Deepwater Horizon
With last week’s premier of the movie Deepwater Horizon, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) remembers the workers who were killed and injured in the explosion as well as...
View ArticleCapturing Work-related Injuries from Emergency Department Data
Work-related injuries frequently occur, despite the fact that many are preventable. It is critical that we accurately describe and monitor these injuries in order to improve prevention efforts. Because...
View ArticleOccupational Health Issues in the USA
Happy New Year. As we start afresh in 2017 I wanted to share my recent editorial in the British journal, Occupational Medicine, “Occupational health issues in the USA”. The article highlights some of...
View ArticleMaintaining a Relationship with your Turnout Gear
Sent flowers? Check. Made dinner reservations? Check. Purchased one of those mandatory heart-shaped boxes of candy? Check. Conducted routine cleaning of your turnout gear… wait. What? Valentine’s Day...
View ArticleArduous Duty: Using Three Data Sources to Create a Single Wildland Fire...
Wildland fire fighters are required to pass an “arduous duty” physical fitness test annually to help ensure that they are prepared for the physical nature of the job. Unlike structural fire fighting,...
View ArticleNoise Exposure Among Federal Wildland Fire Fighters
Hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses in the United States. NIOSH estimates that 22 million U.S. workers encounter noise exposures loud enough to be hazardous. Wildland fire...
View ArticleNational Police Week and NIOSH’s Work in Officer Safety
Peace Officers Memorial Day and National Police Week are observances that pay tribute to local, state, and Federal officers who have died or been disabled in the line of duty. The Peace Officers...
View ArticleAmbulance Crash Test Methods
Ambulance crashes are a major safety concern for workers and patients. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reviewed data from 45 special crash investigations from 2001-2015, and found...
View ArticleDERMaL eToolkit
Emergency response personnel are often at risk of getting dangerous chemicals on their skin. Despite the availability of numerous high-quality resources designed to guide emergency management and...
View ArticleFentanyl Exposure Risks for Law Enforcement and Emergency Response Workers
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic drug that is similar to morphine and heroin, but is 50 to 100 times more potent. Fentanyl and its analogs, such as carfentanil, can pose a potential hazard to law...
View ArticleNew Software Tracks Health of Emergency Responders
As we recognize September as National Preparedness Month, U.S. and international emergency personnel have been overwhelmed with responses to the hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and wildfires...
View ArticleHelp 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...
View ArticleNIOSH and USDA Partner to Protect Workers after Hurricane Florence
Responders face many challenges and hazards when responding to disasters. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) maintains an emergency preparedness and response resources...
View ArticleUsing Worker Absenteeism to Track the Flu
Is flu on the rise among workers? Those working in public health track the number of flu-related hospital and doctor visits, but many people suffer symptoms and don’t seek medical treatment. So, how do...
View ArticleWorld Cancer Day 2020 – Reflecting on a Decade of NIOSH Cancer Research
February 4th, 2020 is World Cancer Day, and we are reflecting on the role of the occupational cancer research being done at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in reducing...
View ArticleThe Need for Fit Testing During Emerging Infectious Disease Outbreaks
Proper respirator use is essential for healthcare workers who are expected to interact with patients with infectious respiratory diseases. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)...
View ArticleNIOSH Ventilated Headboard Provides Solution to Patient Isolation During an...
To protect healthcare workers, other patients, and visitors from exposure to airborne infectious diseases, patients in hospital settings sometimes need to be placed in airborne infection isolation...
View ArticleUnderstanding the Use of Imported Non-NIOSH-Approved Respirators
When a respirator has been approved by NIOSH, the user can be confident that the device will provide the expected level of protection, as long as it fits properly and is worn correctly. But when...
View ArticleSuicides Among First Responders: A Call to Action
The recent Surgeon General’s “Call to Action to Implement the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention” highlighted suicides as a significant public health problem. In 2019, there were 47,500 suicide...
View ArticleExtinguishing the Risk of Forever Chemicals: State of the science to protect...
Forever Chemicals, aptly named because they are resistant to breaking down, are artificially produced chemicals used to enhance everyday products like stain resistant clothing and furniture, cosmetics,...
View ArticleShiftwork May Lead to Health Problems among Police Officers: What Can be...
Ensuring the safety of our community is a 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year kind of job. Weekends and holidays included. Working at night (outside the normal daylight hours of 7am – 6pm)...
View ArticleThe State of Health Surveillance Across the Public Safety Sector
Surveillance is the cornerstone of public health practice, including in occupational safety and health (OSH). OSH surveillance systems have the ability to generate data that drives decision making and...
View ArticleWorking Hours and Fatigue: Meeting the Needs of American Workers and Employers
In November 2022, the American Journal of Industrial Medicine (AJIM) published a special issue focusing on work-related fatigue. The issue explores factors that may increase work-related fatigue and...
View ArticleNational Correctional Workers Appreciation Week 2023
May 7-13, 2023, is National Correctional Officers Week also referred to as Correctional Workers Week. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 393,000 correctional officers and...
View ArticleNational Safety Month 2023
Each June, we celebrate National Safety Month. Safety matters every day of the year, but during June it gets the extra attention it deserves so we can all stay safe from the workplace to anyplace. As...
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