speaker: Craig Firl and Jim Hutter, Capital Safety

9:30 am

Hazard Awareness Speaker: Brad Gibson, S&B Engineers

10:15 am

Focus on Human Factors . . . The Key to ‘Winning the A Wars on DROPS’ Speaker: Brian “Bru” Brurud, DOMSI

11:00 am

S afe Digging Practices Speaker: Brad Martin, Sunshine 811

11:45am

Lunch

1:00 pm

rane, Rigging and Signalman C Speaker: Patty Bird, NCCER

2:00 pm

onstruction Confined Space C Speaker: Norman Deitch and Brian Bennett, EHS Excellence Consulting

3:00 pm:

Dropped Objects Speaker: Nate Bohmbach, Ergodyne

4:00 pm

Global Harmonization Speaker: Glenn Trout, VelocityEHS

#VPPPA32 Make sure to use our hashtag #VPPPA32 on social media when sharing posts and pictures about the conference!

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

29

illustrated journey winner

Congratulations to Shermco Industries, VPPPA’s 2016 Illustrated Journey Winner!

BY SARAH NEELY, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, VPPPA, INC. INTERVIEW WITH KYLE KIRKPATRICK, DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY

S

hermco Industries in Irving, TX, raised their VPP flag in May 2015. The site remanufactures and maintains large motors, generators and wind turbines, while providing the electrical engineering groups that do analysis studies on the equipment. In addition, they send their field service division to do maintenance in plants and facilities on medium and high voltage electrical systems.

With a site of approximately 250 people, the electrical equipment remanufacturing, engineering and maintenance organization can attest that the road to achieving VPP is long but completely worth it. Initially, Shermco Industries saw a 50 percent improvement to injury and illness rates at the site after achieving Star status. Employee involvement at the site is high and every person in the facility feels a sense of ownership for what has been achieved.

“We started our journey in 2008,” stated Kyle Kirkpatrick, the director of environmental, health and safety at Shermco Industries. “We were announced as a Star site in May 2015.”

The application was actually submitted in January 2014, however, due to OSHA’s backlog, Shermco Industries was not audited until January 2015. The first step of Shermco Industries’ VPP endeavor was joining the Challenge Program, a predecessor to VPP Star

“The left side of the image shows the before pictures and the right side are the after pictures starting in 2014 through Star achievement.”

30

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

achievement. “The Challenge Program is the roadmap to VPP Success,” said Kyle. “You work with individual OSHA Challenge coordinators, they don’t charge, and they mentor you in becoming a VPP site. We wouldn’t be VPP today if it weren’t for Challenge.”

Like most VPP stories, Kyle found that employee involvement was a big hurdle at the beginning. However, he stresses the importance of remembering that employees want to come to work and do a good job, and explaining the reasons behind big changes is the key to success.

Kyle found a couple of employees from various divisions and departments who really believed in what he was trying to accomplish and understood what the overall company vision was—they became champions for the cause. These individuals would talk to their co-workers or stop someone from doing something that they knew wasn’t right. They had to convince people to realize the fact that not all things need to be faster, easier and simpler; it has to be the right thing to do even when no one is watching.

“If you take the information to the employees and explain the “why” behind what you are doing, such as why you want to become a VPP site, and explaining what’s in it for them, they’ll become involved. At the onset, they only saw more training and more paperwork but once we explained how it was going to make their jobs easier and safer, we didn’t have a problem with employee participation. Incremental behavior changes began and it grew from there,” Kyle said. “We started developing more process improvement teams and giving employees and managers a voice in the process and they began explaining the things that were and weren’t working for them on shop floors.”

Kyle explains, “The artwork was put together by the VPP Team, the actual employees. I am the management representative on that team and I didn’t participate in the development of the artwork because I didn’t want to skew their creativity. We took pictures all the way through the process. The left side of the image shows the before pictures and the right side are

the after pictures starting in 2014 through Star achievement. We are still improving so we are still always taking pictures. We also have a quality control manager who wanted to incorporate the successful LEAN initiatives so we incorporated that into the improvement process of VPP. That is the reason for the taping off of the areas which reduces waste and in turn creates a cleaner, safer work environment. The team sorted through the pictures and had the idea to put them into a road to symbolize a very literal representation from where we were to who we are today. At the bottom, we put in the picture of our banner after we learned that we were achieving the VPP Star and then we show our VPP Team in the center holding the flag. On the right are all the employees who made it happen.”

While the process was a long and difficult journey, every employee at the site feels a sense of achievement. “My biggest [piece of] advice for people just getting into the program is to never lose sight of what the end goal is. It’s going to be a hard journey. Anything worth doing is hard to do. Get as much involvement from employees and managers as you possibly can from the very beginning because it isn’t done by one person overnight.” Kyle continues, “I want to emphasize that we were able to achieve this, not because of me, but because of our employees and their commitment and their hard work. That is what it takes for any lasting change to sustain in an organization—employee involvement. They need to be able to roll up their sleeves and make the changes and have the upper management accept it, embrace it and grow with it.”

Artwork create by: Tanner Cook—VPP Team Lead Jennifer Colleps—VPP Team Secretary Brian Borowczak Tanner Chitwood Rhonda Frieman Bob Jett Casey Morris Lonnie Mullen Preston Mullen

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

31

member info corner

Congratulations to our 2016 award and scholarship winners!

Safety & Health Achievement Program Whether it is at the worksite or in the community, the VPPPA Safety & Health Achievement Program provides special acknowledgement to non-managerial employees at VPPPA member sites who have taken the initiative to learn and apply safety and health best practices. Candidates are expected to fulfill the program criteria and complete a workbook containing questions on the major elements of workplace safety and health. The program is geared toward hourly, non-safety and health workers at VPPPA member sites.

Winners(s): • Candice Williams, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC, Aiken, SC • Michael Young, Savannah River Remediation (SRR), Aiken, SC • Terry Gray, Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, VA • Christopher Holley, Savannah River Remediation (SRR), Aiken, SC • Ron Whiteman, Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, VA • David Slaughter, GE Healthcare Surgery, Salt Lake City, UT

Annual Awards VPP Outreach Award The purpose of the VPP Outreach Award is to provide recognition for our “VPP Ambassadors.”

