The American Industrial Hygiene Association is using a $500,000 federal grant to develop educational products on preventing and controlling the spread of infectious diseases in the workplace. The Falls Church, Va.-based group announced Feb. 8 it had won the award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

AIHA said it will use the money to develop books, videos and other educational products. The materials will be targeted to small businesses owners; first responders; employees in day-care centers, K-12 schools and colleges; and construction and agricultural workers, according to a statement on AIHA's website.

"Being awarded this generous funding from CDC is energizing and humbling at the same time," AIHA CEO Lawrence Sloan said in the statement. "It indicates that our work is recognized and trusted, and as an association of OEHS (occupational and environmental health and safety) professionals, this is very important to us. This project will allow us to continue our mission to empower those who apply scientific knowledge to keep workers and communities healthy and safe, even amidst a pandemic."

The new educational products funded by the CDC will complement AIHA's existing library of resources that it developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the association said. AIHA currently offers 27 Back to Work Safely guidelines, which are available in English and Spanish and free to the public. The documents were written by scientists and professionals with pandemic expertise, and they have been downloaded more than 1.25 million times, the association said.

CEO Dateline will not be published Monday, Feb. 15, because of the Presidents Day holiday.

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