Hazardous Materials Managers News

Taxicab drivers face one of the highest homicide rates of any occupation.  While rates of homicide have declined among the general working population (in 2010, 0.37 per 100,000 employed), they remain high in the taxicab industry (7.4 per 100,000 employed for the same year).  In the early 1990s, bullet-resistant partitions were the dominant safety equipment […]

You may have some hypotheses about how work affects the health of the U.S. population, but collecting data from a nationally representative sample is expensive and time-consuming. What if there was free data available at your fingertips? You’re in luck! NIOSH sponsored an Occupational Health Supplement (OHS) to the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), […]

This week is the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Safety and Health Week which encourages fire fighters and emergency responders to work safely. NIOSH has a longstanding history of working to protect firefighters. Through the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program NIOSH conducts independent investigations of fire fighter line of duty deaths. Below […]

Earlier this year I participated in the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Summit on Green Buildings and Human Health. At USGBC’s invitation, I authored a blog that appears on their website. We are co-posting the blog on the NIOSH Science Blog. The Summit was very successful, and USGBC is open to including worker issues into […]

   Today is Save Your Hearing Day.  For workers and others who are exposed to dangerously loud noises which cannot be reduced or eliminated, hearing protection devices (HPDs) are absolutely necessary to save their hearing.  But if HPDs are not properly selected or correctly worn, the devices may not block out enough noise and the […]

May 19, 2013, is Hepatitis Testing Day. Health care workers are at risk of contracting hepatitis B and C in the workplace. Doctors, nurses, and other staff are predominately exposed to these devastating and incurable diseases through needle sticks and other sharps injuries or when fluids from patients splash onto their eyes, nose, or mouth. […]

  This week is Women’s Health Week. With over 58% of U.S. women in the labor force[i], the workplace must be considered when looking at women’s overall health.   We must keep in mind that susceptibility to hazards can be different for men and women.  Additionally, women face different workplace health challenges than men partly because […]

Poor compliance with respiratory protection requirements and proper use recommendations in healthcare settings remains a vexing problem. Given the many possible methods to improve compliance, and the constraints of limited budgets and resources available for research, we are asking the question: where should NIOSH conduct research to address this issue?  There are many reasons to […]

Despite a decades-long effort to raise awareness about the importance of roll over protective structures (ROPS) in preventing injury and death from tractor roll overs, tractor overturns continue to be the leading cause of occupational agricultural death in the United States. While all tractors produced since 1986 come with ROPS as standard equipment, farm tractors […]

  On Workers Memorial Day, we honor the men and women who suffered work-related injury, illness, and death, and we rededicate ourselves to the mission of preventing future tragedies.  Earning a day’s pay should not place anyone at risk of losing life or livelihood. Thanks to a concerted partnership of labor, industry, government, science, and […]

Since its first printing in 1978, the NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (NPG) continues to be the Institute’s most popular document. The NPG provides general descriptive, exposure, and protective and emergency recommendations for 677 chemicals commonly found in the work environment. Workers, employers, and occupational health professionals all use the NPG in the course […]

It’s National Public Health Week.  Those of us who work in workplace safety and health know that workplace health is an integral part of public health. While “Creating a Healthy Workplace” is one of the five themes of National Public Health Week, the role of workplace health in Public Health is not always clear to the general public. If you […]

Are you a contractor whose company  has at least three years of field experience cutting fiber cement siding with a circular saw? Has your company  installed fiber cement siding on at least three large residential jobs? Do you have an upcoming job where fiber cement siding will be cut and installed for at least eight […]

Knowing how many, who and where injuries or disease are occurring is a basic premise of preventing injuries and illnesses. If we don’t have accurate information on injury/illness occurrence, we don’t know how many resources to devote, what action(s) to take or whether the action we do take is effective.  New findings from Michigan State […]

 Earlier today, at the annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology, NIOSH researchers reported preliminary findings from a new laboratory study in which mice were exposed by inhalation to multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT).  The study was designed to investigate whether these tiny particles have potential to initiate or promote cancer.  By “initiate,” we mean the […]

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today is the day of the year dedicated to showing our significant others just how much we care. Boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, and wives all scurry to make the day special with chocolates, flowers, romantic dinners, and thoughtful gifts. Why? Because good relationships take work. Good relationships take maintenance. Have you ever thought […]

At least 14 workers have died since 2000 as a result of using stripping agents containing methylene chloride during bathtub refinishing.  Many stripping products (including those that may also be available to consumers) contain high percentages of methylene chloride. Methylene chloride is extremely dangerous when not used properly.  Alternative products and processes exist for bathtub […]

If workers earning low wages didn’t have enough stressors in their lives, they can now add hypertension to the list.  Our new research finds that low wages are a risk factor for hypertension among working people.  The research was recently published in the European Journal of Public Health, “Are Low Wages Risk Factors for Hypertension?”, […]

As we enter another influenza season, one question continues to vex medical and public health professionals:  How do you stop people from catching the flu? The best way to prevent the flu is by getting an influenza vaccine every year. However, in the event of a large-scale influenza outbreak of a new virus strain or […]

  Durante los últimos treinta años, los vehículos todo-terreno (VTT) se han vuelto cada vez más populares a nivel recreativo y se han convertido en una herramienta importante en el trabajo.   Con unos 11 millones en uso en el 2010, tanto en actividades laborales como recreativas, los VTT se han vuelto un medio de transporte […]

