CROSH Members' Newsletter

Spring 2023

CROSH Crew News

Welcome to the first CROSH Members' Newsletter! "CROSH Crew News" will come out three times a year and will highlight some of the impressive work our members have been up to. We hope you enjoy this first issue; let us know what you think!

Researcher Spotlight: Basem Gohar, PhD, MSc, C.Psych

Dr. Gohar started as a student member of CROSH before earning his PhD at Laurentian University in Rural and Northern Health. He now leads the University of Guelph’s Research in Occupational Health & Wellness (UGROHW) Lab.

Dr. Gohar's research focuses on identifying and understanding risk factors in the workplace with an emphasis on mental health.

He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Guelph’s Department of Population Medicine and a registered Clinical Psychologist with the College of Psychologists of Ontario.

If you are interested in completing graduate work or being involved in Dr. Gohar’s lab, please contact him at bgohar@uoguelph.ca.

CROSH Partnership with USW Local 6500

Ontario mine workers are dangerously overexposed to harmful levels of diesel particulate. We partnered with United Steelworkers Local 6500 to form the Diesel Particulate Project. The goal of the project is to get the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development to lower the Occupational Exposure Limit of diesel particulate.

You can learn about the project at dieselparticulateproject.com.

Cindy Abramson giving a video testimonial about losing her father to occupational disease. We produced videos for the project to help spread the word about the hazards of diesel particulate in underground mining.

Sean Staddon addressing USW Local 6500 members and family members at a townhall about the project. Sean is a USW 6500 member and one of the key leaders of the project.

Success By The Numbers

We've accomplished a great deal together over the past five years. Here's a look by the numbers:

Our Student Members

CROSH student members lead the way in sharing their OHS research, both in Northern Ontario and across Canada.

PhD Candidate Emily Tetzlaff presenting at the Maintenance, Engineering and Reliability/Mine Operators' Conference (MEMO) in Sudbury. PhD student Parastou Zerang showing her poster at the Canadian Nutrition Society (CNS) Conference in Toronto. Masters student Rebecca Bond explaining her research at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention in Toronto. Masters student George Flagler presenting on the Diesel Particulate Project at a USW 6500 Townhall in Sudbury.

Current CROSH student members and CROSH student alumni working together at NORCAT.

CROSH student member alumni Nicholas Beckett-Brown (back row, second from right), Brandon Vance (back row, far right), and Josée Cormier (front row, far right) and current CROSH student members Parastou Zerang (back row, far left), Jonah D'Angelo (back row, third from left), Mani Cuza (front row, far left), and Marie-Eve Morin (front row, second from left). Nicholas, Brandon, Josée, and Jonah are full-time employees at NORCAT. Parastou, Mani, and Marie-Eve are doing paid CROSH internships at NORCAT. The team is pictured here in NORCAT's Underground Centre.

CROSH students learning together at CRafés and having fun at CROSH social events.

CROSH student members pictured in these photos: Leah Dawson, Sara Perfetto, Bayly Burns, Janika Lapp, Courtney Lessel (CROSH staff), Taryn Thompson, Kira Gouchie, Kris Rathgeber, Ian Gibb, and Willa Hladun. You can follow the CROSH Social Committee on Instagram at @crosh_crsst_socialcommittee.

Internship Program

We've facilitated 71 paid student internships in the past five years! Marie-Eve Morin, pictured below, is a second year student in Psychologie du Sport at Laurentian University. She's currently doing a paid internship with NORCAT, along with other student members Mani Cuza and Parastou Zerang.

Would you like to learn more about the internship program? The details are online. And if you're a student and would like to be considered for an internship, you can fill out this form and submit it to croshtech@laurentian.ca.

Meet Parastou Zerang. Parastou is a doctoral student with Dr. Sandra Dorman, researching the role of food, the body and stress. This year, Parastou was selected by the Goodman School of Mines to join their Mineral Resources Industry Leadership Certificate.

