Categories: Construction, Green, Prevention through Design
June 10th, 2013 1:25 pm ET -
Christine Branche, Ph.D.
Earlier this year I participated in the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Summit on Green Buildings and Human Health. At USGBC’s invitation, I authored a blog that appears on their website. We are co-posting the blog on the NIOSH Science Blog. The Summit was very successful, and USGBC is open to including worker issues into their initiatives. Please share your thoughts on this important issue in the comment section below.
Tackling the many challenges of making the construction and occupation of commercial and residential buildings in the United States green and sustainable is not an easy one, but the
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is to be congratulated for working aggressively to address them. Championing commitments to environmental sustainability, energy reduction, social equity, and human health demonstrate the commitment of the USGBC to take steps that will benefit both the environment and the businesses that construct, as well as occupy, these structures. LEED
[1] has evolved over time on a trajectory towards true sustainability. USGBC is to be commended further for looking introspectively at how health is considered in LEED, and the relative priority given to energy and environmental factors.
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Categories: Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, Construction, Hearing loss, Manufacturing, Mining, Oil and gas, Personal protective equipment
May 31st, 2013 6:50 am ET -
Captain William J. Murphy, Ph.D.; Dr. Mark R. Stephenson, Ph.D.; Captain David C. Byrne, M.S. CCC-A; Christa L. Themann, M.S. CCC-A
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory
Today is Save Your Hearing Day. For workers and others who are exposed to dangerously loud noises which cannot be reduced or eliminated, hearing protection devices (HPDs) are absolutely necessary to save their hearing. But if HPDs are not properly selected or correctly worn, the devices may not block out enough noise and the wearer may still risk a loss of hearing. How can a person tell if their HPDs are fit correctly? A new development from NIOSH – HPD Well-FitTM – can quickly and inexpensively test the performance of hearing protection. This fit testing technology is a huge advancement in efforts to save workers’ hearing.
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Categories: Bloodborne pathogens, Cancer, Chemicals, Construction, Health care, Personal protective equipment, Stress, Transportation, Violence, Women
May 13th, 2013 10:04 am ET -
Naomi Swanson,Ph.D.; Julie Tisdale-Pardi, MA; CAPT Leslie MacDonald, Sc.D.; Hope M. Tiesman, Ph.D.
This week is Women’s Health Week. With over 58% of U.S. women in the labor force[i], the workplace must be considered when looking at women’s overall health. We must keep in mind that susceptibility to hazards can be different for men and women. Additionally, women face different workplace health challenges than men partly because men and women tend to have different kinds of jobs. Women generally have more work-related cases of carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, respiratory diseases, infectious diseases, and anxiety and stress disorders. Social, economic, and cultural factors also put women at risk for injury and illness. While workplace exposures can affect both male and female reproduction, issues related to reproduction and pregnancy are of particular concern to women. Below you will find summaries, with links to more research, of some hazards faced by women in the workplace as well as links to industry-specific research from NIOSH that relates to women. More information is available on the NIOSH topic page Women’s Safety and Health Issues at Work.
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Categories: Construction, Engineering Control, Respiratory health
March 26th, 2013 11:12 am ET -
Chaolong Qi, PhD
- Are you a contractor whose company has at least three years of field experience cutting fiber cement siding with a circular saw?
- Has your company installed fiber cement siding on at least three large residential jobs?
- Do you have an upcoming job where fiber cement siding will be cut and installed for at least eight hours per day over a course of three days?
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If you answered “Yes” to these three questions then WE NEED YOU!
NIOSH is currently testing low-cost solutions for protecting workers from silica exposure when cutting fiber cement siding. You can help us test a dust control and at the same time add to the research that supports and advances the prevention of silicosis.
Fiber Cement Siding and Silica
Fiber cement siding is a popular product in home construction. Many builders select this siding because it is a weather-resilient material that does not generally attract insects or need to be painted as frequently as other common siding materials. However, fiber cement siding when cut can create fine dust particles containing silica that when breathed in, can lead to serious lung diseases, such as silicosis.
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Earlier this year I participated in the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Summit on Green Buildings and Human Health. At USGBC’s invitation, I authored a blog that appears on their website. We are co-posting the blog on the NIOSH Science Blog. The Summit was very successful, and USGBC is open to including worker issues into their initiatives. Please share your thoughts on this important issue in the comment section below. 