The ringing in of a new year brings not only resolutions but the inevitable recap of the past year including the obligatory lists:  Top 10 News Stories, Top 10 Weather Events, even Top Ten Celebrity Mug Shots.  We decided to add our own list—The Top 12 NIOSH Science Blogs of 2012.  The list shows the […]

Our recent blog on Superhero personal protective equipment got us thinking: What about Santa?  He certainly faces a number of occupational hazards. Maybe we can help him out.  Let’s start with the chimney. Talk about a confined space and what about the cancer risk?  Are those pants fire retardant?  Santa may want to follow our research on […]

It’s that time of year again – the time of mall madness and wracking our brains for gift ideas. Those of us reaching for the easy stocking stuffers are perhaps sharing the same idea – DVDs of this summer’s big screen blockbusters. We noticed many were of the superhero variety (The Dark Knight Rises, Avengers, […]

Over the past year, NIOSH and its Total Worker HealthTM Program have been traveling the country sharing the evidence and benefits of comprehensively integrating health protection with health promotion, including workplace programs that encourage physical activity, weight loss and stress management.   Recently, we launched an internal NIOSH pilot program  to explore the use of sit […]

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) include a number of physical conditions affecting muscles, tendons, nerves, ligaments, joints, and other soft tissues that can be caused, or exacerbated, by work.  It is estimated that MSDs account for approximately one-third of injury and illness costs in U.S. industry.  Many musculoskeletal conditions can result specifically in chronic or short-term joint […]

Over the past 30 years, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) have grown increasingly popular recreationally and have become a valuable asset at work.   With an estimated 11 million in use in 2010 for both work and recreation, ATVs have become a common means of transportation.        ATVs were first manufactured in the late 1960s as farm-to-town vehicles […]

Meet Nick.  Nick is a training mannequin who helps NIOSH teach young people and their families about preventing noise-induced hearing loss.  Hearing loss can result from working around noise–even non-powered hand tools–without wearing proper hearing protection. It is not uncommon for a 25 year-old farmer or carpenter to have the hearing of a 50 year-old.  […]

 A 45-year-old salesperson was killed in a motor vehicle crash while traveling to meet with clients.   A 26-year-old emergency medical technician died when the ambulance she was in was struck head-on by a pickup truck traveling more than 70 miles per hour in the wrong lane of a two-lane road.  A 42-year-old construction foreman lost […]

When disaster strikes, the nation depends on emergency response workers who are prepared and trained to respond effectively. This need is particularly clear as we observe the anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001, and honor the responders who performed heroic service during that somber time. Response work can range from well-contained, localized efforts to […]

How can we help keep employees from becoming office potatoes?  It is a fact that a person who leads a sedentary lifestyle (commonly referred to as a couch potato) is at a higher risk of health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and certain cancers, but lately we have been hearing that sitting […]

A new NIOSH Study finds that NFL players may be at a higher risk of death associated with Alzheimer’s and other impairments of the brain and nervous system than the general U.S. population.

What? You didn’t know it was N95 day? Don’t worry! Exchanging gifts is not a required practice. N95 Day is a time to recognize the importance of respiratory protection in the workplace and familiarize yourself with the resources out there to help you make educated decisions when selecting and wearing a respirator. There are many […]

 Last year we posted two blogs on the use of computerized tomography (CT) scans of the chest for lung cancer screening — Helical CT Scans and Lung Cancer Screening1  and Low-dose CT Scans and Lung Cancer Screening in the Occupational Setting.2   Since the postings, various organizations have provided guidance with differing implications for early detection of […]

Small business can be a dangerous business. Not surprisingly, companies with better safety records are more likely to survive. But how can you promote a healthy, injury-free workplace with limited resources and no safety experts on staff? We have a few tips courtesy of the National Park Service in addition to NIOSH’s own Small Business Resource Guide.

Earlier this month the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health released a special issue highlighting research from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study and from related studies of morbidity and mortality among police officers. The BCOPS study is an investigation of the early or subclinical health consequences of stress in police officers and […]

We know that decreased sleep duration and extended shifts in healthcare workers are linked to workplace injuries.  The effects of decreased sleep on pain in the workplace are less clear.  New research from the Harvard Center for Work, Health and Wellbeing  –one of four NIOSH Centers of Excellence funded to explore and research the concepts […]

Does it make economic sense for employers to offer or expand paid sick leave benefits to their employees? A new NIOSH study published in the American Journal of Public Health reported that workers with access to paid sick leave were 28% less likely overall to suffer nonfatal occupational injuries than workers without access to paid sick […]

In the last five years, research and development activities in the field of nanotechnology have shifted to include advanced nanomaterials. The main feature of advanced nanomaterials that distinguishes them from simpler nanomaterials, such as carbon black and nanoscale TiO2 used primarily as additives, is the ability of advanced nanomaterials to change or evolve properties during […]

Profound changes continue to unfold in the American workforce as Baby Boomers—Americans born between 1945 and 1964—swell the ranks of our workplaces. This has led many employers to fear the possibilities of negative impacts associated with this demographic trend.  On one hand, they are concerned that having age-gifted workers on the job may mean escalating […]