News and Announcements

IHMM Launches a New Credential for

Non-Degreed Hazmat Workers

The examination is now available for the Certified Hazardous Materials Practitioner (CHMP) credential!  Read more about it here.

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Recertification Reminder...

All CHMMs who were certified or last recertified in 2002 are due to submit their recertification documentation, covering the years 2003-2007, to the Institute office during 2008, according to the following schedule:

Last Name begins with:                   Submit Documentation by:

                          A - G                              May 31, 2008

                          H - O                             July 31, 2008

                          P - Z                              October 31, 2008

CESB Issues Policy Statement on Engineering Credentials

The Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB) created a task force on engineering credentials for the purpose of creating a mutually agreeable policy statement on the value and proper use of a specialty certifications by licensed professional engineers.

The task force issued its recommendation at the CESB annual meeting in February 2007, and IHMM’s Board of Directors formally approved the policy statement at its March 2007 meeting.

"It is our hope that the policy statement we devised will be endorsed by all CESB-accredited certification organizations and by the National Society of Professional Engineers.  If it is, it will go a long way toward reducing the needless competition between licensing and credentialing," said Kenneth Manchen, P.E., CHMM, a member of the task force and then-Chair of the IHMM Board.  

A copy of the Policy Statement is available here.

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CHMMs Qualify for ASSE Professional Member Status

Certified Hazardous Materials Managers^® now qualify for the highest level of membership in the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE): the Professional Member.  Of the 30,000 ASSE members, more than 500 hold the CHMM certification and nearly 250 of those are not yet Professional Members.  CHMM members of ASSE should apply for reclassification to Professional Member status.  ASSE officials noted that all new member applicants with a CHMM designation will be eligible for automatic classification in this category.

The CHMM joins the Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), Certified Health Physicist (CHP), and Professional Engineer (P.E.) among the accredited certifications/registrations accepted for Professional Member status in ASSE.

ASSE membership categories are Professional Member, Member, Associate Member, International Member and Student Member.  For more information, contact Diane Hurns at 847-768-3413 or dhurns@asse.org.

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• First, by establishing standards of excellence for environmental consultants, the Program will contribute to the improvement of the environmental consulting profession.
• Second, by relying on Cleanup Stars' expertise at the low-priority sites, NJDEP case managers will have more time to focus on the sites with greater environmental or public health concerns.
• Third, Cleanup Star oversight will allow uncontaminated or slightly contaminated property to go quickly through the NJDEP process, allowing the properties to be sold or reused for important new purposes.

For the complete text of the release, see: www.state.nj.us/dep/srp/cleanupstar/.

To find out how to become a Cleanup Star, review the Request for Participation (RFP), which explains the qualification criteria and terms of the Cleanup Star participation, at www.state.nj.us/dep/srp/cleanupstar/cstar_rfp.pdf.

The NJDEP web site provides complete information about the Cleanup Star program and has links for downloading the application form in PDF, Word, and RTF formats.

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The CHMM^® Program Is Re-Accredited by CESB

The CHMM program has been accredited by the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB) since 1995, and that status has been renewed through 2008. The CHMM designation remains one of a select few accredited credentials in the environmental profession.

CESB's guidelines for accreditation include consideration of:

• Validity of the certification examination program
• Fairness of the procedures for determining applicant eligibility
• Adequacy of requirements for ensuring maintenance and enhancement of professional qualifications (recertification)
• Professionalism and independence of the certifying body
• Openness of the program to public scrutiny