This award recognizes those who achieve an outstanding level of outreach activity and encourage others to share their knowledge.

Reaching out to communicate and persuade others of the benefits of pursuing OSHA or DOE VPP approval is an important part of the mission of VPPPA. Another part of the mission is to persuade other government regulatory agencies to adopt similar programs. The VPP Outreach Award is for an individual, company or worksite that has done an extraordinary amount of work in these areas.

Winner(s): • Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP-Cedar Bayou Plant, Baytown, TX • Brenda Wiederkehr, Access Health Systems, Latham, NY

32

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

VPP Innovation Award The purpose of the VPP Innovation Award is to provide recognition for an individual, company or worksite that has developed and successfully implemented an innovation, encouraged others to try new approaches and emphasized the value of creativity and flexibility in the resolution of worker safety and health problems. The innovation may be program-related or of a technical nature.

Winner(s): • Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC

VPPPA Safety & Health Outreach Award The purpose of the Safety and Health Outreach Award is to provide recognition for our “VPP Models,” who reach out to share the safety, health, technical and management expertise developed at their sites. The award is for an individual, company or worksite that has achieved an outstanding level of outreach in the safety and health arena, not directly encompassing the VPP. Winner(s): • Mission Support Alliance, Richland, WA

Scholarships June Brothers Scholarship The VPPPA June Brothers Scholarship was established in 2005 to recognize students who are leaders and role models in their schools and communities and who are entering either the environmental, safety and health areas or the

trades (respectively). This annual scholarship is granted to students who are either employed at a VPPPA Full member site or to the child/ grandchild of a member.

Winner: • Nicholas Pryor, Midvale, UT

Stephen Brown Scholarship The VPPPA Stephen Brown Scholarship was established in 2005 and is intended for students pursuing a degree in the trades. This scholarship is open to students enrolled in or enrolling in a vocational school, college or university. This annual scholarship is granted to one student who is either employed at a VPPPA Full member site or to the child/ grandchild of a member.

Winner: • Hope Wachtel, Carleton, NE

William “Sully” Sullivan Scholarship During the February 2007 VPPPA National Board of Directors meeting, the board established the VPPPA William “Sully” Sullivan Scholarship. This scholarship is intended to recognize an employee at a VPPPA Full member site who has made significant contributions to the VPP program at his/her site. This scholarship is open to employees enrolled in or enrolling in a vocational school, college or university.

Winner: • Amanda Smith, Knoxville, TN

Sergeant Safety Scholarship The VPPPA DoD scholarship (aka Sergeant Safety Scholarship) is intended for students pursing either and undergraduate or graduate degree in the safety/health/environmental field.

The scholarship is open to students enrolled in or enrolling in a college or university.

Winner: • Toya Beiswenger, Kinnewick, WA

2016 Regional Mentors and SGEs of the Year Mentor of the Year • Region I: Kenneth DeCosta, Hypertherm, NH • Region III: Howard Baron, Cintas Corporation, Chester, VA • Region IV: NAS Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL • Region VI: Mark Nightengale, Repcon, Inc., Corpus Christi, TX

• Region VII: Michael Yount, W.W. Wood Products, Dudley, MO • Region X: Max VanValey, Oldcastle, Tacoma WA

SGE of the Year • Region I: Charles Cashman, General Electric Aviation, Lynn, MA • Region II: Ronald Rogers, DA Collins Companies, Wilton, NY • Region III: John Dyer, Veolia, Mid-Atlantic, Philadelphia, PA • Region IV: Danny McCree, Johns Manville, Richland, MS • Region V: Andy Youpel, Brandenburg Industrial Service Company, Chicago, IL • Region VI: Jamie Robey, The Brock Group, Deer Park, TX • Region VII: Bill Turner, NuStar Energy, Wichita, KS

• Region VIII: Bruce Sanford, Rocky Mountain Arsenal U.S. Army, Commerce City, CO • Region IX: Ruby Adams, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, CA • Region X: Amelia Maule, CIV Bremerton Navy Base, Bremerton WA

Roster Contest Winners Congratulations to Alan Drew Owen, Flint Hills, Port Arthur, TX; Kimm Wheeler, RR Donnelley, Crawfordsville, IN and Michael E. Wright, Huber Engineered Woods, LLC, Easton, ME for winning the roster contest! Thank you to all who submitted updated rosters; your efforts will help us provide you with all the benefits of VPPPA membership. It’s not too late to update your roster and ensure that you are still receiving all of your membership benefits. Send updated rosters to membership@vpppa.org.

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

33

member spotlight

Carlos Cardoso

BY JAMIE MITCHELL, COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, VPPPA, INC. It would be tough to find an individual more passionate about the VPP method than Carlos Cardoso.

Working as a shop steward in New Jersey at the time, Carlos got involved with the program over a decade ago. He was the only hourly employee on the steering committee at his site, which achieved Star status in 2002. OSHA asked Carlos and a few others from his site to do a VPP presentation locally. Later, OSHA asked the Region II director if Carlos’ group could present at the national conference in Orlando, FL later that year. After giving his presentation at the national conference, Carlos was approached by a member of Sherwin-Williams corporate office who said “I love your passion. You’re the kind of guy I want working for me. Send me your resume—I have 30 facilities and I will keep you in mind.” Shortly after meeting the representative from corporate, in February 2003, Carlos was hired as a safety coordinator for SherwinWilliams and relocated to Reno, Nevada.

Carlos’ site in Nevada has an impressive record of safety excellence now, however, it was not always that way. Before Carlos arrived as the safety coordinator, the site had never gone a full year without a “recordable” (injury or death), and had a record of 17 recordables per year. Being exposed to the VPP method at his old site in New Jersey

34

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

led Carlos to focus on employee engagement and empowerment, which he says “has led our site to achieve success.” After beginning the process, his site achieved VPP status within two years and has only improved as the years pass. In September, his site exceeded a million hours worked since their last recordable, and in March the site reached four years since their last recordable. Carlos attributes these successes to “employees being engaged, empowered, running all of the committees and having active participation in the safety program.”

Recently, his site was recognized by SherwinWilliams with the Five Star Excellence in Safety Award—a global award that is only given to seven sites in North America and seven across the rest of the world. With such a distinguished site, Carlos has a lot of to be proud of, but he says “the fact that we are sending people home safe every day is my proudest accomplishment.”

