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Occupational Health Internship Program – Apply Now for Summer 2017

The Occupational Health Internship Program (OHIP) is dedicated to helping students learn about the field of occupational safety and health (OSH) from the perspective of working people. OHIP has played a crucial role in training, mentoring, and inspiring a new generation of OSH professionals as well as providing worker community based organizations the resources to Read More >

Posted on by Robert Harrison, MD, and Sarah Jacobs, MPH 25 Comments

New NIOSH Training Offers Fatigue Management for Pilots in the Land of the Midnight Sun

  For a pilot working in Western Alaska, the amount of daylight during their work day can vary as much as 14 hours between the summer and winter solstice (or more the farther north you go). These aviators often fly multiple legs each day, serving as a transportation link to over 250 villages across the Read More >

Posted on by CAPT Mary O’Connor, MS, REHS3 Comments

Synthetic Biology and Occupational Risk

Forty two years ago, in February 1975, the Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA [1] established guiding principles for safe conduct of experiments utilizing recombinant DNA technology, which facilitated the creation of a biotechnology industry in the 1980s. Since then, biotechnology advanced to its second-generation, also called “synthetic biology.” Synthetic biology involves applying the principles of Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, MD; Vladimir Murashov, PhD; and Paul Schulte, PhD3 Comments

Wearable Sensors: An Ethical Framework for Decision-Making

Wearable sensors are all the rage. They give us information about our health, fitness, productivity and safety.  However, downsides to this technology are accuracy and security of the data and challenges to personal privacy. How wearable technology is used in occupational safety and health research and practice is evolving.  Wearable sensors can detect and alert Read More >

Posted on by Angela Morley, JD, MPH; Gayle DeBord, PhD; and Mark D. Hoover, PhD, CHP, CIH 10 Comments

New NIOSH Sound Level Meter App

Imagine if workers around the world could collect and share workplace (or task-based) noise exposure data using their smartphones. Scientists and occupational safety and health professionals could rely on such shared data to build job exposure databases and promote better hearing health and prevention efforts.  In addition, the ability to acquire and display real-time noise Read More >

Posted on by CAPT Chucri (Chuck) A. Kardous, MS, PE, and Metod Celestina, B.Sc. EE 167 Comments

Occupational Health Issues in the USA

Happy New Year. As we start afresh in 2017 I wanted to share my recent editorial in the British journal, Occupational Medicine, “Occupational health issues in the USA”.  The article highlights some of the occupational safety and health issues identified as needing attention by the industry sector groups of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA).  Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, MD11 Comments

Occupational Exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) in U.S. Manufacturing Companies

You may have seen water bottles labeled “BPA Free” or heard that certain foods contain BPA. BPA (or bisphenol A) has been in the news over the past several years. BPA is weakly estrogenic; that is, BPA may mimic some of the hormone-like effects of estrogen.  BPA is used primarily in making polycarbonate plastic and Read More >

Posted on by Cynthia Hines, MS, CIH9 Comments

USE 2017: Resolve to Be There

Welcome to a new year. Are you ready to set your resolutions for this year? How about starting by learning more about the international Understanding Small Enterprises (USE) Conference, which is being held in the U.S. for the first time this coming October 25-27, 2017. NIOSH is collaborating with the Center for Health, Work & Read More >

Posted on by Garrett Burnett, MS, MBA, and Thomas Cunningham, PhD 87 Comments

Nonstandard Work Arrangements

Who is looking out for workers in nonstandard work arrangements? As the prevalence of nonstandard work arrangements (such as temporary agency, contract, and “gig” arrangements) rises, so do concerns about workplace safety and health among this workforce. A recent article, “Nonstandard work arrangements and worker health and safety” published in the American Journal of Industrial Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, MD18 Comments