The two year program features interactive learning modules and professional experiences designed to foster leadership, character development and resource industry stewardship. Well done, Parastou!

Our Thematic Conference

Our virtual, thematic conference was a big success! On January 20th, 2023, 8 CROSH members presented their research and key takeaways to 345 attendees (a CROSHCon record). In case you missed it, you can watch any of the presentations online.

CROSHCon Presenters

Left to right, top row to bottom: Basem Gohar, PhD, MSc, C.Psych; Emily Tella, HBK, MSc; Sherry Mongeau, PhD, MA, BA; Kerry R. McGannon, PhD; Lisa Bélanger, PhD (Keynote Speaker); Parastou Zerang, MSN; Alison Godwin, PhD; George Flagler, ECE, BPHE; and Kira Gouchie.

Resources for Members

Our Services

There are a variety of resources for our members on our shared Google Drive, from presentation templates to the lab handbook. And there's more we're adding! If you don't have access to the drive, email croshtech@laurentian.ca.

As part of our mandate to to self-generate a proportion of our operating costs, CROSH provides a variety of health and safety-related services to workplaces and industries in Northern Ontario and beyond. From courses and workshops to Workplace Simulator Services to Field Services and more. Let's spread the word that CROSH is open for business!

CROSHword Puzzle

Click here to see if you can solve this CROSHword puzzle (you can also print it out). Every newsletter will have a new puzzle for you to solve!

Across

4. What is the name of the keynote speaker for

CROSHCon 2023?

7. How many years has CROSH been a research

centre (as of 2023)?

8. What is the common acronym for Occupational

Health and Safety?

9. What is the name of the safety dog in the lab?

10. What is one of the rights of workers (1/3)?

11. Who is Ontario's Chief Prevention Officer?

12. What does PPE stand for?

Down

1. What is one of the rights of workers (2/3)?

2. What two words is CRafé a contraction of?

3. What is the very important event that takes place on

April 28th every year?

5. What is one of the rights of workers (3/3)?

6. What is the most effective hazard control?

Safety Photo Challenge

Send us a photo of you being safe either at work or at home and your photo could get shown here in the next issue of the newsletter!

Upcoming Events

Crafés: Every other Wednesday at 1pm in the CROSH Lab. The next Crafé will be March 1st, 2023. The presenter will be Meghan McCue, PhD candidate and Laurentian University Kinesiology graduate). Meghan will speak on "Outrunning Cancer: Exploring lifestyle and cancer risk."

Day of Mourning: April 28th, 2023. Details to follow.

Steps for Life: April 29th, 2023. Join the CROSH Team here to walk with us or if you'd just like to contribute to this worthy cause.

WSN Mining Health and Safety Conference: April 18 - 20th, 2023. Presenters include CROSH student members Parastou Zerang and George Flagler and CROSH Researchers Dr. Alison Godwin and Dr. Sandra Dorman. CROSH has sponsored registration for up to 10 student members to attend.

Annual General Membership Meeting: June 7th, 2023 at 10am.

WSPS Partners-in-Prevention Conference: June 20th, 2023. Including Dr. Dorman as a presenter.

Mental Health Resources

On February 21st, 9 CROSH student members and 4 CROSH staff participated in the Mental Health Commission of Canada's Mental Health First Aid Course. The course was suggested by CROSH student member Willa Hladun. Willa also compiled the below Mental Health Resources. Thank for your leadership in this area, Willa!

Canadian Mental Health Association

https://sm.cmha.ca/

Phone: 1-866-531-2600

Services: Mental health support, substance use counselling, housing support.

Connex Ontario

https://www.connexontario.ca/en-ca/

Phone: 1-866-531-2600

Services: Mental health support, substance use counseling, gambling counselling.

COVID-19 support for anxiety, isolation/loneliness

Phone: 1-833-325-1339

covidsupport@counsellingccs.com

Health Sciences North