Maintaining Your CIH

Below is information that outlines and distills information provided by ABIH and other organizations to help a CIH understand the various options for obtaining the required CM pts during a five year cycle. Additional links have been provided to help make this list more useful. Most of us within NASA will be using

IH practice
Attendance at Educational Programs
Other activities

to obtain our points so I have listed these first below.

Practice
Program Attendance
Other Activities
Committee Service
Publish Papers
Teaching
Examination

Active Industrial Hygiene Practice

CIH: Maximum: 3.0 CM points per year, 15 CM points per 5 year cycle (>50 IH practice = 3.0 CM points per year, >20% <50% IH practice = 2.0 CM points per year.)
CAIH: Maximum: 2.0 CM points per year, 10 CM points per 5 year cycle (>20% IH practice = 2.0 CM points per year.)

Please summarize your practice of industrial hygiene for the period covered in the space provided here. Refer to the Definitions and Functions of Industrial Hygiene found at the ABIH website to determine CM points in this category.

Attendance at Educational Programs

CM points accrued at a rate of .5 CM point per .5 day and 1.0 CM point per day.

CM approval numbers are listed at the website. A minimum requirement of 10 CM points per cycle must be in one or more of the IH Content Domains:

Basic Sciences (Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Mathematics)
Occupational Disease, Illness, Injury and Surveillance (Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Toxicology)
Health Hazards (Ergonomics/Human Factors, Physical Stressors, Biological Stressors, Chemical Stressors)
Work Environments (Indoor Air, Industrial Processes)
Program Management Principles (Investigation Methods, Ethics, Risk Communication, Guidelines and Standards, Data Management and Integration, Emergency Response)
Evaluation Practices (Instrumentation, Sampling Methods/Techniques, Analytical Chemistry)
Hazard Control (Engineering, PPE, Administrative)'
Community Stressors (Air Pollution, Hazardous Waste).

The same course may be claimed one time per 5 year CM cycle (e.g. asbestos refresher courses). Approved annual conferences can be claimed each year. The AIHCE and PCIH do not require a CM approval number.

Educational programs must be approved before points will be granted (requires submission of sponsor, subject and time frame). Professional development courses taken at a conference must be listed separately in the table below.

Course Type	Details
Approved PDCs associated with the AIHCE and PCIH	Do not require a CM approval number.
Fundamental industrial hygiene courses and non-EHS management courses	Capped at 5.0 CM points per course and 5.0 CM points per 5 year cycle.
Safety topics	Receive safety CM points which can be accumulated toward the 40/35 CM point total.
Distance learning activities	Capped at 5.0 CM points per activity regardless of duration or content.
Academic coursework in IH or a related field	Receives 2.5 CM points per semester credit hour, no CM approval number required.

Additional online resources:

Other Activities

You may list other professional activities not covered under Categories 1-6 which you believe should be considered by ABIH for recertification. Please furnish sufficient detail to describe the activity. Full list of Other Activities from ABIH:

CM Points Under Category 7 - Other Activities

The following activities currently receive CM points under this category:

JOEH journal article reviewer = 0.5 point per review
JOEH Action Level participant = 0.5 CM point per quarter
ACGIH-Co-op Book Review Panel = 0.5 point per review
Workplace HR & Safety participant = 0.5 CM point per 12 articles
AIHA Synergist Test Series = 1.0 CM point per 11 articles
Writing questions for the CIH, CSP, OHST, CHST and STS examinations = 1.0 CM point per 5 acceptable questions/5 points maximum per year.
AIHCE session arranger = 0.5 CM point
ABIH item writing workshop = 0.5 CM point per 0.5 day
Peer reviewed journal column editor/book reviewer = 0.5 CM point per review
Participation in an ABIH approved formal mentoring program
Pro-bono activity - 40 hours = 0.5 CM point/per year (includes IH practice/consultations, surveys, audits, sampling, etc. performed as a community service not as part of a regular job or continuing education and not for pay).
Passing other certifications which include the following:
- CHMM/Certified Hazardous Materials Manager = 2.5 CM points
- CIEC/Certified Indoor Environmental Consultant = 2.5 CM points
- CMC/Council-certified Microbial Consultant = 2.5 CM points
- CET/Certified Environmental, Safety & Health Trainer = 2.5 CM points
- CPE/Certified Professional Ergonomist = 5.0 CM points
- CPEA/Certified Professional Environmental Auditor = 5.0 CM points
- CSP/Certified Safety Professional = 5.0 CM points
- QEP/Qualified Environmental Professional = 5.0 CM points
- American Board of Preventive Medicine/Occupational Medicine = 5.0 CM points

Points claimed during a CM cycle must have been accrued during the cycle.

ABIH awards CM points for other certifications if the following criteria are met:

The certification board is national/international in scope.
The eligibility requirements include an educational component.
A written examination is required.
The certification is related to the IH Content Domains (subject areas).
The certification program is third-party accredited by an organization such as the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards, National Commission for Certifying Agencies or American National Standards Institute.

Other professional activities not covered under Categories 1-6 or not listed above may be eligible for points. Please submit a description of the activity and why you believe it should be awarded CM points.

Technical/Professional Committee Service

Maximum of 5.0 CM points per cycle.

CM points are awarded for industrial hygiene technical or professional committee service at the rate of 1.0 CM point per year for the chair and 0.5 CM point per year for a member of such a committee.

With regard to local sections of AIHA, only the local section President (Chair) and elected Board members receive CM committee points (local section committee work does not receive CM points). Officers of a national industrial hygiene organization (e.g. ACGIH and AIHA) will be awarded 2.0 points per year.

Publication of OH Papers

Two CM points will be awarded to the primary author of an original paper published in a peer-reviewed professional journal and 1.0CM point to each additional author.

Industrial hygiene related chapters in books or similar publications will be treated, in most cases, as peer-reviewed articles. Conference proceeding do not receive CM points based on their limited distribution. Non-peer-reviewed articles will continue to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

An acceptable article must be >500 words in length, technical in nature, pertain to IH subject matter and contain references. If credit is awarded, the primary author receives 0.5 CM point for a non-peer reviewed article. Please provide a copy of your non-peer reviewed article.

Teaching in Industrial Hygiene

Maximum of 20 points per cycle.

Teaching in industrial hygiene conducted outside one's normal job and organization receives 1.0 CM point per 0.5 day, 1/3 point per hour and presentations which are > 15 minutes but < 60 minutes will receive 1/4 CM point.
Platform, poster, technical presentations (peer reviewed selection process) at a national or international conference which are > 20 minutes but < 60 minutes will receive 1.0 CM point.
Consultants, please note that presentations performed as part of your consulting practice do not receive separate teaching CM points.

ABIH Examination

CIHs will be awarded forty points for successfully passing the current ABIH Comprehensive Practice examination.

If you wish to select this option, please contact the ABIH office. Since the Aspects and CAIH examinations have been discontinued, maintaining your certification by taking an Aspects or CAIH exam is no longer an option.

If you feel you do not have the required points, you could apply for the Comprehensive Practice exam if your current work experience is qualifying. If you wish to select this option, please contact the ABIH Office. This option does require you to pay the current examination fee.