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Workers Memorial Day 2015

  Every year we pause on April 28 for Workers Memorial Day to publicly remember the workers who died or suffered from exposures to hazards at work. While worker deaths in America are down, on average, even one death or one injury is still too many. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the passing Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, M.D.9 Comments

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Workers’ Memorial Day 2015

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

Posted on by Kerry Souza, ScD, MPH 2 Comments

Workplace Medical Mystery Solved: An Unknown Exposure Leaves a Child with High Amounts of Lead in her Blood

The local health department conducted a lead risk assessment of Michelle and Ted’s house that turned up some interesting findings. While their home was built before 1978—when lead-containing paint was banned by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission—no lead-based paint was found in the house. The homes that were demolished to make way for the Read More >

Posted on by Stephanie Stevens, MA1 Comment

Workplace Medical Mystery: Unknown Exposure Leaves Child with High Blood Lead Levels

  It was just a routine well child exam. A simple blood test showed 13 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) of lead in two-year-old Sarah’s blood; 8 µg/dL more than the 5 µg/dL the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)recommends as a reference level for determining if a child’s blood lead level is much Read More >

Posted on by Stephanie Stevens, MA25 Comments

Workplace Suicide

  The research literature on occupation and suicide has consistently identified several occupations at high risk for suicide: farmers, medical doctors, law enforcement officers, and soldiers. However, there are few studies examining suicides that occur in U.S. workplaces. Recently published research from NIOSH, examined suicides occurring in U.S. workplaces between 2003 and 2010 and compared workplace Read More >

Posted on by Hope M. Tiesman, PhD 11 Comments

UPDATE: Reports of Worker Fatalities during Manual Tank Gauging and Sampling in the Oil and Gas Extraction Industry

  On May 19th, 2014, NIOSH posted a Science blog titled “Reports of Worker Fatalities during Flowback Operations”. This blog post provided information that NIOSH received from several sources indicating that acute exposures to hydrocarbon gas and vapors likely played a role in the deaths of at least four workers in the oil and gas Read More >

Posted on by Bradley King, PhD, MPH, CIH; Eric Esswein, MSPH, CIH; Kyla Retzer, MPH; John Snawder, PhD, DABT; Sophia Ridl, BS; Michael Breitenstein, BS; Marissa Alexander-Scott, DVM, MS, MPH; Ryan Hill, MPH.6 Comments

High Prevalence of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome among Poultry Workers

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) of the upper extremities among poultry processing employees are well documented (Lipscomb et al. 2008; Cartwright et al. 2012). The combination of highly repetitive tasks, forceful movements and working in cold temperatures can increase risk for MSDs such as carpal tunnel syndrome, a disabling medical condition affecting the hands and wrists. In Read More >

Posted on by Jessica Ramsey, MS, CPE and Kristin Musolin, DO, MS11 CommentsTags

Tobacco in the Workplace

  More than half a century has passed since the first Surgeon General’s Report on the health consequences of smoking. Over that 50-year period, cigarette smoking in the U.S. has declined by more than 50% among all U.S. adults. However, tobacco use continues to be the most frequent cause of preventable death and is responsible Read More >

Posted on by David Weissman, MD3 Comments