American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH)
ABIH Certification Maintenance Program
HAZMATEAM, Inc. offers several courses which have been approved by the ABIH for Industrial Hygiene and Safety Certification Maintenance (CM) points. Click here for a listing of approved courses and their corresponding points.
General Information on ABIH
The American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH®), a not-for-profit corporation, was organized "to improve the practice and educational standards of the profession of industrial hygiene." The primary mission of industrial hygienists is "to protect the health and well-being of working people and the public from chemical, microbiological and physical health hazards present at, or emanating from, the workplace."
The ABIH serves the following purposes:
1. "To receive and process applications for examinations, and to evaluate the education and experience qualifications of the applicants for such examinations.
2. To grant and to issue to qualified persons, who pass the Board's certification examinations, certificates acknowledging their competence in industrial hygiene or aspects thereof, and to revoke for cause certificates so granted or issued.
3. To provide for maintenance of certification by requiring submission of evidence of continued professional qualifications by the holders of certificates in the Comprehensive Practice or Chemical Practice of industrial hygiene.
4. To maintain a record of holders of certificates granted by the corporation.
5. To furnish to the public, and to interested persons or organizations, a roster of those persons in good standing, having special training, knowledge and competence in industrial hygiene as evidenced by certification granted by the corporation."
The American Board of Industrial Hygiene is a member of the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB) which provides accreditation of certification programs.
The intended purpose of the ABIH examination is to help "ensure that professionals working in this field have the skills and knowledge that have been identified as being important in the practice of industrial hygiene. Successful completion of the exam, meeting the educational requirements, and meeting the comprehensive, professional-level industrial hygiene experience requirements are the means by which the Board attempts to identify those practitioners that have demonstrated these skills in the Comprehensive Practice of Industrial Hygiene."
ABIH Certification Maintenance Program
Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIHs), who have been certified by the ABIH, participate in a Certification Maintenance program. The purpose of the Certification Maintenance program is "to ensure that CIHs continue to develop and enhance their professional industrial hygiene knowledge and skills for the duration of their active careers. The emphasis of the certification maintenance program is on continuing education. Participation in the certification maintenance program is a key element of continuing competence in the profession."
Forty (40) certification maintenance (CM) points must be accumulated over five years (beginning Jan. 1 of the year following passing of the certification examination). Points may accumulated in the following categories:
1. Active Industrial Hygiene practice
2. Technical/Professional committee service
3. Publication of papers
4. Attendance at meetings and educational programs
5. Teaching
6. ABIH examination
7. Other
A minimum of ten (10) CM points must be in Category 4, in IH rubric areas. The specific IH rubric areas are: Air Sampling & Instrumentation; Analytical Chemistry; Basic Science; Biohazards; Biostatistics & Epidemiology; Community Exposure; Engineering Controls; Ergonomics; Health Risk Analysis and Communication; Ionizing Radiation; Management; Ethics; Noise & Vibration; Non-Engineering Controls; Non-Ionizing Radiation; Thermal Stressors; Toxicology and Work Environments & Industrial Processes. All courses and educational programs in Category 4 must be approved for CM points.
Safety courses and conferences receive safety CM points in Category 4, "Attendance at Meetings and Educational Programs." Safety CM points may count toward recertification, but they are not included in the minimum requirement of 10 points in IH rubric areas.
For more information on the American Board of Industrial Hygienists and the Certification Maintenance Program, visit www.abih.org or contact Hazmateam at (603) 882-1112.
