On Workers Memorial Day, we honor the men and women who suffered work-related injury, illness, and death, and we rededicate ourselves to the mission of preventing future tragedies.  Earning a day’s pay should not place anyone at risk of losing life or livelihood.

Thanks to a concerted partnership of labor, industry, government, science, and public opinion, great strides have been made in reducing the burden of workplace injury and disease over the last century.  Since 1913, the toll of work-related deaths has fallen by some 80 percent. 

In 2013, occupational safety and health professionals strive to continue that progress.  It is important to recognize that progress is only a relative term as long as anyone faces a risk to life or wellbeing at work. We must eliminate for good the legacy hazards of the 20^th Century.  We must also embrace a new 21^st Century paradigm in which worker health and safety are fully incorporated into the design, start-up, and lifespan of new businesses, industries, structures, work processes, and technologies.

The ringing in of a new year brings not only resolutions but the inevitable recap of the past year including the obligatory lists:  Top 10 News Stories, Top 10 Weather Events, even Top Ten Celebrity Mug Shots.  We decided to add our own list—The Top 12 NIOSH Science Blogs of 2012.  The list shows the vast array of topics covered by NIOSH.  Of note this year, the third and eleventh most viewed blogs were written by external partners.  We hope you find the Top 12 fascinating and encourage you to make a New Year’s Resolution to send us (using the comment section below) your suggestions for a blog topic in 2013.

Our recent blog on Superhero personal protective equipment got us thinking: What about Santa?  He certainly faces a number of occupational hazards. Maybe we can help him out.  Let’s start with the chimney. Talk about a confined space and what about the cancer risk?  Are those pants fire retardant?  Santa may want to follow our research on fire fighter boots.  Up on the rooftop?  Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Santa should check out our recent Falls Cost /Safety Pays campaign or our document on preventing falls through skylights.

Fortunately for Santa, Christmas Eve comes only once a year but it’s one long shift for the man with the bag.  The elves who toil away during this busy season might want to read our blogs on sleep and shiftwork and maybe the child labor page as well. How many elves work in the North Pole anyway?  Is the Workshop now part of a conglomerate with in-house safety and health expertise or is Santa a small business employer? There must be bears at the North Pole right?  Either way, he might enjoy our blog How to Avoid Bear Attacks (and other small business concerns).