Carlos firmly believes the successes of his site have stemmed from the employees themselves.

When asked about what kind of legacy he hopes to create he said, “My legacy would be that if I leave—as bosses come and go—that they [employees] never let go of that ownership and that they truly feel that this is their facility and their safety program because they are the ones who are going to make it work.” He continued with, “We try to tap into their creativity to give suggestions to make things better and they do.

We have been consistently successful and that is a testament that they have owned it.” Carlos also mentioned that some other key aspects of a successful safety program include, “Constant communication, fixing hazards, getting back to people within 24 hours, employee led committees and having employees comfortable

enough to point out if someone is being unsafe.”

At his site, peer-to-peer training has led new employees to embrace the company’s culture of safety excellence, “When you come on board you get a fellow employee that teaches you how to do the job. There is no management involvement with that. Workers have really taken that and run with it. And the results really speak for themselves because it wouldn’t work if the people didn’t buy into it.”

Carlos has attended every national conference since 2002, and has only missed one regional conference since that same year. When asked how VPPPA has affected him, he stated “It literally changed my life.” From attending annual and regional conferences, as well as changing his career path, the association has not only shaped his life, but has benefited tremendously from the time and effort he delivers year after year.

Carlos is not only a leader at his own workplace, but also serves on the Region IX board as the secretary. His duties include keeping track of the minutes, bylaws, assisting with running the elections as well as helping to put together the conference exhibit hall. Since he serves on the National, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee, Carlos has an interest in furthering the program on a larger scale as well. He travels to Washington, D.C. a few times each year to help with congressional outreach on Capitol Hill— helping to teach members of Congress about the VPP and its impact.

When asked about his personal life, Carlos mentioned his love of singing. Before he settled down, he was a singer for a southern rock band in New Jersey for 10 years—they played songs by the Allman Brothers, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd and once his band opened for The Outlaws. In addition to his rock band days, Carlos had the opportunity to sing “God Bless the USA” at his first VPPPA Region II conference—which was also the one-year anniversary of September 11.

“It was a powerful moment” he said, “That was my first VPP conference and VPP has changed my life in many, many ways. It has been very satisfying. Putting together the conferences and seeing people come out of them energized—it is very satisfying. Spreading it as far and wide as we can—and the satisfaction of watching it grow in other places.”

state-plan monitor

COMPILED BY SARAH NEELY, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, VPPPA, INC.

Federal OSHA States State-Plan States Public Sector Only

California Phillips66 Ceremony On May 12, Phillips 66 Richmond Terminal held a Cal/Star approval ceremony. The Richmond Terminal is a refined petroleum products storage establishment in Richmond, California. The site consists of 21 storage tanks (19 active and 2 inactive tanks) with a total capacity of 296,000 barrels; two marine docks, railcar spurs and one tanker truck loading rack with six loading bays (lanes). The terminal stores, transfers and otherwise handles various refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, fuel oil and ethanol. The products are received into the terminal via pipeline; barge, railcar and tanker truck. Next, the products are transported through internal pipelines to the storage tanks. The products are subsequently shipped to customers via tanker trucks, barges and ships.

The site was mentored by Cal/Star NuStar, Stockton. The Cal/VPP onsite evaluation team included Manou Sarfehnia as team leader, Ruben Garza, VPP consultant, Daniel Mercado as special team member (STM) from Johns Manville and Cal/VPP student assistant Ethan Chang. The team performed the onsite evaluation from November 17–19, 2015.

Phillips 66 Richmond Terminal employees proudly displaying the Cal/Star certificate after raising Cal/Star flag, May 12, 2016

The site’s three-year averages for TCIR and DART are zeros compared to the BLSR industry averages which are 4.3 and 3.7.

At the ceremony Juliann Sum, Cal/ OSHA chief, presented the Cal/Star award and emphasized the importance of Cal/Star program which is a partnership between management, labor and Cal/OSHA to continuously improve workplace safety.

Scott Gilmore, terminal manager, described their VPP journey and stressed that a 100 percent buy-in from frontline employees was key to their success. At the closing remarks Mr. Bob Herman, executive vice president of Midstream Phillips 66 mentioned that well-run facilities have well-established safety management systems in place and recognized the site’s high commitment to workplace safety. Philips 66 has two Cal/Star facilities in northern California and a total of 24 VPP sites nationally. Iraj Pourmehraban, Cal/VPP manager, also attended and congratulated employees on their success.

Morton Salt On May 12, Morton Salt held its annual safety training day at the Long Beach facility. The event was established in 2003

Teams building a “Safety Pyramid” using cups labelled with hazard prevention procedures.

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

35

state-plan monitor

to recognize the company’s achievement of VPP Star and to further promote safety in the workplace. The facility was the first to receive VPP Star recognition for Morton Salt, setting the example for its other sites to follow. Safety training day, also introduced by the Long Beach facility, is now an annual tradition for all of its sites nationally. This year’s theme, “All Together Now,” highlighted a program introduced late last year to emphasize the importance of labor and management working together to achieve excellence in workplace safety. The company receives, stores, packages and ships sea salt for uses other than human consumption, such as regenerating water softeners.

To open the event, Alan Wuebker, facility manager, commended the employees on their continuing improvement and high standard of excellence for safety communications. Teams consisting of management and employees were formed to participate in the activities facilitated

by Christina Ross, western regional human resources manager and Catherine Casson, human resources specialist. Modules and presentations for the event included team challenges on PPE selection, building a safety pyramid, a first aid scenario and a wellness exercise. Guest speakers provided information on fire safety and port security. In attendance was Cal/VPP Consultant, David Matsumoto, to congratulate the Long Beach Team on their achievements and their efforts towards improving their safety culture.

Hawaii Hawaii Occupational Safety & Health currently have three employers with four HVPP sites and no new HVPP applications: • Chevron Products Company Hawaii Refinery, Kapolei • Monsanto Company, Kihei • Convanta Honolulu Resources Recovery Venture, Kapolei • Monsanto Company, Kaunakai

Indiana Update Indiana has 81 VPP sites. Of the 81 sites, two are resident contractors at a VPP site, one is at a long term construction job site in southern Indiana, and two are mobile worksites (BMWC and Brandenburg Industrial Services).

