Insights

Informative explorations of EHS in the life sciences

How to perform acceptable daily exposure (ADE) calculations

September 17, 2015

On June 1, 2015, the EMA’s Guideline on setting health based exposure limits for use in risk identification in the manufacture of different medicinal products in shared facilities came into effect. In this guideline there is the requirement to perform permitted daily exposure (PDE) calculations. The general process for performing these calculations is presented.

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Superior Potent Compound Safety Performance: Identifying the Business Value

February 12, 2014

In this article, Dean Calhoun discusses the connection between strategic potent compound safety initiatives and business performance.

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Infographic: Establishing a Potent Compound Safety program

November 23, 2011

Wondering how to establish a comprehensive potent compound safety program? Don't know where to start? We boil it all down to the key points for you to consider in a handy, attractive, suitable-for-framing infographic.

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Occupational Exposure Limits: Understanding the Uncertainties

November 4, 2011

Occupational exposure limits for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) contain a number of uncertainty factors. To properly apply this OEL, you must understand these uncertainty factors and why they were used. In this telephone interview with Dr. Joe Nieusma, Sr. Toxicologist for Affygility Solutions, Joe discusses some of the reasons that there may be different occupational exposure limits for the same active pharmaceutical ingredient.

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Category 4 or 5 Potent Compounds: Understanding the Risks

May 16, 2011

What are Category 4 or 5 potent compounds and what are some examples? These questions are often presented to the potent compound safety experts at Affygility Solutions. In this article, Dean M. Calhoun, CIH, President and CEO, and Dr. Jim Damewood, Senior Director of Occupational Toxicology and Industrial Hygeine with Affygility Solutions discuss answers to these questions.

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EHS thought leaders – a discussion with Michael Connor

August 19, 2010

As a 14 year veteran in the environmental, health and safety field, Michael Connor has played an important role in improving the environmental, health and safety performance of Upsher-Smith Laboratories. On July 21st, 2010, Dean Calhoun, President and CEO of Affygility Solutions met with Michael and discussed a variety of issues important to environmental, health and safety professionals.

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Do health and safety checklists work?

August 15, 2010

Early in my career as an environmental, health and safety professional, there was a significant amount of time spent developing environmental, health and safety checklists for performing routine inspections. In some cases, these "checklists" grew to over forty pages in length and covered every possible health and safety aspect.

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Are you single? Ten recommendations about managing a corporate EHS program in the bioscience industry by yourself

July 27, 2010

In this article, the author will provide recommendations on how to effectively manage a bioscience EHS program as a single individual.

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Top ten OSHA violations in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry

July 27, 2010

I am often asked "What are the most common OSHA violations that are cited in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry?" So with some research on the OSHA website, I created a list of the top ten OSHA violations for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. From over 25 years of EH&S auditing experience, these OSHA violations are consistent with what I’ve seen during a typical compliance audit

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Potent compounds: 7 things that every EHS professional should know

June 29, 2010

Seven things about potent compounds that every pharmaceutical environmental, health and safety professional should know. Review your potent compound safety handling practices and determine your gaps.

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EHS thought leaders – a discussion with Jeff Holmes

January 6, 2010

Dean Calhoun and Jeff Holmes discuss Genzyme Corporation’s superior environmental performance, the challenges of the LEED process, and advice for young environmental professionals.

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EHS thought leaders – a discussion with Keith Tait

December 1, 2009

Dean Calhoun and Keith Tait discuss EH&S industry changes, opportunities, and the future challenges that lie ahead.

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