Occupational Health

Free seminar to focus on `Managing Through Y2K'The Carroll County Chamber of Commerce and Women's Business Institute are sponsoring a free seminar on "Managing Through Y2K" from 6 p.m. to 8: 30 p.m. Aug. 31 at Westminster Comfort Inn.Participants will learn how to deal with Year 20002 computer problems.The seminar is being held in conjunction with the Maryland Y2K Coalition.Registration is required. Information: 410-628-0380.County seminar to cover employer health programsThe Carroll County Job Service Employer Committee will present a seminar on occupational health programs at 8 a.m. Sept.

TODAY IS YOUR first day at your new job. You're given the typical forms to fill out.You complete a questionnaire about your current state of health, including questions about family medical history and allergies. What happens to that information after you provide it? What happens if you confide in a company health professional at your workplace about a worsening ulcer, a difficult pregnancy or a chronic ailment?Most individuals assume that their personal health information will be kept confidential, but few laws exist to protect this kind of information.

Job fair expected to draw nearly 100 businesses, agencies Close to 100 businesses and government agencies are expected to take part in a job fair Thursday afternoon at Glen Burnie Mall. The free event offers opportunities for people seeking entry-level jobs and for those in the work force, and seminars to brush up on job-application skills. Interviewing techniques will be the subject of a program at 11:30 a.m. - half an hour before the fair formally opens - and a program on improving resumes will be offered at 1:30 p.m. The fair ends at 4 p.m. Among the employers registered to participate are Arundel Mills, the mall that is scheduled to open in November, retail businesses, banks, Verizon Wireless, hotels, temporary employment agencies, and police and prison agencies.

NEW POSITIONS* The National Association of Purchasing Management has named Ella H. Pierce, Baltimore City's purchasing agent since 1987, as District V director. The association is a professional organization of public and private-sector purchasing agents, materials managers and inventory specialists. Ms. Pierce, who continues as the city's chief procurement officer, will be responsible for the association's affiliates in six states -- Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina -- as well as Washington.

New positionsBethlehem Steel Corp. in Sparrows Point promoted Carl G. Osterman to superintendent of the tin mills.Optic Graphics, a Glen Burnie-based printing and manufacturing company, named Jack Blier customer service manager.Transportation Bureau of Baltimore Inc., a freight traffic management firm, named Samuel R. Polakoff executive vice president and Ed Jordan vice president of sales and marketing.The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel named Gary L. Smith director, Richard P. Suess assistant director for program development, and G. Richard Garritson head of the aeronautics department.

WASHINGTON -- High levels of air pollution contribute to an estimated 500 fatalities a year nationwide from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, with perhaps a dozen occurring in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, a panel of doctors contended at a news conference yesterday.SIDS claimed the lives of 3,800 babies in the United States in 1994, the year upon which the statistics are based. Its cause is largely unknown, but infants are known to face a heightened risk if they breathe cigarette smoke or sleep on their stomachs rather than on their backs.

Representatives of several city labor unions criticized the contracted health services provided by Mercy Medical Center to public workers yesterday. They complained of cases in which police officers, firefighters and other employees are being forced to work despite suffering from health problems and job-related injuries. In other cases, employees who want to return to work are not being allowed to return to their jobs, the union leaders said during a City Council hearing. "There's so much distrust among my membership," said Rick Schluderberg, president of the Baltimore Fire Fighters Local 734, which has about 1,300 members.

Employees in the Howard County Clerk of the Circuit Court's office are not getting enough fresh air to breathe, state occupational health inspectors have concluded. A report from Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH), which was recently sent to Clerk of the Circuit Court Margaret D. Rappaport, says that carbon dioxide levels in her offices in Howard's Circuit courthouse are higher than they should be. It also notes other factors that might affect the air quality in the historic, 19th-century building - including dead pigeons decomposing on the roof near cooling fans and "mold growth" in the building.

ROCKVILLE -- A portion of a partially constructed parking garage in a commercial area collapsed yesterday afternoon, killing two workers and critically injuring a third, authorities said. A fourth worker was missing, and authorities last night were using canine units to search the wreckage. "We're still hopeful" the missing worker will be found alive, said Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire Department. Early last night, the dogs picked up a scent, and rescue teams were bringing in heat and sound detectors in an effort to pinpoint the location, Piringer said.

Vehicle management:William F. Adler is named president of PHH FleetAmerica, the U.S. vehicle management services subsidiary of PHH Corp.He will be responsible for the operations of Avis Leasing and NTS, the corporation's other domestic vehicle management subsidiaries.In his previous position of senior vice president of strategic resources for the corporation, he responsible for corporate human resources and corporate facilities management.He will retain his title of corporate senior vice president.