Indiana has been working with construction companies to increase the number of mobile VPP worksites and decrease injuries at

36

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

construction sites. Indiana has three VPP leaders who are dedicated to running the program and working with sites to improve their safety and health programs. In May, the leaders conducted three regional VPP meetings for VPP sites, sites working toward VPP and Special Government Employees (SGEs). These meetings are hosted by existing VPP sites and are used to share best practices. At the VPP meetings, the leaders are able to receive feedback from everyone about Indiana’s program.

In July, RR Donnelly in Crawfordsville hosted the annual SGE class. At the end of July, there were more than 115 SGEs from current VPP sites. The SGEs are Indiana’s “volunteer army” and they make is possible for Indiana to stay current on reapprovals and continue to grow the program. In 2015, Indiana approved 10 new VPP sites.

Michigan OSHA VPP Update There are currently 27 sites in the Michigan Voluntary Protection Programs (MVPP), with 25 Star and two MVPP/C (construction) sites.

There are currently no Rising Star (Merit) sites in the MVPP. The following is a quick update of MIOSHA MVPP activities.

MVPP mentor’s meetings were held in fall 2015 and spring 2016. The meetings were well attended with representatives from many of the MVPP sites in attendance at both meetings.

MVPP Advisory Group also met in the fall and spring. In addition to continuing their work on identifying additional ways to promote the MVPP, the group looked into streamlining reports and the best way to integrate SGE’s into the program.

MVPP Specialist, Doug Kimmel, met with representatives from Liquid Fertilizer Co. in Ashley and G.E. Aviation in Grand Rapids to discuss and promote MVPP. Specialist Kimmel also gave a presentation on the MVPP to employees at Cintas in Livonia.

There are currently six applications pending for the MVPP. The applicants are: • E&E Manufacturing, Plymouth • Marathon Pipe Line LLC, Woodhaven • Eaton Corporation, Grand Rapids • Walbridge, Detroit • Barton-Malow, East Lansing • Marathon TT&R, Muskegon An MVPP reapproval celebration was held at United Water (Suez) in Wixom. The event was attended by MIOSHA Consultation,

Education and Training Director Nella DavisRay as well as other MIOSHA representatives.

Onsite Reviews An MVPP onsite review was conducted at Marathon TT&R, Muskegon. MIOSHA administration is considering the review team’s recommendation.

Re-evaluation onsite reviews have been performed at Monsanto, Constantine and Herman Miller Hickory, Spring Lake.

Reapprovals Sites that have been reapproved for participation in the MVPP: • Verso, Quinnesec • United Water (Suez), Wixom • Atlantic Packaging, Sturgis • Monsanto, Constantine • Walbridge, Detroit

Upcoming Events MIOSHA is in the process of scheduling an informational MVPP Workshop in fall 2016.

Once the details have been finalized the event will be promoted in publications such as the MIOSHA News.

“Like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @MI_OSHA. For further details on the MVPP, please contact Doug Kimmel, MVPP specialist at 231-546-2366, or visit the MIOSHA website at www.michigan.gov/miosha.

Minnesota The MNOSHA Workplace Safety Consultation Division and the MNSTAR Program saw a reduction in the number of sites for the first time in five years. Since January, two sites voluntarily withdrew from the Star Program and one site was terminated.

Minnesota currently has 37 Star sites and one Merit site participating in the Minnesota VPP (MNSTAR) Program. Of the 37 Star sites, 35 are general industry locations and two are resident contractors at our MNSTAR approved refinery.

The MNOSHA Workplace Safety Consultation Division has received inquiries and has visited with multiple employers having interest in the MNSTAR Program.

The small team approach has allowed MNOSHA to remain consistent from site to site and help develop relationships with

the participating employers. A great deal of interest was generated following the Annual Minnesota Safety and Health Conference where a panel of MNSTAR participants (Delta Air Lines, Cintas and Thomson Reuters) fielded questions from the audience and shared their MNSTAR experience.

The following site achieved MNSTAR status in FFY 2016: • Sysco Asian Foods—St. Paul, MN achieved all of the Merit goals and was recommended and approved as a full MNSTAR site; So far in FY 2016 we have successfully completed reapproval visits at: • Honeywell Space and Defense, Plymouth, MN • Monsanto Glyndon, Glyndon, MN • The Valspar Corporation Headquarters and VAST Campus, Minneapolis, MN • Liberty Paper, Becker, MN • New Ulm Medical Center, New Ulm, MN • Norbord Minnesota, Solway, MN • Monsanto Soybean Production, Redwood Falls, MN • GE Water and Process Technologies, Minnetonka, MN Prior to FY 2016 ending, we worked to complete an additional six reapproval visits with our current MNSTAR employers and processed any new applications received. If you would like further information about the MNSTAR Program, please visit www.doli. state.mn.us/WSC/Mnstar.asp or contact Ryan Nosan, MNSTAR VPP coordinator at ryan. nosan@state.mn.us.

Oregon VPP in Oregon is growing again after several years of decline, due to the recent improvement of economic conditions.

Oregon received two new VPP applications in the last seven months and approved one new Star site in 2016. NuStar Energy’s Shore Terminals LLC in Portland went through their pre-approval onsite review in early April 2016 and was approved as a Star site on April 21, 2016. The site’s VPP Star ceremony took place on June 16, 2016.

Duro-Last Roofing Inc. in Grants Pass had its VPP application accepted and was scheduled to have its pre-approval onsite review in mid-July 2016.

Oregon OSHA included eight SGE’s on the six audits completed in 2016.

Coca-Cola’s Portland syrup plant was upgraded from Merit to VPP Star status on May 24, 2016, after its audit in late March.

Oldcastle Precast in Wilsonville was awarded continued Star on June 17, 2016, after its audit in late March. Timber Products, Spectrum Division, went through their VPP reapproval in mid-June 2016 and Roseburg Forest Products’ Riddle Engineered Wood Products facility in Riddle went through its Merit evaluation in late June 2016.

For the 19th consecutive year, Oregon OSHA’s conference team helped coordinate the 22nd Annual Northwest Safety & Health Summit, sponsored by the Region X VPPPA. Oregon OSHA’s conference team works with a variety of stakeholder groups, including Region X VPPPA, to develop and

present eight occupational safety and health conferences throughout Oregon.

