Archive for NIOSH
Make One Change for Safety this National Safety Month
June is National Safety Month, an opportunity to help prevent unnecessary injuries and deaths at work, on the roads, and in our homes and communities. With this year’s theme, No 1 Gets Hurt, we are encouraging readers to think of at least one change you can make to improve safety this month. This joint blog from NIOSH and the National Safety Council (NSC) highlights the weekly themes of emergency preparedness, wellness, falls and driving. Help us spread the word about National Safety Month Read more [...]
Improving Occupational Safety and Health in the Construction and Mining Industries
With nearly 126 million full-time U.S. workers at risk of occupational illness and injury, it is critical to prioritize our research efforts to address the most important issues. One approach used by NIOSH and its partners to establish priorities is to consider the burden, need, and impact of potential research topics. This method allows us to identify the most important and impactful research to conduct and helps to ensure we are being good stewards of the resources entrusted to us. Another method Read more [...]
Vacuum Lifting System to Reduce Spinal Load During Airline Baggage Handling
Did you know NIOSH has tested a vacuum lifting assist system to reduce spinal strain during airline baggage handling? In collaboration with the Ohio State University, NIOSH published an article in Applied Ergonomics on the effectiveness of a vacuum lifting system in reducing spinal strain or loading during airline baggage handling. The study evaluated the techniques (i.e., manual lifting or lifting with vacuum lift system), task (i.e., loading or unloading suitcase), and baggage cart shelf height Read more [...]
Timber, Noise, and Hearing Loss: A Look into the Forestry and Logging Industry
We use our senses for many things. Take away or weaken one, such as hearing, and many things around us begin to change. Unexpectedly, the conversation across the room becomes more difficult to hear. Our favorite song on the radio doesn’t sound quite the same. This can become very frustrating for the person affected. Hearing loss is common, especially among workers who are exposed to hazardous noise where they work. What exactly is “hazardous noise”? Noise is considered hazardous Read more [...]
Safe-in-Sound Award Celebrates 10 Years and New Partner
In 2008, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) created the Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Award™ to recognize organizations that document measurable achievements in hearing loss prevention. Over the past 10 years we have given out 10 Excellence Awards and 13 Innovation Awards. In addition to honoring success in hearing loss prevention, the awards have served an important secondary purpose Read more [...]
NIOSH and FDA Collaboration Streamlines Regulatory Oversight for N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators
Previously, N95 filtering facepiece respirators (N95) used in healthcare needed approval from both the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).* On May 17, 2018, FDA published a final order in the Federal Register to exempt a subset of N95s intended for use in healthcare from premarket notification requirements subject to conditions and limitations. This exemption will decrease the regulatory burden on some respirator manufacturers, Read more [...]
Graduate Students Use Coursework to Provide Health Communication Support on NIOSH Projects
Earlier this month three students enrolled in a graduate-level health communication class at West Virginia University delivered presentations on NIOSH-related projects that they completed as part of their coursework. As part of their projects, students used health communication, social marketing, health literacy, and web design principles and best practices. Summaries of the student projects and their personal experiences working on current health communication opportunities follow. Read more [...]
Work Arrangement and Access to and Use of Healthcare Services
Workers Memorial Day is observed annually on April 28 to recognize workers who suffered or died because of exposures to hazards at work. The April 27, 2018, CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) contributed to the Worker Memorial Day remembrance with an article on fatalities in the fishing industry and a QuickStats, highlighted in this blog, showing a link between work and receiving an influenza vaccine. The QuickStats used data from the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, National Read more [...]
Workers Memorial Day 2018: Statement from Dr. John Howard
Every year on April 28th, we observe Workers Memorial Day, remembering those workers who have been killed or injured on the job. This is also an opportunity to reflect on how we, as a federal research institute, and our partners in industry, labor, academia and the safety and health practice community, can contribute to making our nation’s workplaces as safe and healthy as possible for all workers across America. On average, nearly 100 workers died on the job every week in 2016, according to Read more [...]
