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![NIOSH eNews logo]()
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Volume 3 Number 6 October
2005
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NIOSH
deployed 57 people in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. These NIOSH
personnel were deployed in the CDC Emergency Operations Center based in
Atlanta, Georgia; and in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
NIOSH
personnel provided assistance in a variety of areas in the days immediately
following both disasters. NIOSH Commissioned Corps Officers assisted
Houston-based health officials in dealing with broad occupational and
environmental health issues at shelters in the greater Houston area. Their
activities included health surveillance of worker and evacuee injuries and
illness, radiation safety, building ventilation, direct measurements of
indoor air indicators of comfort, and the institutionalization of infection
control measures, to name just a few.
NIOSH
also deployed a team of eight industrial hygienists and medical officers to
New Orleans from September 9-27. Two industrial hygienists from this group
conducted visual assessments to identify worker exposures at a variety of
work sites and provided the Army Corps of Engineers with recommendations to
reduce their potential exposures while working to repair the levees.
Occupational
safety and health issues are important in the hurricane disaster response,
and the importance of these issues will likely increase in the months ahead.
In the short-term, NIOSH is focusing on (1) performing hazard assessments;
(2) developing and disseminating concise and timely information and guidance
regarding worker protection and health; and (3) establishing collaborations
with our federal, private sector, and labor partners.
In addition, NIOSH has highlighted
a topic page entitled, “Hurricane Response: Storm and Flood
Cleanup” (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/flood/).
NIOSH regularly updates this site with new information and guidance
documents. To date, NIOSH staff have developed 12 guidance documents for this
response and two have been translated into Spanish. These guidance documents
will be updated on a regular basis to adapt to changing risk. A profile for
rescue, recovery, and eventually, reconstruction workers is posted on the
redesigned NIOSH homepage, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/.
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NIOSH Posts
Nanotechnology ‘Approaches’ Document, Strategic Plan, Library
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Three
new documents pertaining to NIOSH research on the applications and
implications of nanotechnology for occupational health and safety are posted
on the NIOSH web page for comments and feedback:
“Approaches
to Nanotechnology: An Information Exchange with NIOSH” reviews what
is currently known about nanoparticle toxicity and control. The document
serves as a request from NIOSH to occupational safety and health
practitioners, researchers, product innovators and manufacturers, employers,
workers, interest group members, and the general public to exchange
information that will ensure that no worker suffers material impairment of
safety or health as nanotechnology develops. Opportunities to provide
feedback and information are available throughout the document.
“Strategic
Plan for NIOSH Nanotechnology Research: Filling the Knowledge Gaps”
addresses what NIOSH is doing internally and externally to lead the
occupational safety and health community collaboratively in nanotechnology
research. It provides a guide for building a research effort capable of
responding to the challenges of this emerging technology. It represents a
timely research agenda and will evolve as new information becomes available
and a more thorough scientific understanding about nanotechnology develops.
“Web-Based Nano-Information
Library: Concept and Invitation for Input” is intended to help
occupational health professionals, industrial users, worker groups, and
researchers organize and share information on nanomaterials, including their
health and safety-associated properties. A prototype version of this
searchable data base is under development and review and comments are being
sought from a range of national and international partners who are
collaborating on the format and content of the proposed library.
“We are pleased to use these
new web resources for engaging our stakeholders, and we look forward to
comments and suggestions,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. The
new documents are part of the NIOSH topic page on nanotechnology and
occupational health, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/nanotech/.
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2nd
International Nanotechnology Symposium Highlights NIOSH, Other Research
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The
2nd
International Symposium on Nanotechnology and Occupational Health,
Oct. 3-6 in Minneapolis, Minn., highlights new reports of projects and study
findings by researchers from NIOSH and other agencies and institutions. The
conference, which follows the 1st International Symposium held
last year in Buxton, U.K., provides a forum for advancing research on the
occupational health implications and applications of nanotechnology. NIOSH is
one of four sponsoring organizations for the symposium, joined by 10
additional organizations as co-sponsors. Topics scheduled to be addressed, in
relation to NIOSH studies and NIOSH-sponsored research, include the
following:
- The latest findings from
intricate NIOSH laboratory studies that explore potential effects from
single-walled carbon nanotubes;
- Evaluation of methods to
measure particle surface area and to assess the surface properties of
nanoparticles, in the context of factors associated with potential
health effects;
- Results from a study of
incidental nanoparticles in the automotive industry; and
- New data from a NIOSH-sponsored study by the
University of Minnesota on filter collection efficiency for nanoscale
particles.