The theme for the 2016 Region X Conference, held in at the Boise Centre and The Grove Hotel in Boise, Idaho, was “Saddle Up for Safety.” The 245 conference attendees were in agreement that the 2016 Summit was one of the best conferences they’ve attended.

Tennessee On April 26, Commissioner Burns Phillips presented the employees of Lucite International in Millington with their Volunteer Star Award as part of the site’s third approval effort.

Successful onsite evaluations were recently conducted at Bayer HealthCare in Cleveland, Koppers Inc. in Millington and Bridgestone Warren in Morrison. A successful initial evaluation was conducted at Marathon Petroleum Company Nashville Asphalt Terminal in Nashville.

Virginia Congratulations to our newest VPP sites, Sysco NE Redistribution Center in Front Royal and Quadrant EPP in Wytheville, VA for their successful Star approval evaluations.

Congratulations to the following sites for their recent reapprovals as Star sites: • General Electric Intelligent Platforms, Charlottesville, VA • NAES Southampton Power Station, Franklin, VA

Lucite Flag Ceremony in Tennessee THE LEADER

vpppa.org

37

state-plan monitor

• General Electric Drives and Controls, Salem, VA • Cintas Location 391, Portsmouth, VA • BASF Corporation, Suffolk, VA All the companies above hosted a number of visitors from sites interested in VPP during the opening day of their reapproval audits.

Norfolk State University, VA held a best practices day with over 135 visitors and presenters from several VPP sites.

Sysco NE Redistribution Center held a Poultry Processing Best Practices Day with close to 100 visitors with presenters from Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) and other VPP sites. Thank you to Norfolk State University and Sysco NE Redistribution Center for sponsoring this event and having their employees provide a review of their employee-driven safety initiatives. RR Donnelley in Lynchburg, VA held a machine guarding workshop with 50 visitors attending the class. Thank you to RR Donnelley for hosting this workshop so other companies could learn new techniques in machine guarding.

Additionally, Integrity Windows & Doors in Roanoke provided over 47 visitors with a backstage pass to their annual safety day event. GE Intelligent Platforms in Charlottesville also provided over 30 visitors with a backstage pass to their annual health and safety fair. Both VPP sites had games of skill, knowledge and entertainment for the employees and visitors to discover the benefits and requirements of VPP. Congratulations to the 2016 Region III Mentor of the Year, Howard Baron, general manager for Cintas Location 143, Chester, VA. He and Cintas Location 143 Chester personnel have been very active in mentoring other sites in Region III. Plans are coming together for the 21st Annual VOSH Conference, being presented in cooperation with the Virginia State Association of Occupational Health Nurses, at the Embassy Suites Hampton Roads Hotel, Spa & Convention Center in Hampton, VA on October 19–21, 2016.

For more information, vendor registration or sponsorships, contact the director of cooperative programs at (804) 786-6613 or visit www.doli.virginia.gov.

Finally, there will be an SGE class October 4–6, 2016 at MillerCoors Shenandoah

38

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

Brewery in Elkton, VA. Approved participants will spend two and a half days learning about the responsibilities of being an SGE and how they can support the program. Being an SGE is an excellent way to be part of the continued growth of VPP and the contributing to the sustained reduction of accidents at VPP sites.

Washington Washington State VPP currently has 32 Star sites. The recent reapprovals are: • Phillips 66 Pipeline, Tacoma • Weyerhaeuser Coastal Operations, Aberdeen • CMC Biologics, Bothell • Honeywell Electronic Materials, Spokane The recent onsite evaluations include: • Solvay Chemicals, Longview • Honeywell Aerospace, Redmond • Phillips 66 Transportation, Spokane • Phillips 66 Transportation, Moses Lake

Special Events There was a networking event hosted by Gerrit Reed and his team at Nucor Steel in Seattle on October 14, 2015. Nucor gave a tour of their site and provided lunch. Guest speakers were: • Employee Leadership/Ownership, Lisa Naccarato & John Brennan of Honeywell Electronic Materials, Spokane, WA • Radiation for Non-Radiation Sites, Sean Murphy of US Ecology, Richland, WA • Sustaining VPP, Max VanValey of Oldcastle Precast, Auburn, WA

2016 Voluntary Protection Program Seminar: Melvin E. James Honorary Lectures on Safety The Seminar was held on March 24, 2016 in Tumwater, WA and was attended by 221 people. This year, the name was changed to honor Mel James. Mel was instrumental in starting the VPP in Washington State and the Region X Chapter of the VPPPA. Mel James embodied safety and health in the workplace. He chose to spend 27 years in state service in compliance and consultation, supporting the mission of the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act. Mel began his career with L&I in 1981 working in the Mount Vernon office as a safety compliance officer. His primary responsibility was sawmill safety and other wood-products related activities. He chose to

Melum E. James

continue his career in worker safety with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, working in the Everett, Tacoma, Seattle, Olympia and Tumwater offices.

Throughout his career, Mel was a big supporter and government representative of local industry-based safety and health groups such as the Puget Sound Safety Summit, the Western Pulp, Paper and Forest Products Safety and Health Conference and the Region X Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association.

Mel received much-deserved recognition and accolades for his work during his 27-year career, but he didn’t do it for the recognition. He did it because he loved public service, whether it was his years serving our country in the U.S. Marines and Air Force, or the years serving the good people of Washington State.

His goal was to ensure that everyone went home safely at the end of the night. Mel had not only a deep passion and commitment for worker safety, but also an incredible gift

contacting each state >> of building strong relationships with both management and employees. Because of that commitment, passion and gift, Mel James’ legacy in the worker safety and health arena will be remembered for years to come.

Mel passed away on May 3, 2015. In his honor, we established the Melvin E. James Honorary Lectures on Safety. Thank you for joining us as we continue the work that meant so much to Mel.

2016 Region X VPPPA Safety Summit Max Van Valey of Oldcastle Precast in Auburn, WA was named Region X Mentor of the Year. He mentored three Washington sites: Simmons Bedding, US Gypsum and the Starbucks Roasting Plant as well as the Oldcastle Plants in Colorado and Idaho. This year, Max started mentoring the Honeywell Service Center in Renton, WA. He speaks at many events, participates in the VPPPA Conference Planning Committee and currently sits on the Region X VPPPA Board of Directors and Mentoring Committee.

