IRSST - Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail

2001

Institute   >   Historical Overview   >   2001-2010   >   2001
June 30, 2024

2001: Useful research

An accredited microbiology laboratory

The IRSST’s microbiology laboratory became the only laboratory in Canada and one of the first in North America to receive accreditation rom the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) for its bacteria and mould analyses. This accreditation confirmed both the quality of its methods and processes and the leadership of its team members.

Knowledge transfer

As part of an awareness-raising campaign and with help from its partners, the IRSST passed on to some 6,000 stakeholders and workers the results of its studies on carbon monoxide emissions associated with inadequate maintenance of propane-powered internal combustion vehicles. And to meet training needs, it teamed up with three partners essential to the implementation of a professional development program in mechanics: the CSST, the ministère de l’Éducation and the Commission scolaire de la Seigneurie des-Mille-Îles. The result was that in 2001, nine school boards were able to offer this new training program to mechanics.

The IRSST’s know-how in the area of knowledge transfer was highlighted at a forum held in Toronto by the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC). Based on a popular vote by 550 participants, the Institute won two of the three prizes offered for the best posters presenting the strategies and methods it used to facilitate the appropriation of knowledge in workplaces.

Beryllium

Participating in a CSST initiative aimed at preventing exposure to béryllium, the IRSST’s laboratories developed an analytical method to detect the presence of this light metal, which, in the form of fumes or dust, is dangerous for health, particularly in that it can cause a chronic lung disease: berylliosis. This process gave rise to publication of a good practices guide for cleaning up and decontaminating workplaces.

Awards and distinctions

Brodeur

Dr Jules Brodeur a seasoned researcher and member of the IRSST’s Scientific Advisory Board, received the Prix Antoine-Aumont from the AQHSST in recognition of the excellence of his contribution to industrial toxicology research.

Lamonde

The Québec Cabinet appointed Jacques Lamonde the new chairman of the IRSST’s Board of Directors.

36th Congress of Société d’ergonomie de langue française (SELF) and Association of Canadian Ergonomists (ACE)

Brought together for the first time, on the IRSST’s initiative, the members of the Société d’ergonomie de langue française (SELF) and the Association of Canadian Ergonomists (ACE) held their annual convention in Montreal in October 2001 on Ergonomics for Changing Work. For the 500 participating ergonomists, both researchers and practitioners, this represented a unique opportunity for sharing, networking, and mutual enrichment.