Dr. Jo Anne Balanay currently serves on the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Thermal Stress Working Group, which held their first virtual meeting today.

The American Conference for Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for heat stress, based on the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), has been the industrial hygiene standard for heat exposure assessment but its real-world application is challenging, especially for small businesses. NIOSH and OSHA developed the heat safety tool app using the heat index metric to simplify heat stress guidance. However, heat index may not be as effective as the WBGT in estimating heat stress risk, especially at higher metabolic work rates.

This AIHA working group has been recommended to investigate, develop and validate a new heat stress tool that would benefit employers, including small businesses, independent contractors, construction and agricultural workers. Thus, the group’s planned activities align well with Dr. Balanay’s current research agenda on alternative heat stress assessment tools for occupational settings.