Congratulations to Cascades Sonoco Tacoma on achieving four years accidentfree in April 2016. They also hit six years of no lost-time accidents in June 2016. Jeremy Fanning was asked to speak at a MultiCare OccMed Seminar in April regarding safety culture and the site’s journey to an accidentfree workplace. The audience consisted of about 140 doctors, nurses and industry representatives. Participants had their questions answered about VPP and enjoyed a tour of the facility. The training unit for Washington DOSH did a video interview of Jeremy where he discussed the elements of the safety and health culture at Cascades Sonoco. Segments of this interview will be part of the upcoming DOSH webcast on safety and health management systems.

In the interview, Jeremy describes their ergonomics process and this will also be used in a future webcast about preventing sprains and strains. This will be posted on the L&I website in the future. Ernesto Carcamo of the DOSH training unit also asked Cascades Sonoco to speak about their safety culture and ergonomics program at the 2016 Symposium of the Puget Sound Chapter of the Ergonomics and Human Factors Society (PSHFES.org).

Alaska Michael Bowles VPP Coordinator michael.bowles@alaska.gov Phone: 907-269-4958 www.labor.state.ak.us/lss/ oshhome.htm Arizona Jessie Atencio Assistant Director atencio.jessie@dol.gov Phone: (520) 220-4222 www.ica.state.az.us/ ADOSH/ ADOSH_main.aspx California Iraj Pourmehraban Cal/VPP & PSM Manager ipourmehraban@hq.dir.ca.gov Phone: (510) 622-1080 www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/cal_ vpp/cal_vpp_index.html Hawaii Clayton Chun Manager clayton.g.chun@hawaii.gov Phone: (808) 586-9110 labor.hawaii.gov/hiosh Indiana Beth A. Gonzalez VPP Team Leader bgonzalez@dol.in.gov Indiana Dept. of Labor Phone: (317) 607-6118 www.in.gov/dol/vpp.htm Iowa Shashi Patel VPP Coordinator patel.shasi@dol.gov Phone: (515) 281-6369 www.iowaworkforce.org/ labor/iosh Kentucky Joe Giles VPP Program Administrator joe.giles@ky.gov Phone: (502) 564-4089 labor.ky.gov/dows/ oshp/ doet/partnership/ pages/ VPP---Voluntary- ProtectionPartnership.aspx Maryland Allen Stump VPP Coordinator stump.allen@dol.gov Phone: (410) 527-4469 www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/ mosh/vpp.shtml

Michigan Doug Kimmel MVPP Specialist Phone: (231) 546-2366 kimmeld@michigan.gov Sherry Scott MVPP Manager scotts1@michigan.gov Phone: (517) 322-5817 www.michigan.gov/mvpp Minnesota Ryan Nosan MNSTAR VPP Coordinator ryan.nosan@state.mn.us Phone: (651) 284-5120 www.doli.state.mn.us/ mnStar.html Nevada Jimmy Andrews VPP Coordinator andrews.jimmy@dol.gov Phone: (702) 486-9020 www.dirweb.state.nv.us New Mexico Melissa Barker VPP Coordinator melissa.barker@state.nm.us Phone: (505) 222-9595 www.nmenv.state.nm.us/ Ohsb_Website/Compliance Assistance/VPP.htm North Carolina LaMont Smith Recognition Program Manager lamont.smith@labor.nc.gov Phone: (919) 807-2909 www.nclabor.com/osha/ osh.htm Oregon Mark E. Hurliman, CSHM VPP/SHARP Program Manager mark.e.hurliman@oregon.gov Phone: (541) 776-6016 www.cbs.state.or.us/osha/ subjects/vpp.htm Puerto Rico Ilza Roman Director roman.ilza@dol.gov Phone: (787) 754-2171 www.dtrh.gobierno.pr

South Carolina Sharon Dumit VPP Coordinator Sharon.Dumit@llr.sc.gov Phone: (803) 896-7788 www.scosha.llronline.com Tennessee David Blessman VPP Manager david.blessman@tn.gov Phone: (615) 253-6890 www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd/ vppStar.html Utah Karla Staker VPP Manager kstaker@utah.gov Phone: (801) 530-6494 www.laborcommission. utah.gov/divisions/UOSH/ VPPprogram.html Vermont Daniel Whipple VPP Coordinator dan.whipple@state.vt.us Phone: (802) 828-5084 www.labor.vermont.gov/ vosha Virginia Milford Stern VPP Coordinator stern.milford@dol.gov Phone: (540) 562-3580 www.doli.virginia.gov/vosh_ coop/vosh_vpp.html Washington John Geppert VPP Manager Phone: (360) 902-5496 www.lni.wa.gov/safety/ topics/atoz/vpp/default.asp Wyoming Karin Schubert Consultation Supervisor Karin.schubert@wy.gov Phone: (307) 777-7710 www.wyomingworkforce. org/employers-andbusinesses/osha/Pages/ safety-and-healthcompliance.aspx

For additional information and up-to-date contacts, please visit www.vpppa.org/chapters/contacts.cfm THE LEADER

vpppa.org

39

chapter round-ups

COMPILED BY JAMIE MITCHELL, COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, VPPPA, INC.

Region I Conference

40

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

Region I Conference Recap The Region I Board of Directors would like to thank the many great companies, employees and exhibitors that attended our 20th anniversary conference. The speakers were fantastic and everyone could feel their passion and enthusiasm. Our opening speaker, Jim Davidson, held the audience’s attention as he described his epic experiences—sharing and teaching the audience a critical lesson of resilience which allowed him to escape a dreadful situation. On Tuesday our luncheon speaker was our Regional Administrator, Kimberly Stille. She gave the FY2016 forecast and explained a number of OSHA initiatives, her excitement and passion kept the folks listening. The closing speaker, Cindy Mahoney, is an energetic and passionate strategic global leader with a diverse EHS background. Cindy’s

presentation was not only informative but she made it personal—challenging the audience to make a difference.