More information on the
international symposium appears at http://www.cce.umn.edu/conferences/nanotechnology/
. Additional information on the NIOSH strategic program of research,
including a report from the 1st International Symposium, is
available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/nanotech/.
A special eNews
wrap-up summary of the 2nd
International Symposium will appear in the November
issue of eNews.
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World Safety
Congress, Agreement, and National Safety Council Meeting
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NIOSH and the National Safety
Council entered into a three-year partnership agreement during the joint World Safety Congress and National
Safety Council meeting in September in Orlando, FL.
The groups hope this partnership will advance the protection of workers;
promote best practices; and encourage employers to develop and utilize safety
and health management programs, effective prevention strategies, and
technologies. The complete agreement can be viewed at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/r2p/pdfs/NationalSafetyCouncilMOU.pdf.
NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. was also a key note speaker at the
conference.
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Deep South Center
for Occupational Health and Safety
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The Deep South Center for
Occupational Health and Safety has released its Fall 2005 and Spring 2006
class schedules listing training courses targeted for OSH professionals. The
full class listing can be accessed at http://images.main.uab.edu/isoph/DSC/DSC2005/2005_06DSCSchedule.pdf.
These courses are part of the Center’s Continuing Education Component
that was designed to meet the educational needs of professionals working in
occupational health. The Deep South Center, located at the University of
Alabama at Birmingham & Auburn University, is one of 16 NIOSH Education
and Research Centers in the U.S. More information on the Center is available
at http://www.uab.edu/dsc.
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NPPTL &
National Academies
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![NIOSH NPPTL Logo]() A standing Committee on Personal
Protective Equipment for Workplace Safety and Health (COPPE) was recently
established by the National Academies through the sponsorship of the NIOSH
National Personal Protective Technology Lab (NPPTL). The COPPE and
NIOSH’s NPPTL will meet three times per year to learn about existing
conditions and emerging issues related to personal protective technology, and
define prospective activities (such as studies or analysis of respiratory
protection, sensor systems, and other technologies and standards).
This committee will provide a
forum for discussion of scientific and technical issues relevant to the
development, certification, deployment, and use of personal protective
equipment, standards, and related systems to ensure workplace safety and
health. The committee will also provide liaison and oversight to ad hoc study
committees requested by NIOSH and approved by the Institute of Medicine and
the National Academies, and will coordinate with the National
Academies’ on-going review of NIOSH research programs. For more
information contact Dr. Mary Ann D’Alessandro, Associate Director of
Science, NPPTL (412) 386-6111 or go to http://www4.nas.edu/webcr.nsf/5c50571a75df494485256a95007a091e/af4d7fcc36884a008525707c0063bbac?
OpenDocument&Highlight=0,HSPX-H-05-90-B.
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Respirator
Certification Update
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During
the month of August, the NIOSH respirator branch closed a total of 36
projects. Of these, 26 respirators (non CBRN) were certified and the
remaining 10 were either denied certification by NIOSH or were withdrawn by
the manufacturer. More information on the certification process can be found
at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/.
Sixteen
product audits were completed on previously certified products. The products
audits are conducted to ensure proper operation of equipment being used in
the field.
The Certified Product
Investigation Process (CPIP) program closed 7 user-generated investigations
of device failure or other user-concern. User notices are posted at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/usernotices.