Fatal Falls Overboard in Commercial Fishing
April 28th is Workers’ Memorial Day where we remember those who have lost their lives while trying to make a living. The current issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) includes workplace fatality, injury and illness data; a QuickStats which demonstrates differences among employment categories in influenza vaccination; and the article summarized in this blog, “Fatal Falls Overboard in Commercial Fishing — Read more [...]
Musculoskeletal Health Research to Benefit Surface Stone, Sand, and Gravel Miners
In October 2017, the NIOSH Musculoskeletal Health Cross-Sector Program published the first blog post in a series to highlight musculoskeletal health research at NIOSH. This post—the fifth installment in the series—will discuss how best to promote musculoskeletal health and reduce the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among surface stone, sand, and gravel mine workers. As of 2015, 80% of active surface mining operations were extracting stone, sand, and gravel. A majority of Read more [...]
5th Annual National Stand Down to Prevent Falls in Construction
Falls remain the leading cause of death in construction. In 2016, there were 370 fall fatalities out of 991 total fatalities in construction. There were more fatal injuries in construction than any other industry in the United States in 2015, accounting for 20% of the nation’s 4,836 work-related deaths that year. According to the CPWR-the Center for Construction Research and Training, from 2011-2015, 61% of fatal falls in construction occurred in small businesses with fewer than 10 employees Read more [...]
Ototoxicant Chemicals and Workplace Hearing Loss
Since the 19th century, many therapeutic drugs have been known to affect hearing. Known as ototoxic drugs, many are used today in clinical situations despite these negative side effects because they are effective in treating serious, sometimes life-threatening conditions. Research has shown that exposure to certain chemicals in the workplace may also negatively affect how the ear functions, potentially causing hearing loss or balance problems, regardless of noise exposure. Substances containing Read more [...]
The Use of Real-time Respirable Dust Monitors
Sensors are an increasing presence in our lives—from wearable gadgets to smart buildings, from autonomous vehicles to smart cities. In occupational health and safety, sensors are used widely for exposure monitoring, emergency response, and safer worker-machine interfaces. The use of sensors as real-time respirable dust monitors is a targeted application with its own specific challenges. The information from real-time respirable dust monitors can be used to identify tasks and activities throughout Read more [...]
Naomi Swanson, PhD: Advancing Worker Health Through Improved Organization of Work and Ergonomic Design
During Women’s History Month, NIOSH will highlight several female researchers and their contributions to NIOSH and America’s workers. Naomi Swanson has served as the Chief of the Organizational Science and Human Factors Branch (OSHFB) in the NIOSH Division of Applied Research and Technology since May 2008. She received her M.A. in Experimental Psychology (specializing in perception, cognition and memory) and her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering (specializing in sociotechnical systems Read more [...]
Chia-Chia Chang, MBA, MPH; Adele Childress, PhD; and Sara Tamers, PhD: Advancing Total Worker Health initiatives through Partnerships, Workforce Development, and Research
During Women’s History Month, NIOSH will highlight several female researchers and their contributions to NIOSH and America’s workers. Chia-Chia Chang, MBA, MPH, is the Coordinator for Partnership and New Opportunity Development in the NIOSH Office for Total Worker Health® . In this capacity she has helped bring on over 30 partners for Total Worker Health (TWH) as part of the NIOSH Total Worker Health Affiliate Program. She writes feature articles for the TWH in Action! Read more [...]
Workplace Safety Communications Campaigns Should be Driven by Employer, Industry, Workflow, and Culture
Employees who drive for work face significant roadway risks, and motor vehicle crashes can devastate families, communities, and organizations. Crashes are the leading cause of workplace fatalities, with 1,252 deaths of vehicle drivers and passengers on public roads in 2016. In 2013, on-the-job crashes cost employers over $25 billion and led to 155,000 lost work days. Despite the human and financial costs of crashes, only 24 percent of employers offer occupational health services as part of their Read more [...]
Amy Chambers, MS, and Lauren Chubb, DrPH: Advancing Safety and Health for Miners
During Women’s History Month, NIOSH will highlight several female researchers and their contributions to NIOSH and America’s workers. Amy Chambers, MS Amy Chambers, MS, is a research engineer working in the NIOSH Spokane Mining Research Division. She joined NIOSH in July 2015. Ms. Chambers seeks to ensure underground miners have a stable roof to work under. With a background in metallurgy, she is the lead engineer for corrosion research as part of a project to examine ground control Read more [...]