We kicked off the conference on Monday with our application workshop. Our general session workshops received kudos as well, having 20 breakouts where the presenters discussed several subjects including: best practices, team building, safety in a LEAN environment and OSHA initiatives and updates. During the conference we held our second quarter chapter meeting. We reviewed the chapter business and conducted elections. Returning to the BoD are: Vice Chairperson Paul Ludington, Dominion Nuclear; Secretary Debra Bowie, Coca Cola Northampton; Hourly Rep from a union site, Bruce Gove, UTC Aerospace Systems IAMAW; Director-At-Large (2) Alice Tatro, Acushnet Golf and Michael Avery, Cartamundi East Longmeadow. Regional awards were presented during the awards dinner. Darwin Irish from FLEXcon presented the Mentor of the Year award to Ken DeCosta from Hypertherm, Inc. in Hanover/Lebanon, NH. Hypertherm also received the OSHA Regional Administrators Award which was presented by Kimberly Stille.

Nine companies were awarded recognition for their tremendous efforts with an OSHA Star Among Star Award. OSHA’s Region I nomination for Special Government Employee of the year went to Charles Cashman from GE Aviation in Lynn, MA. Region I continued its tradition of recognizing SGE’s in attendance for their contribution of knowledge, experience and passion. Thank you to all 49 SGE’s present this year.

Another highlight included the annual scholarship awards. The recipients were Joanna Kalucki, Cartamundi Group, for the Eric Bartsch Memorial Safety and Health Scholarship; Victoria Morris, Coca Cola, for the Caswell Plante Academic Excellence Scholarship and Sierra Santomang, L.L. Bean, for the Joe Gervais Community Service Scholarship.

We would also like to extend a sincere thanks to the National VPPPA BoD and staff for attending our conference, including Katlyn Pagliuca, Rob Henson and Richard McConnell. Rob gave the National VPPPA updates, providing insight on the VPP codification activities. Bills have been introduced in the House (HR2500) and Senate (S2881). Rob also gave highlights of the upcoming national conference.

Region I chapter meetings are another opportunity to learn from the experts in health and safety, along with OSHA. We hold quarterly meetings, two of which are hosted by Region I companies and the others are at regional and national annual conferences. These meeting are open to anyone interested in VPP and we also offer mentoring. The next chapter meeting will be held at the national VPPPA conference in Florida on Tuesday, August 30, and during the fourth quarter at the Pratt & Whitney facility in North Berwick, Maine—we hope to see you there.

Contributed by Stephen Gauthier, Region 1 Chairperson

Region II STERIS in Chester, NY held a safety day on June 22, 2016 to celebrate their recent VPP reevaluation. Albany Area Director, Bob Garvey, attended for congratulatory comments. At the 2016 region II conference, Kevin O’Brien was elected to the Region II board as treasurer, Brenda Wiederkehr retained the position as chairperson and Kevin Mihalenko is the new director-at-large. Joe Whalen received the Chairman’s Award, and we also presented VPP Star plaques to Curtis Lumber in Ballston Spa, Queensbury and Schuylerville, NY. Lastly, Region II asks for your continued support for the Norman Deitch AED Outreach Fund. In 2007 Norman Deitch retired from OSHA after 27 years of service. Norman also

Pfizer of Andover, MA.

served as the Region II VPP manager for 18 years. One of Norman’s passions is to foster the use of AEDs to help save lives. In his honor, the Region II VPPPA Board of Directors established the “Norman Deitch AED Fund.” The Board is again soliciting donations from members to purchase AEDs for worthwhile community groups in honor of Norman Deitch’s many years of service. Donations of any amount will be accepted and appreciated. A company can make a recommendation for a worthy nonprofit organization in their area to receive an AED. Examples of acceptable organizations include: police, fire or EMS departments, churches, youth groups such as Scouts or little league, social groups such as the Elks or Knights of Columbus and veteran groups such as the VFW or American Legion.

Contributed by Brenda Weiderkehr, Region II Chairperson

potential. Cliff’s story reminds us that with the right attitude, drive and commitment to success, there is no obstacle that cannot be overcome.

In addition to the learning experience of the conference, attendees were also given the opportunity to attend a private event at the Buffalo Trace Distillery. This event included a distillery tour and an outstanding meal in the Buffalo Trace Clubhouse.

The conference also offered the opportunity for attendees to attend both OSHA 10-Hour Training and Special Government Employee (SGE) training. A number of attendees participated in these classes which proved to be a great success.

Region IV would like to also recognize the Naval Air Station—Jacksonville who was selected as the Mentor of the Year for 2016.

Contributed by Christopher J. Colburn, Region IV Director-at-Large

Region IV The 26th Annual Region IV VPPPA Safety and Health Excellence Conference was held June 21–23, in historic Lexington, KY. The conference included 54 workshops presented by exceptional subject matter experts on a number of topics related to health and safety. The tone of the conference was set by opening speaker Bob McCall who shared his true passion of helping companies achieve their top high reliability potential each and every day. The conference was closed by two-time USA Olympic kayaker Cliff Meidl. Cliff, who was once injured in a tragic construction accident, overcame the challenges of his injuries to go on and realize his Olympic-level THE LEADER

vpppa.org

41

chapter round-ups

Region V

Region VII

The Region V VPPPA Chapter Board would like to congratulate Bill Linneweh from Hendrickson and Jim Harmon from General Electric for their re-elections to the board as chairman and treasurer. We welcome and congratulate new board member, Tina Kennedy from Flint Hills Resources in Peru, IL as the Hourly Representative from a Union Site and extend a big thank you to outgoing board member Stephanie Keaton for her time and support to our board. For additional information regarding the Region V Board and how you can volunteer with Region V, be sure to check out our website.

We had great conference at the Downtown Marriott in Des Moines, IA, where we had a total of 231 attendees. Our keynote speaker was Lt. Joe Torrillo from the New York Fire Department, who was buried alive twice, under both towers, during the September 11 attacks in New York City.

Joe brought a strong message on survival, faith and learning from past experiences.

During Tuesday night’s exhibitor reception, illusionist Chris Carter from the Chicago area wowed the crowd.

