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A Voice in the Wilderness: Alice Hamilton and the Illinois Survey

Today, on Workers Memorial Day we remember those who died from work-related causes and take stock of what we still need to accomplish to reduce the toll of workplace injury, disease, and death. As we do this, it may be helpful to look back at how far we have come and remember one woman in Read More >

Posted on by Leslie Nickels, PhD, MEd8 Comments

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Workers’ Memorial Day, April 28, 2014

On Workers’ Memorial Day we acknowledge the toll that work-related hazards and exposures have taken on American workers, their families, and communities. Each year, NIOSH collaborates with the staff of CDC’s Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report (MMWR) to publish the most recent annual statistics, NIOSH analyses of occupational illness and injuries, and investigations of occupational Read More >

Posted on by Kerry Souza, ScD, MPH 6 Comments

Workers Memorial Day 2014

Workers Memorial Day, April 28, reminds us that every death, injury, or illness on the job represents a human tragedy.  Behind each statistic is the loss of a loved one’s life, the diminution or loss of a father’s or mother’s ability to provide for family needs, or a medical crisis that can have lifelong consequences. Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, M.D.1 Comment

Coccidioidomycosis: An Enduring Work-Related Disease

Background Coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley Fever, is a disease caused by the fungus Coccidioides. The fungus grows in the soil in very dry areas. Coccidioidomycosis is endemic (native and common) in the southwestern United States, the Central Valley of California, Mexico, and parts of Central and South America [CDC 2013a]. About 150,000 new infections Read More >

Posted on by Marie A. de Perio, MD; Gregory A. Burr, CIH10 Comments

Semi-Autonomous Motor Vehicles: What Are the Implications for Work-related Road Safety?

Motor vehicles that are semi-autonomous – in other words, those that can operate for extended periods with little human input – are no longer just a product of science fiction. Semi-autonomous vehicles (Level 3 automation as defined below) are expected to reach the market within five years, and employers that buy or lease vehicles will Read More >

Posted on by Stephanie Pratt, PhD and Kwame Boafo, MPH 71 Comments

The History and Future of NIOSH Morgantown

To commemorate Workers Memorial Day, NIOSH is hosting a week of blogs with a new post each day ending on Monday, April 28th.  To start us off, we will highlight the past and look to the future with a retrospective on the history of occupational safety and health research and NIOSH in Morgantown, West Virginia. Occupational Read More >

Posted on by Tanya Headley, MS and Katie Shahan, JD4 Comments

Occupations with High Obesity Prevalence in Washington State

  If work and the workplace contribute to poor health behaviors, should employers attempt to improve those behaviors?  It likely is in the employer’s best interest to do so. Poor health behaviors can lead to chronic disease.  Workers with chronic disease may be at higher risk for workplace injury, have more absenteeism, and diminished productivity Read More >

Posted on by Wendy Lu, MPH; David Bonauto, MD, MPH; Joyce Fan, PhD;Casey Chosewood, MD; Sara E. Luckhaupt,MD, MPH 12 Comments

So How Accurate Are These Smartphone Sound Measurement Apps?

NIOSH has released a free smartphone sound measurement app for iOS devices. For more info and to download the app,  see the NIOSH sound level meter app page .  Please share your comments on the related NIOSH science blog post.  As of June 2013, 60% of all mobile subscribers use smartphones—that’s more than 140 million devices. Read More >

Posted on by Chucri A. Kardous, MS, PE and Peter B. Shaw, Ph.D. 210 Comments

Do We Need to Challenge Respirator Filters With Biological Aerosols?

The purpose of this NIOSH Science Blog is to explain what is currently known about an important aspect of respirator filtration.  For decades, respirator researchers have been asked whether filters need to be tested with aerosols similar to those encountered in the environment (Figure 1).  Common sense suggests that viruses or bacteria are collected differently Read More >

Posted on by Lisa M. Brosseau, ScD, CIH and Ronald Shaffer, PhD 8 Comments