I suggest we strongly encourage the nomination of Patrick Breysse for Assistant Secretary for Labor. Pat is a certified industrial hygienist and as president of ACGIH helped guide it through some very difficult litigation on TLVs. Questions on Pat can be sent to me at lewisrd@slu.edu or 314-977-8151.

Patrick Breysse, PhD, CIH for Assistant Secretary for Labor, OSHA

We are entering a new period for worker health and safety protection. It has been over 30 years since the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) was passed, and it is dire in need of reform. If passed, reform legislation currently before Congress would invigorate the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) with renewed purpose, and provide a new mandate to advance worker protection. The next Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA will play a key leadership role in helping to redefine OSHA under these new reforms.
Dr. Patrick Breysse has been exposed to worker health and safety issues his entire life. His grandfather was killed in a work place accident before he was born, and his father was an academic industrial hygienist at the University of Washington beginning in 1958 until his retirement in 1990s. His grandfather’s death and his father’s many stories of workplace dangers inspired him to focus his career on the protection of workers. As summarized below, he has over thirty years of experience in the field of occupational safety and health:
• Received a Masters degree in Industrial Hygiene from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health (now known as the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) in 1980;
• Received a PhD degree in Industrial Hygiene from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 1985;
• Became a Certified Industrial Hygienist in 1985 and have maintained this certification continuously since that time;
• Appointed to the faculty at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 1986 with a current rank of Full Professor with tenure;
• Since appointment in 2004, serves as Director of the Environmental Health Engineering Division of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences;
• Directs the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Education Research Center Industrial Hygiene Program at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health since 1993;
• Published over 120 peer-reviewed manuscripts that includes occupational safety and exposure and health studies in mining, petrochemical, chemical, transportation, manufacturing, industries as well as in office settings and during the World Trade Center and Katrina clean up activities;
• Served as a member and as chairman of the Board of Directors for the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (2000 - 2004);
• Served as a member and chairman of the Safety and Occupational Health grant review study section for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (2004 -2008);
• Served on numerous advisory panels and committees for variety of governmental, nonprofit, and industrial groups including the National Academy of Sciences, Environmental Protection Agency, NIOSH, Los Alamos National Laboratory; National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences; Chemical Manufacturers Association; and the Hanford Concerns Council;
• Consulted for or collaborated with a variety of Unions, including the Laborers International Union of North America; Teamsters Union; Fraternal Order of Police; and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; Communications, Energy, and Paper Workers Union of Canada;
• Work closely with industrial groups to conduct occupational health and safety research, including IBM, Thermal Insulation Manufacturers Association; Electric Power Research Institute, and AMOCO;
• Received the Meritorious Achievement Award from the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists in 2006;
• Trained and mentored over 100 graduate students studying occupational and environmental health
There are many key issues facing worker protection and OSHA today, including:
1. Updating Permissible Exposure Limits, many of which have not been updated since 1970;
2. Expanding OSHA coverage to millions of workers who are currently unprotected or inadequately protected;
3. Increasing OSHA enforcement provisions;
4. Preparing the US health and safety workforce to more adequately address emergency preparedness and response activities; and
5. Addressing hazards of new technologies (e.g., nanotechnology).
His background, training, administration experience, and longstanding commitment to worker protection makes him well qualified to play a leadership role in the advancement of worker protection. Breysse currently manages an academic division with 14 full and part-time faculty, a staff of over 20 individuals, and 32 students. He also currently receives and manages over $3 million in research funding annually. His professional experience summarized above documents his ability to lead complex programs, work with industry and labor and understand a range of perspectives. Labor and the occupational safety and health profession view Dr. Breysse as the best option for OSHA director.