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Office of Extramural Programs
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![Extramural Funding Graphic]() New Integrated Occupational Surveillance Program
In September, NIOSH awarded approximately $3 million to fund new
comprehensive, integrated state-based occupational health surveillance
programs. NIOSH funded 13 fundamental programs, as well as 12 expanded
programs addressing asthma, silicosis, pesticides, and other areas. The
fundamental program is intended to provide state agencies the resources to
initiate or continue activities for a state-based surveillance program for
occupational injuries, diseases, and hazards. This fundamental program will
contribute to state and local prevention efforts as well as to national data
concerning magnitude, trend, and distribution of occupational health
conditions. Information on the program, including project descriptions
provided by awardees, can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/oep/pdfs/State-Based-Surv-FY05.pdf.
National Tractor
Safety Initiative
NIOSH awarded a grant to the High Plains Center for Agricultural Health and
Safety to launch the National Tractor Safety Initiative. The Initiative was
established based on the fact that in an average year, 110 American farm
workers are crushed to death by tractor rollovers (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/injury/traumaagric.html).
Tractor rollover protective structures (ROPS) have been developed; however,
they have not been widely adopted by the agricultural community.
The initiative involves
unprecedented collaboration between NIOSH scientists and all of the ten
NIOSH-funded Agricultural Centers. The centers will use an integrated
approach to complete projects in areas such as: costs of operator tractor
injuries; impact of changes in ROPS standards; financial incentives for ROPS
retrofitting; community-based social marketing; and communication and
partners. At the end of this two-year project, NIOSH and the agricultural
centers will be poised to implement the first National Tractor Safety Public
Health Campaign.
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![r2p logo]() New
Instrument for Prevention of Vibration Disorders
It was originally developed to advance NIOSH research on preventing pain,
numbness, and other work-related conditions of the hands and arms that are
associated with vibration. Now it has additional prospects in the commercial
market, with the same ultimate goal of reducing impairment among people who
use powered hand tools for a living.
“It” is the 3-Axis
Hand-Transmitted Vibration Simulator, which was developed through
collaboration between NIOSH and MB Dynamics, Cleveland, Ohio. The device is
an instrument handle that reproduces the vibration from power tools. NIOSH
provided the specifications, looking for a device that could reproduce
vibration from many directions, or axes, as the handles of actual power tools
do. A public advertisement of their request yielded a number of proposals,
and after an extensive review process, the NIOSH research team settled on MB
Dynamics design. MB Dynamics, working through the awarded purchase order from
NIOSH, turned the specifications into a working device. NIOSH uses the device
to gain better insight into the factors that link occupational exposures to
vibration with given physiological outcomes. MB Dynamics plans to market a
commercial version of the device at conferences to researchers in both the
academic and government worlds who are studying hand-transmitted vibration
exposure and to companies interested in testing the components and assemblies
that may be used on cars, trucks, and airplanes. Mention of a commercial
product does not represent a NIOSH endorsement of the commercial product.
More information on the NIOSH research program for preventing
vibration-related hand-arm vibration disorders is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/handvibra.html.
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r2p Partnership
Agreements
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In
September NIOSH expanded its growing list of r2p partnerships when it entered
into three new Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with International
partners.
Most recently, NIOSH entered into
a partnership through 2008 with the National Safety Council (NSC). NIOSH and
NSC will work cooperatively through the Partnership to provide improved
evaluation research, outreach, and communication.
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![NORA logo]() Stakeholders
Share Their Comments
If you could design the future of occupational safety and health research
what would it look like? In May NIOSH asked eNews readers this question and
stakeholders from around the nation have responded. To date the NORA Web site
has received over 150 submissions describing the top safety and health issues
facing each sector, cross-sector issues and the research needed to solve
them. The following chart describes the number of submissions for each
category.
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Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry
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18
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Construction
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19
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Healthcare and Social Assistance
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24
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Manufacturing
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14
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Mining
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10
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Services
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22
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Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities
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8
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Wholesale and Retail Trade
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10
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Cross-Sector Issues
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31
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General Comments
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13
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These comments will help create
research agendas for the next decade of NORA. If you are interested in
reading comments or submitting your own, please visit the NORA Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora. Stay
tuned next month for a closer look at comments related to cross-sector
issues.
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QuickTakes, an electronic news
bulletin from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is a
great way to receive updates on important OSHA issues. QuickTakes is sent out
the 1st and 15th of each month and contains a snapshot of OSHA's activities
that support safety and health in the workplace, including news and
announcements, background information, and other information of interest to
stakeholders. Readers can receive the news memo by clicking on the QuickTakes
icon on OSHA's homepage at http://www.osha.gov
and following the subscription instructions.
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Work-Related
Lung Disease (WoRLD) Surveillance Report
This report is an update of the 2002 WoRLD Surveillance Report. It is the
sixth in a series of NIOSH occupational respiratory disease surveillance
reports. It presents summary tables and figures of occupational respiratory
disease surveillance data focusing on various occupationally-relevant
respiratory diseases, including pneumoconiosis, occupational asthma and other
airways diseases, and several other respiratory conditions. This document is
available at http://www2a.cdc.gov/drds/worldreportdata.
NIOSH Publication
No. 2005-147: Injury and Asthma among Youth Less than 20
Years of Age on Minority Farm Operations in the United States, 2000. Volume
I: Racial Minority National Data
This document provides previously unavailable youth demographic, injury and
asthma estimates at the national level for youth on racial minority-operated
farms in the U.S. These data represent the initial step in developing
research and prevention programs to reduce the burden of injury and asthma on
racial minority farms in the U.S. This document is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2005-147.
NIOSH Publication
No. 2005-137: Dangers of Entanglement during Lobstering
Lobster fishing is a hazardous occupation that has resulted in drowning from
entanglement in trap line and being pulled overboard. The document provides
several key work practices and engineering controls to (1) reduce
entanglement, (2) escape entanglement, and (3) provide opportunities to
reboard the vessel. This document is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/wp-solutions/2005-137/.
New Reports Issued
Under Energy Research Program
Three new reports are available from studies conducted under NIOSH’s
Occupational Energy Research Program. The occupational health program is
conducted under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/2001-133.html
The reports are:
- NIOSH Publication No. 2005-131. An Epidemiologic Study of
Mortality and Radiation-Related Risk of Cancer Among Workers at the
Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, a U.S.
Department of Energy Facility: NIOSH Occupational Energy Research
Program Final Report. This study is an all-cause
cohort mortality study to evaluate causes and numbers of deaths among
workers at the INEEL facility, and to determine if and potentially how
past radiation exposures were associated with cancers among INEEL
workers. The findings provide guidance for further research needed to
determine conclusively if past radiation exposures were associated with
a risk of cancer. This document is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2005-131/2005-131.html.
- NIOSH Publication No. 2005-124. Mortality Update from the
Pantex Weapon Facility: Final Report
This report provides results from a study conducted on employees at the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Pantex Plant, located near Amarillo,
Texas, who were potentially exposed to components of both nuclear
weapons and high explosives during assembly and disassembly of nuclear
weapons in 1951. This document is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2005-124/2005-124.html.
- NIOSH
Publication No. 2005-104. A Nested Case-Control Study
of Leukemia and Ionizing Radiation at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
This study analyzed external ionizing radiation and leukemia mortality
among civilian employees of the PNS to help determine whether
occupational exposures to radiation were associated with a risk for
leukemia. This document is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2005-104/2005-104.html.
Topic Pages
NIOSH has added the following new topic pages:
- The
Asthma and Allergens topic page was designed as a resource for
individuals interested in the prevention of occupational asthma (OA).
This site consists of two sections: a text primer on the prevention of
OA and a set of query tables with details about the studies described in
the primer. The primer contains information distilled from 94 articles
by 70 authors, detailing 96 primary or secondary OA prevention
activities, published from 1977-2003. It describes the current state of
OA prevention work, and highlights gaps in research that need to be
filled. The query tables allow a user to view the studies through
several different filters. This page can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/asthma/OccAsthmaPrevention.html.
