On June 5, AB&I Foundry hosted a virtual visit to its facility in Oakland, California, focused on occupational health, for 19 University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) nursing students in partnership with Dr. Barbara Materna. Dr. Materna is one of California's senior experts in occupational health who serves as the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Occupational Health Branch's chief and teaches at UCSF. 

"Protecting the health and safety of our team members is of paramount importance to our company and sharing the knowledge behind it with students from UCSF adds a certain amount of accountability," said Michael Lowe, AB&I's general manager. 

"AB&I approaches environmental and workplace safety issues with a clear vision from our corporate leaders, supported by strong policies that place the workplace environment and safety at the core of the business and through a substantial investment in advanced safety technologies and modern infrastructure," said Lowe. "But these investments can only fulfill their real value through applied knowledge by healthcare professionals and UCSF students are among those we may depend upon in the future."

Zeydi Gutierrez, director of community relations added, "During this year's virtual visit, we addressed the unique environmental and safety challenges faced by our industry with a comprehensive Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) management system based on the principles of the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) 14001 standard, Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) 18001, and OSHA Management Guidelines. ISO 14001 which is an internationally recognized specification for environmental management systems.

"I am proud to be part of this community and forging the partnerships needed support the health and well-being of industrial workers here in East Oakland and beyond," Gutierrez continued.

In addition to producing environmentally beneficial products, AB&I has developed ways to make its facility more environmentally friendly as well. AB&I has implemented environmental practices that, in many instances, exceed U.S. standards, producing performance that is among the best of the industries in which it operates. 

AB&I Foundry, an Oakland-based company that manufactures cast iron pipe and fittings for the plumbing industry, has a long legacy of manufacturing in East Oakland. The company has been manufacturing quality cast iron soil pipe that is used to convey fluids out of commercial and residential buildings since 1906. Plumbing infrastructure is critical to public health and sanitation and there are only three manufacturers remaining in the United States.