There was an SGE training class on July 13–15 in Kansas City, MO, and there was an application workshop and an SSQ workshop held in Des Moines, IA, during the Region VII conference in May. There were 18 individuals in each workshop. As of now, there are 12 companies being mentored by Region VII mentors and one site is waiting for a mentor. In addition, the following changes were made to the board during the May conference—Chairperson: Bill Turner, NuStar Energy; Vice Chairperson: Tom Hauber, Rockwell Collins; Secretary/ Historian: Fred Wilhoft, Oxy Chem; Labor Rep from a Site with a CBA: Eric Befort, G.E. Aviation and Contractor/Construction Representative: David McKee McKee, Utility Contractors Inc. The regional scholarship was awarded to Baileigh Borer, the daughter of Brian Behle (NuStar Energy-Columbus, NE). Other award winners included Dale Randal from G.E. Aviation for the Traveling Award; Mike Yount from W.W. Wood Products for Mentor of the Year and Bill Turner from NuStar Energy for the “Michael Murphy” SGE of the Year award.

Region V Conference News Thank you to all of the presenters who volunteered to share success stories and best practices at our regional conference this year!

The 2016 Region V Conference was held May 23–25 in Chicago, IL with an estimated 395 attendees participating in the event and 48 exhibitors on-hand to provide the latest information on products and programs available to improve the safety and health of workers. Emerald Society of Chicago Police Department Pipe and Drums Band presented the colors for the opening session with spectacular renditions of patriotic songs and led the group in the playing and singing of our National Anthem. The opening speaker for the conference was USAF Fighter Pilot and Founder of Target Leadership Jeff “Odie” Espenship. Jeff ’s energetic and motivational presentation included his personal experiences of how taking shortcuts and not following procedures lead to tragedy within his own life. The closing speaker was Mark Briggs of Safety Management Resources. Mark spoke on the evolution of safety and how we become complacent and willing to take risks in our personal lives and how it transcends into our work life.

VPP Site Tour Thirty conference attendees took part in the VPP site tour hosted by Pfizer R&D Technical Center in Lake Forest, IL. The tour was very informative and the team was very accommodating as they explained their processes and answered questions.

Contributed by Steve Washburn, Region V Director-at-Large

42

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

Contributed by Bill Turner, Region VII Chairperson

Region X The 22nd Annual Region X Safety & Health Summit took place May 17–19, 2016 at the Boise Centre and The Grove Hotel in Boise, Idaho. “Saddle Up for Safety” was the theme.

This conference held classes over four days and had 253 attendees, 25 vendors and 15 sponsors.

It was supported by: Alaska OSHA, Oregon OSHA, Washington Department of Labor & Industries—DOSH, U.S. Department of

Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Labor—OSHA. Gene Balsmeier, the keynote speaker, spoke about balancing workplace choices and leaving a legacy. There were five pre-conference workshops for attendees on a wide range of topics including, soft tissue injury prevention, VPP application workshop, emergency preparedness, change and transition and collaborative conflict resolution skills.

Guest speakers included: Terry Schulte from NuStar Energy, VPPPA national board secretary, Dave Kearns from the U.S. Department of Labor—OSHA, area director, Jacob Ewer a VPP consultation program manager, Carol Henning from the Department of Energy, INL industrial team safety lead and Michael Wood from Oregon OSHA. Elected to the Region X Board of Directors: Chairperson, Michelle Steeler from AECOM, Director from a site without a collective bargaining agent, Tim Taylor from ConocoPhillips and Director-at-Large, Jeff Carlson from ConocoPhillips. One directorat-large position is open and will be filled by the BoD. The Region X Bylaws Committee was tasked with reviews and better aligning with national VPPPA bylaws. The BoD approved the changes at the February meeting. The Region X membership approved the new bylaws on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at the Annual Meeting of the Membership in Boise, Idaho.

Region X Awards Chairperson Award: Liz Norton—Washington River Protection Solutions, Richland, WA. Mentor of the Year: Max VanValey—Oldcastle Auburn, WA. SGE of the Year: Amelia Maule—Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

Innovation Award: Idaho Treatment Group (LTG) LLC. Two Safety & Outreach Awards were given, one to the Sludge Treatment Project of CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company, Richland, WA, and the other to Cinda Guenther and Jan Seely of Mission Support Alliance, Richland, WA. Derrek Engard is the new consultation & VPP manager replacing Jacob Ewer who is now the Bellevue Area Office—Area Director for Federal OSHA. Contributed by Jack Griffith, Region X Director-at-Large

VPPPA Contacts

calendar of events

September September 14, 2016

August August 29–September 1, 2016 32nd Annual National VPPPA Safety & Health Conference

August 29–September 1, 2016 Take a Selfie with a Board Member Contest

To reach the VPPPA National Office, call (703) 761-1146 or visit www. vpppa.org. To reach a particular staff member, please refer to the contact information below.

Conference survey deadline

R. Davis Layne rdlayne@vpppa.org Senior Advisor

October

Sara A. Taylor, CMP staylor@vpppa.org Director of Operations Ext. 107

October 14, 2016

Amanda McVicker amcvicker@vpppa.org Senior Conference Coordinator Ext. 112

Priority period ends for exhibitors and sponsors

October 19–21, 2016 21 Annual VOSH Conference Embassy Suites Hampton Roads Hampton, VA st

Sarah Neely sneely@vpppa.org Communications Manager Ext. 121 Jamie Mitchell jmitchell@vpppa.org Communications Coordinator Ext. 117 Tom Webb twebb@vpppa.org Strategic Development & Member Services Manager Ext. 114 Natasha Cole ncole@vpppa.org Member Services Coordinator Ext. 111 Katlyn Pagliuca kpagliuca@vpppa.org Government Affairs & Special Projects Coordinator Ext. 115 Heidi Hill hhill@vpppa.org Event Sales & Advertising Coordinator Ext. 111 Michael Khosrofian mkhosrofian@vpppa.org Accountant Ext. 104 Bryant Walker bwalker@vpppa.org Information & Data Analyst Manager Ext. 110 Courtney Malveaux, Esq cmalveaux@vpppa.org Government Relations Counsel Ext. 105

THE LEADER

vpppa.org

43

7600-E Leesburg Pike, Suite 100 Falls Church, VA 22043-2004 Tel: (703) 761-1146 Fax: (703) 761-1148 www.vpppa.org VPPPA, a nonprofit 501(c) (3) charitable organization, promotes advances in worker safety and health excellence through best practices and cooperative efforts among workers, employers, the government and communities.

SCAN QR CODE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT VPPPA, INC.

http://bit.ly/jVQcBo

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER