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Volume 3 Number 12 April 2006
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As
NIOSH prepares to celebrate the success of the first decade of the National
Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) and launch the second decade at the NORA
Symposium 2006, we should also note that another significant anniversary
occurs this month. Thirty-five years ago, NIOSH and the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) opened for duty. The agencies were created
under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which was enacted on December 29, 1970, and went
into effect 120 days later.
In
the 35 years since NIOSH and OSHA came into being, much has changed in the
world, in the workplace, and in occupational safety and health research.
While no one could have predicted all of those changes from the vantage point
of 1970, the architects of the Act were far-seeing, nevertheless. They knew
that a world-class research agency was needed not only to address the
nation’s immediate occupational safety and health concerns, but also to
keep pace with the developments that were sure to occur as the U.S. moved
through the latter quarter of the 20th Century into the 21st
Century.
NIOSH
has worked hard to fulfill those responsibilities. Here are some of the ways
in which the Institute has contributed to advancements in safe and healthy
workplaces since April 1971:
- NIOSH technical materials are
used as fundamental resources every day by occupational safety and
health professionals across the U.S. Two
examples are the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods, which professionals
consult regularly to ensure that reliable, state-of-the-art methods are
used for workplace sampling and analysis, and the NIOSH Pocket Guide to
Chemical Hazards, 2 million copies of which have been distributed in
paper and CD-Rom versions since it was introduced in 1978. The Pocket
Guide is also the most visited resource on the NIOSH Web page, averaging
1,400 visits a day.
- NIOSH research and
recommendations helped to underpin the measures that reduced
occupational exposures to asbestos, benzene, vinyl chloride, and other
toxic materials in plants and factories in the 1970s. As the U.S.
economy transitioned from a manufacturing base to a service base in
succeeding decades, NIOSH’s studies and guidance helped employers
and others to design good practices that have been adopted widely to
monitor indoor environmental quality, design comfortable and efficient
VDT work stations, reduce health-care employees’ risk of latex
allergy and bloodborne infections, and strengthen workplace security.
- NIOSH’s competitive extramural funding program
has nurtured three decades of excellent, often collaborative research by
outside scientists, and has helped to educate and train two generations
of health and safety professionals nationwide through NIOSH’s
Education and Research Centers.
While
it isn’t any easier to predict the future in 2006 than it was in 1971,
we know that several trends are likely to shape the U.S. workplace
in coming years. The increasing diversity of the U.S.
workforce, the growing complexity of work organization, and the ongoing
demands of emergency preparedness will continue to challenge our ingenuity.
As the mining disasters earlier this year reminded us, persistent concerns
remain in traditional workplaces, as well. We think that the initiatives that
now define NIOSH’s research mission – from r2p to NORA, the NIOSH
program portfolio, and the WorkLife Initiative – position us well to
meet the challenges that lie ahead.
A special observance of NIOSH’s
35th Anniversary is part of the NORA Symposium 2006, scheduled to
be held later this month in Washington, D.C. Please
see the NIOSH Web page for further details at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora/symp06/agenda.html.
We hope that you can join us.
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NIOSH
and MSHA to Hold Mining Escape, Shelter Workshop
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NIOSH and Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA) will hold a workshop on April 18, 2006 in Washington, DC, on mine
escape planning and emergency shelters. The topics for discussion include a
recent history of mine escapes and the use of emergency shelters, warning
systems and the use of self-rescue devices and lifelines, how mine design has
changed since the 1980s, shelter placement in the mine, configuration and
construction, life support instrumentation, communication and training. The
workshop will be held at the National Academy of Sciences Auditorium, 2101
Constitution Avenue NW from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. You can
register for the workshop by contacting Donna Opfer at DOpfer@xxxxxxx or John Sporrer at JSporrer@xxxxxxx.
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Private
Sector Partnerships Invited for NIOSH Permeation-Calculation Software,
Power-Tool
Noise Research
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Opportunities
were recently announced for new Cooperative Research and Development
Agreements (CRADAs) related to two NIOSH initiatives.
- A new NIOSH-developed computer
software program is available for commercial licensing. The program,
called a "Permeation Calculator," calculates all of the
permeation parameters for analysis of permeation testing data related to
chemical protective clothing. The parameters are essential for selecting
proper protective clothing needed to prevent contact with potentially
hazardous chemicals on the job. The software allows the user to perform
calculations in seconds, compared with several hours needed for the
traditional method of calculating all of the parameters by hand. In
addition, the software reduces the potential for calculation errors and
provides users with consistent results. More information on licensing
the program is available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/E6-3268.htm.
- Manufacturers of electric and pneumatic power tools
are invited to enter into a CRADA with NIOSH and other scientific
partners to examine new ways to control noise from such devices. The
initiative builds on previous research by NIOSH and academic partners,
which demonstrated that noise emissions can be reduced significantly
through noise control engineering, reducing the risk of work-related
hearing loss. More information is available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/E6-3720.htm.
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NIOSH Scientists Awarded by
Professional Associations
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- James Antonini receives SOT Young Investigator
Award.
Congratulations are extended to James Antonini who received the Young
Investigator Award from the Inhalation Specialty Section of the Society
of Toxicology. Dr. Antonini, a toxicologist in the NIOSH Health Effects
Laboratory Division, received the award during the annual Society of Toxicology
meeting in San Diego, CA. Dr. Antonini’s work at NIOSH includes
studying the health effects of welding. He and his colleagues have
designed and constructed an automated, computer-controlled welding fume
generator and inhalation exposure system to generate welding fumes in
the laboratory comparable to those generated in the workplace. The
system will help determine what components formed from different welding
processes may be potentially harmful to the health of exposed workers.
- Aleksandr Stefaniak
recipient of 2006 ACGIH Bloomfield Award.
Aleksandr Stefaniak is the recipient of the 2006 American Conference of
Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) John T. Bloomfield Award. Dr.
Stefaniak, a Senior Service Fellow in the NIOSH Division of Respiratory
Disease Studies, provides input as an industrial hygienist to develop
targeted studies that supply the occupational safety and health
community with a better understanding of current and emerging
occupational exposures to nanoparticles. The award will be presented to
Dr. Stefaniak at the 2006 American Industrial Hygiene Conference
on May 14, 2006. The Bloomfield Award is presented annually to an up and
coming industrial hygienist who has made significant contributions to the
profession by pursuing occupational health hazards, primarily through
fieldwork.
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The Value of Safety and Health
Initiatives to Businesses
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NIOSH, the American Society of
Safety Engineers, the National Safety Council (NSC), the World Health
Organization and the Robert W. Campbell Award are collaborating with the
editors of the Journal
of Safety Research to issue a call for papers to
promote studies which address the value of safety and health initiatives to
businesses. The call is extended to papers that report the results of field
research, empirical studies, evaluations, case studies or other research
methods developed to identify evidence, demonstrate trends, and uncover other
research showing the intrinsic value of investing in sound safety and health
systems. More information is available on the NSC Web site, http://www.nsc.org/Lrs/res/callforpapers.htm.
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MMWR:
Inhalation Anthrax Associated with Dried Animal Hides
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 As reported in the last issue of NIOSH eNews,
NIOSH played a role in designing and conducting environmental sampling for
naturally occurring anthrax spores in a recent case involving a New York
artist hospitalized in Pennsylvania. The March 17, 2006 issue of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
outlines the joint epidemiologic and environmental investigation conducted by
federal, state and local public health, animal health and law enforcement
officials in Pennsylvania and New York City, which determined that the
patient contracted anthrax from working with dried animal hides. The report,
which was co-authored by NIOSH, can be accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5510a4.htm.
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Permanent
Director Named at NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
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 The appointment of Leslie (Les) Boord as the
permanent director of NIOSH’s National Personal Protective Technology
Laboratory (NPPTL) was announced on March 17 by NIOSH Director John Howard,
M.D. Mr. Boord had served as acting director of the laboratory since 2005.
Before joining NIOSH in 2001, he started his own company preparing detailed
computerized estimates for restoration projects for major insurance
companies. Prior to that, he was senior vice president of National Draeger,
Inc., managing all marketing, sales and engineering aspects of that company.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1970
from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. From there, he went on to pursue
a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh
and graduated from there in 1972. Over the next several years, he completed a
number of graduate courses in Mechanical Engineering, also at the University
of Pittsburgh.
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NIOSH Funds
Tractor Safety Initiative
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 NIOSH has awarded $504,000 to a
consortium of university-based agricultural safety and health research
centers across the U.S. The funding under a two-year NIOSH grant will help
the centers build their capacity to launch a national public health campaign
for preventing deaths and serious injuries from tractor overturns and other
tractor-related incidents. Under the National Agricultural Tractor Safety
Initiative, the ten centers will study the costs of injuries from farm
tractor overturns and highway collisions and identify who bears those costs;
assess the impact of changes in rollover protective structures (ROPS)
standards, regulations, and technology and their effect on future ROPS
availability; examine the acceptability of, and procedures for, financial
incentives to retrofit tractors with ROPS; and create a database of potential
partners to help guide the planned national campaign and launch an intranet
to facilitate communication about tractor safety among the centers. Eight of
the ten centers will test community-based social marketing in 36 venues
across the U.S. More information on the initiative can be found at http://depts.washington.edu/pnash/tractor.html.
More information on the Centers can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/agctrhom.html.
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NIOSH Cincinnati Employees
Participate in National Heart Disease Awareness Campaign
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 Employees at NIOSH laboratories in Cincinnati, Ohio
participated in the National Wear Red Event in February to show their support
for women’s heart disease awareness. National Wear Red Day is part of
the Heart Truth campaign, an awareness campaign for women about heart disease
sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The NIOSH
employees were part of a local effort in Cincinnati coordinated through the
Federal Women’s Program, a Special Emphasis Program operated under the
Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Council; the Cincinnati Health Units,
operated under Federal Occupational Health; and the Health Promotion
Committee, operated locally under the Office of Administrative and Management
Services. For additional information, please visit NHLBI’s Web site at http://www.hearttruth.gov.
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NIOSH Office
of Extramural Programs
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 NIOSH issues RFA for
Mesothelioma Registry
The NIOSH Office of Extramural Programs has issued a Request for Applications
(RFA) to establish and maintain a National Mesothelioma Virtual Registry and
Tissue Bank. The application receipt date is April 24, 2006. The virtual
registry and tissue bank will maximize the effectiveness of data collection
and provide researchers real time access to clinical data associated with
tissue specimens from the registry. The total amount to be awarded is
approximately $950,000 to fund one award through cooperative agreement. The
full RFA can be accessed at http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-OH-06-005.html.
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 View NIOSH Director’s presentation on
nanotechnology online
A February 23 presentation by NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D., is available
for viewing on the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Web page.
In the presentation, Dr. Howard outlines NIOSH’s emphasis on three key
areas in 2006: continuing the dialogue with NIOSH’s partners, forming
field assessment teams to research actual work practices with nanomaterials
in the field, and developing a medical surveillance model to help provide
guidance to others researching in this field. The presentation can be viewed
at http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=166192&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&event_id=168645#.
Learn more about NIOSH nanotechnology efforts at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/nanotech.
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 New ANSI Standard on motor vehicle fleet safety
NIOSH
was actively involved in the development of a new voluntary standard for
preventing motor vehicle crashes. The American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) standard Z15.1, Safe
Practices for Motor Vehicle Operations, was approved
on February 15, 2006. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of
workplace fatalities and a major contributor to workers’ compensation
and liability costs, lost productivity and property loss. The standard is
designed for organizations whose employees drive on the job, contains minimum
requirements for workplace traffic safety programs, and is the first
occupational safety standard offering comprehensive guidance to protect all
workers who operate motor vehicles as part of their job. More information on
the standard can be found at http://www.asse.org/z15.
NIOSH signs
agreements with autoworkers and nurses associations
NIOSH, General Motors Corporation (GM) and the International Union, United
Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)
have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to engage in a cooperative
occupational safety and health research and development program. Through the
MOU, the organizations will focus activities in the areas of healthy work
issues, nanoparticulates, safe vehicle operation and hearing loss.
On March 22, 2006, NIOSH signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with the Association of peri-Operative Registered
Nurses (AORN) during their 53rd Congress in Washington, D.C. Under
the agreement, NIOSH and AORN will work to identify emerging workplace safety
issues, develop effective guidelines, and disseminate prevention and safety
strategies for those working in peri-operative areas, areas where operative or
other invasive procedures are performed.
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 New journal article reviews ways for establishing occupational
safety and health research priorities
A new review article published in the journal Industrial Health
illustrates the importance of stakeholders in establishing standard methods
for prioritizing occupational safety and health research. Research Priorities in
Occupational Safety and Health: A Review (Volume 44,
pp. 169-178) by Sergio Iavicoli, Bruna Rondinone, Alessandro Marinaccio and
Marilyn Fingerhut compares methods, approaches and results from the National
Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) and agendas developed in Europe and Asia
and by the World Health Organization. The majority of these agendas utilized
the Delphi technique to gauge input from experts, in this instance parties
involved in safeguarding workers’ safety and health. Through the Delphi
technique, a group of experts rate one or more topics through an iteration
process, in successive rounds until a consensus is reached. The full article
can be accessed at http://www.niih.go.jp/en/indu_hel/2006/pdf/indhealth_44_1_169.pdf.
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Applications being accepted for AIHA 2006 Future Leaders
Institute Program
Applications will be accepted through May 1, 2006 for the American Industrial
Hygiene Association (AIHA) Future Leaders Institute. The Institute will
develop early-career industrial hygienists by offering a unique learning
experience where they learn alongside and from each other. An AIHA future
leader will have 15 years or less experience in the occupational and
environmental health and safety profession and willingness to obtain a
personal mastery of the industrial hygiene field. The Institute will be held
October 19-22, 2006, in Chicago, IL. More information is available on the
AIHA Web site http://www.aiha.org/futureleaders.htm.
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NIOSH
has released two issues of NIOSH Technology News, with new information from
the NIOSH mining research program:
 Coaching Workshop for
On-the-Job Trainers, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication
No. 2006-118, describes contents of a NIOSH-developed guide for creating
an effective formalized on-the-job training (OJT) program. This
newsletter describes the benefits of formalized training versus informal
or “follow Joe” training, and results from a one-day
coaching workshop. The newsletter can be viewed at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/pubs/pdfs/2006-118.pdf.
The OJT program package can be accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/products/product140.htm. The Air Quantity
Estimator (AQE): A New Computer Software Tool for Large-opening Mine
Ventilation Planning, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication
No. 2006-124. The Air Quantity Estimator (AQE) will help large-operating
mines estimate adequate underground mine ventilation based on
site-specific diesel engine emissions. The newsletter can be accessed at
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/pubs/pdfs/2006-124.pdf.
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2006
NORA Symposium: Research Makes a Difference
The National
Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Symposium 2006: Research Makes a
Difference will be held on April 18-20, 2006 in
Washington, D.C. Several hundred occupational safety and health researchers,
stakeholders, and policymakers from the public and private sectors will
convene to celebrate completion of the first decade of NORA, mark the 35th
anniversary of NIOSH, and inaugurate the new plan for the future of NORA. An
important aspect of this conference will be scientific presentations
addressing the original 21 NORA priorities and anticipating research areas
for the next ten years. The symposium will be a unique forum for a broad cross-section
of the occupational safety and health community to learn about the variety of
research accomplishments stimulated or anticipated by NORA. For more
information about the symposium, please visit the NORA Web site, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/NORA, or
e-mail the NORA coordinator at noracoordinator@xxxxxxx.
International
Mining Health and Safety Symposium
NIOSH, with the State of West Virginia and the Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA), will cosponsor an international Mining Health and Safety Symposium
April 20-22, 2006, at Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, WV. The
Symposium will focus on mine equipment approval and ways to accelerate
adoption of state-of-the-art technologies, both from traditional sources and
by adapting technologies developed for other applications. More information
is available at http://www.nttc.edu/minesafety/default.asp.
2006
Toxicology and Risk Assessment Conference
NIOSH will cosponsor the 2006 Toxicology and Risk Assessment Conference
on April 24-27, 2006 in West Chester, Ohio. The conference will cover topics
that include the toxicity of heavy metals and nanoparticles, hearing loss
risk from noise and chemicals, and fundamentals of ecological and cancer risk
assessment. period Other cosponsors of the conference include the Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and research centers and laboratories from the U.S. Army, Air Force
and Navy. More information is available at http://www.toxconference.com.
AIHce
2006
and VENT 2006
The American
Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce)
and Ventilation
2006-the 8th International Conference on Ventilation
will be held concurrently May 13-18, 2006, in Chicago, IL. AIHce 2006
will feature weekend symposia on nanotechnology and infectious disease,
late-breaking sessions on hurricane response and recovery, and expert panel
sessions on nanotechnology, confined spaces and hexavalent chromium.
Additionally, participants attending AIHce 2006 will have access
to Ventilation 2006
at no additional cost. Ventilation
2006 will serve as a forum for exchanging latest
developments in ventilation-related emission and exposure controls. NIOSH is
a cosponsor of Ventilation
2006. More information on both conferences can be
found at http://www.aiha.org/Content/CE/aihce/aihce.htm.
Call for Abstracts
for December Nanotechnology Conference
NIOSH and the University of Cincinnati will cosponsor the International Conference on Nanotechnology
Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety: Research to Practice
on December 3-8, 2006 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Centered on the impact of
nanotechnology on occupational and environmental health and safety, abstracts
for paper presentations and workshops are due by May 31, 2006. Abstracts for
poster presentations will be accepted until June 30, 2006. For more
information, visit the conference Web site at http://www.uc.edu/noehs/. The conference
follows other successful international forums cosponsored by NIOSH in Buxton,
U.K., in 2004, Minneapolis in 2006, and Miami earlier in 2006.
1st
American Conference on Human Vibration
The 1st
American Conference on Human Vibration to be held June
5-7, 2006 in Morgantown, W.V. The conference will provide a unique
opportunity for participants to exchange information on all aspects of human
responses to hand-transmitted vibration and whole-body vibration. Information
on the conference can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/conferences/Vibration/.
13th International Respiratory
Protection of Healthcare Workers and Emergency Responders
The 13th
International Respiratory Protection of Healthcare Workers and Emergency
Responders Conference will be held August 27-September
1, 2006, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Topics for papers include respiratory
protection for healthcare workers, emergency responders, and those in
developing countries, updates on standards and regulations, emerging hazards
and technologies, and fundamentals of respiratory protection. More
information on the Call for Abstracts is available at http://www.isrp.com.au/isrpcom/callforpapers_toronto.htm
or by contacting Ziqing Zhuang at ZZhuang1@xxxxxxx.
Additional information on the conference can be found at http://www.isrp.com/au.
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CRADA (Cooperative Research and Development Agreements) is a
formal research and development agreement of limited duration and scope
between government researchers and their colleagues from industry, academia,
other federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit and
not-for-profit institutions, and other organizations. CRADAs provide an
opportunity for NIOSH to work together with industry and academia investigators
to jointly develop new or improved products or processes that benefit public
health. CRADA partners may obtain exclusive licenses on discoveries
patented as a result of the collaboration.
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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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John Howard, M.D.
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Editor in Chief
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Max Lum
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Story Editor
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Tara Hartley
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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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