- Indoor
firing ranges are popular among law enforcement and recreational
shooters because they offer protection from inclement weather conditions
and can be operated around the clock under controlled environmental
conditions. However, many firing range facilities lack environmental and
occupational controls to protect the health of shooters and range
personnel from effects of airborne lead, noise, and other potential exposures.
This page provides links to information about the evaluation,
measurement, and control of noise and airborne lead exposures at indoor
firing ranges. The page can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ranges.
- NIOSH used information from
incoming calls to its “800” information number to develop a
list of the workplace toxic materials its customers call about most
frequently. Based on this data, the following 21 new topic pages were
developed:
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Advanced Personal Protective Equipment - Challenges in
Protecting First Responders
The NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) and the
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University are sponsoring Advanced Personal Protective
Equipment - Challenges in Protecting First Responders.
The conference will be held October 16-18, 2005 at the Inn at the Virginia
Tech and Skelton Conference Center in Blacksburg, VA.
Attendees
will learn about the hazards posed by emerging threats, the application of
personal protective equipment (PPE) technology to these threats, and
associated challenges with selecting and interfacing different PPE items. The
emphasis of the conference will be on practical issues of threat accommodation,
standards, regulations, applications of best practices, manufacturing and
distribution issues, PPE decision-making and purchasing, and multi-PPE
integration. More information on the conference can be found at http://www.conted.vt.edu/appe or by
contacting Tom Fisher at TFisher@xxxxxxx.
Mechanisms
of Action of Inhaled Fibers, Particles, and Nanoparticles in Lung and
Cardiovascular Disease
On October 25-28, 2005, NIOSH and partners will sponsor the Mechanisms of Action of Inhaled
Fibers, Particles, and Nanoparticles in Lung and Cardiovascular Disease
conference in Research Triangle Park, NC. The conference will serve as a
forum for discussion of basic and applied research strategies with an
emphasis on interaction between environmental exposures to particles and
fibers with host factors that may lead to disease pathogenesis. More
information can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/conferences/2005NanoConf/nanoconf.htm
or by contacting Vince Castranova at VCastranova@xxxxxxx.
Second Symposium on
Beryllium Particulates and Their Detection
NIOSH, the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health,
the U.S. Department of Energy, Beryllium Health & Safety Committee,
Eichrom Technologies, Inc., and the Savannah River National Laboratory will
convene the 2nd
Symposium on Beryllium Particulates and Their Detection
on November 8-9, 2005 in Salt Lake City, UT. This symposium, held in
connection with the fall meeting of the Beryllium Health and Safety
Committee, will devote one day to sampling issues (air, surface, and bulk)
and one day to issues with sample preparation, laboratory analysis, and
portable instrumentation. The format includes oral presentations, vendor
displays, panel discussions, and a poster session. More information on the
symposium can be found at http://www.rmcoeh.utah.edu/besymp.
Work, Stress and Health 2006: Making a
Difference in the Workplace
NIOSH, the American Psychological Association, the National Institute of
Justice of the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Institute on
Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education,
and the U.S. Department of Labor will convene the sixth international
conference on occupational stress and health, Work, Stress, and Health 2006: Making a Difference
in the Workplace in Miami, FL, March 2-4, 2006, at the
Hyatt Regency Miami Hotel. The conference is designed to address the
constantly changing nature of work, and the implications of these changes for
the health, safety, and well-being of workers. In keeping with the conference
theme of “making a difference in the workplace,” there will be a
particular focus on the translation of research to practice and workplace
programs, policies, practices, case experiences, and other efforts to prevent
stress in today's workplace. More information about the conference can be
found at http://www.apa.org/pi/work/wsh2006.html.
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ROPS or Rollover Protective Structure,
is a cab or frame that provides a safe environment for the tractor operator
in the event of a rollover.
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NIOSH eNews on the Web:
www.cdc.gov/niosh/enews/
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NIOSH eNews is Brought to
You By:
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Editor in Chief
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Public Affairs Officer
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Fred Blosser
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Technical Lead
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Glenn Doyle
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Technical Support
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Joseph Cauley
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