Musculoskeletal Health Research to Benefit Construction Workers
In October 2017 the NIOSH Musculoskeletal Health Cross-Sector program published the first blog in a series to highlight musculoskeletal health research at NIOSH. With spring just around the corner, this blog—the fourth installment in the series—will discuss how best to promote musculoskeletal health and reduce the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among construction workers. Construction workers—individuals who build, maintain, and renovate our nation’s roads, Read more [...]
Lee Greenawald, PhD: An up and coming leader in PPE
During Women’s History Month, NIOSH will highlight several female researchers and their contributions to NIOSH and America’s workers. Lee Greenawald, PhD, is a NIOSH career development success story. While working on her B.S. in Forensic Chemistry from Ohio University, Lee began her career at NIOSH’s National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) as a summer student in 2009. In those early summer student days at the Lab, she assisted with both qualitative and quantitative Read more [...]
HeeSun Choi, PhD, and Christina Socias-Morales, DrPh: Creating Safer Workplaces
During Women’s History Month, NIOSH will highlight several female researchers and their contributions to NIOSH and America’s workers. HeeSun Choi, PhD HeeSun Choi, PhD, is a psychologist working in the Protective Technology Branch in the NIOSH Division of Safety Research. Dr. Choi started with the Institute in 2016. Dr. Choi’s research is helping to make workers’ jobs safer. She has been involved in NIOSH’s recent efforts to address occupational robot safety issues Read more [...]
Safety Across Cultures
As businesses become more global, safety professionals must develop and carry out work-based safety programs in cross-cultural settings. A recent article in Professional Safety, “Safety Across Cultures: Understanding the Challenges,” discusses the challenges of cross-cultural safety and health and offers suggestions on how to approach these growing responsibilities. Occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals work both in companies that send safety professionals to oversee operations Read more [...]
Christine M. Branche, PhD, Protecting America’s Construction Workers
During Women’s History Month, NIOSH will highlight several female researchers and their contributions to NIOSH and America’s workers. Christine M. Branche, Ph.D., is the Director of the NIOSH Office of Construction Safety and Health. Dr. Branche began her career at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1996 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer in the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. In 2007, Dr. Branche joined NIOSH. She served as the delegated Read more [...]
Opportunities to Advance Occupational Health Research by Considering Work as a Social Determinant of Health
The role of work in creating health disparities has not been fully explored in studies in the United States. This might be because of a narrow perception of the relationships between work and health. A recent article by a researcher from the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and NIOSH researchers explores additional avenues for improving health by taking a broader, more nuanced view of work. Beyond the traditional view of occupational health Traditionally occupational health research Read more [...]
Using Worker Health Charts to Learn About Your Workplace
Jim manages a manufacturing plant that makes office furniture using plywood and other engineered wood products. Their worksite takes worker safety seriously, and is interested to know if the rate of severe injuries they are experiencing is high compared to injuries occurring at other office furniture manufacturing plants. This kind of information may be tricky to find, but in a search, he stumbles across the Worker Health Charts (WHC), a data visualization tool created by the National Institute for Read more [...]
Young Mechanical Engineer Learns the Ropes on Fishing Boats
This week is National Engineers Week which is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employs over 200 engineers and engineering technicians who identify, evaluate, develop, and implement engineering control technology to prevent occupational disease and injury. NIOSH engineers cover various disciplines including: Read more [...]
The Engineers behind the Respirator Approval Process
This week is National Engineers Week which is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employs over 200 engineers and engineering technicians who identify, evaluate, develop, and implement engineering control technology to prevent occupational disease and injury. NIOSH engineers cover various disciplines including: Read more [...]
Coming Soon to a Workplace Near You: Field-based respirable crystalline silica monitoring
This week is National Engineers Week which is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employs over 200 engineers and engineering technicians who identify, evaluate, develop, and implement engineering control technology to prevent occupational disease and injury. NIOSH engineers cover various disciplines including: Read more [...]
