Occupational health and safety never takes a vacation.  In the “Winter” episode of the BioPharma EH&S Podcast, Dean Calhoun, President of Affygility Solutions, discusses the issue of over-dependence on environmental, health and safety personnel at small biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.  Dean presents the challenges that this issue may create, as well as some possible solutions to this issue.

Issues that may be created include:

• Lack of health and safety ownership by line management and supervisors
• Absence of bench strength during emergencies or unannounced regulatory inspections.
• Difficulty in managing change of EH&S personnel
• Inability to comply with some regulations that require adherence to strict inspection frequencies

To listen to this episode of the podcast, click on the player below.

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Dean also, presents some upcoming events.

• Dermal Exposure and Absorption of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients webinar on Jan. 11th, 2011.
• Advanced Potent Compound Safety Series – this 5 module webinar series begins on Jan. 18th, 2011
• National Association for Environmental Management (NAEM) – Management Information Systems Conference in San Antonio, TX on March 2nd – 3rd, 2011
• South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, TX on March 11th – 15th.

To submit questions or feedback to the BioPharma EHS Podcast, please call 206-984-3214 for our listener voicemail line.