Young NIOSH Engineer Helps Solve Invisible Problems
This week is National Engineers Week which is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employs over 200 engineers and engineering technicians who identify, evaluate, develop, and implement engineering control technology to prevent occupational disease and injury. NIOSH engineers cover various disciplines including: Read more [...]
Engineering in the Division of Safety Research
This week is National Engineers Week which is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employs over 200 engineers and engineering technicians who identify, evaluate, develop, and implement engineering control technology to prevent occupational disease and injury. NIOSH engineers cover various disciplines including: Read more [...]
Medical Mystery Solved: What Sent a Pregnant Prison Worker to the Hospital?
Jasmine worked at a prison in Central California. She became sick with flu like symptoms when she was 8 months pregnant. Read her work history here. She was hospitalized with fever, cough, shortness of breath, and severe muscle pain and diagnosed with pneumonia. After a blood test, Jasmine’s doctors diagnosed her with Valley Fever or Coccidioidomycosis. Although Jasmine’s pregnancy puts her at high risk for disseminated infection (or spread outside of the lungs), she Read more [...]
Medical Mystery: What Sent a Pregnant Prison Worker to the Hospital?
Jasmine worked at a prison in central California that provided long-term housing and services for minimum, medium, and maximum custody inmates. She was 34 years old and had worked at the prison for six years. Jasmine was a correctional officer, and her job duties included security checks, patrolling the facility, and occasionally grid searches and digging for contraband in the soil. When she was in the third trimester of her pregnancy, Jasmine started working in the control booth Read more [...]
Healthcare Personnel Working with Flu-like Illness
Most of the United States is experiencing widespread and intense influenza activity. Indicators used to track influenza-like-activity are higher than what was seen during the peak of the 2014-2015 season, the most recent season characterized as being of “high” severity. A NIOSH study recently published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that more than 40 percent of health care personnel with influenza-like-illness (ie, fever and cough or sore throat) continued to work Read more [...]
Help Us Redesign the NIOSH Pocket Guide
The NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (NPG) celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2018. The guide continues to be the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) most popular document. It provides descriptive information such as recommendations for exposure limits, protective clothing, and first aid measures for 677 chemicals commonly found in the work environment. Workers, employers, and occupational health professionals use the NPG to control workplace exposures to chemical Read more [...]
Frequent Exertion and Frequent Standing Among US Workers
Have you ever wondered if your job involves more standing, bending, or lifting than other jobs? Or if there are ways you could avoid injuries from these movements while on the job? Last week, NIOSH published an article on frequent exertion and frequent standing among US workers by industry and occupation group. Using data from the Occupational Health Supplement (OHS) to 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the article focused on currently employed adults who were asked the following Read more [...]
Spirometry Training Video Release
“Fill your lungs completely…and blast the air out! Keep blowing until I tell you to stop.” This coaching will sound familiar if you’ve ever performed a breathing test known as spirometry. Valid spirometry testing requires full participant effort and a carefully trained technician. Spirometry tests lung function by measuring how much and how hard a person can exhale after a maximum breath. It can detect reduction in lung function among workers. Workplace exposures to substances Read more [...]
Non-occupational Uses of Respiratory Protection – What Public Health Organizations and Users Need to Know
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) mission is to promote safe and healthful working conditions by conducting research and providing recommendations to diminish hazardous situations within occupational settings. However, there are situations in which the same respiratory hazards that can be faced by workers are also a potential concern to the public. Examples of respiratory hazards of interest to the general public: Air pollution1 Wildfires2 Indoor mold growth after Read more [...]
Understanding the Economic Benefit Associated with NIOSH Research and Services: A New Analysis of NIOSH Impact by RAND
Do you ever wonder if NIOSH research and services yield a positive economic benefit to workers, employers, and society? Assessments of the impact of worker safety and health research and services often involve statistical analyses of written publications or qualitative analyses conducted by subject matter experts. Such assessments do not quantify the economic return on research and services investments in terms of lives saved, injuries or illnesses averted, or increases in worker productivity. NIOSH Read more [...]
