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A Deeper Look into Protecting Wildland Firefighter Safety and Health
Wildland firefighters perform a hazardous job in dangerous conditions. Their daily tasks pose risk of burns and other heat-related injuries or illnesses; slips, trips, falls, strains, and sprains; and becoming trapped or injured by equipment or debris.1 In addition, exposures related to fighting fires—especially when it comes to smoke inhalation—have been classified as “carcinogenic,”
Posted on byWildland Firefighter Health: Some Burning Questions
While research has not yet been conducted on all the hazards and risks associated with the wildland firefighting job, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is asked numerous questions about the hazards of fighting wildland fires. This blog is designed to answer some of those questions. What Is in Wildland Fire Smoke?
Posted on by 8 CommentsNoise Exposure Among Federal Wildland Fire Fighters
Hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses in the United States. NIOSH estimates that 22 million U.S. workers encounter noise exposures loud enough to be hazardous. Wildland fire fighting (vs. urban/ structural fire fighting), aims to suppress grass, brush, or forest fires (see Figure 1). Wildland fire fighting is considered a high-risk
Posted on by 1 CommentArduous Duty: Using Three Data Sources to Create a Single Wildland Fire Fighter On-Duty Death Surveillance System
Wildland fire fighters are required to pass an “arduous duty” physical fitness test annually to help ensure that they are prepared for the physical nature of the job. Unlike structural fire fighting, wildland fire fighting often requires long work shifts that may last up to 14 continuous days, and often takes place in environments that
Posted on by 2 CommentsWildland Fire Fighting Safety and Health
Wildland fires continue to increase in the Western United States as hot, dry and windy conditions persist, resulting in an extended fire season and factors conducive to fires. Currently, drought conditions are prevalent in the West due to low snow-pack levels, below average rainfall, record setting temperatures and high winds, resulting in a greater than
Posted on by 29 CommentsPerspectives on Forest Operations Safety
Forest operations, which include logging and other forestry activities (e.g., planting, thinning, fuels reduction, and wildland fire fighting), are a vital component of forest management. It is also one of the most dangerous places to work in the United States (U.S.). In 2022, there were 54 fatalities to logging workers. The work-related fatality rate for
Posted on byPrevent Fungal Diseases in the Workplace
As part of Fungal Disease Awareness Week, we are highlighting fungal diseases that can affect workers. Coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever), blastomycosis, and histoplasmosis are fungal diseases caused by fungi that live in the environment in certain regions. Infections are caused by breathing in fungal spores that get into the air. Some jobs and work activities that
Posted on byFarmworker Appreciation Day 2024 – Celebrate the workers who bring us our daily bread (and everything else on our plate)
Few jobs are as essential as the ones that help to produce the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and many other products which get us through the day. From our morning coffee to a midnight snack, we benefit from the labor of farmworkers. The U.S employed approximately 2.6 million farmworkers in 2022
Posted on by 1 CommentTackling Mental Health Challenges in the Public Safety Sector: Implementing and Evaluating Mental Health Programs
Public safety sector workers including firefighters (structural and wildland), law enforcement officers, emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians, and corrections personnel are at a high risk of occupational exposure to traumatic events and stress. As such, mental health programs are critical for addressing the unique challenges these workers face. Effective programs must be multi-faceted, address
Posted on by 2 CommentsMost-viewed NIOSH Products in 2023
Each January we look back at our most-viewed products from the previous year. This helps us gauge our impact and understand the type of information our users are seeking. Interest in all our platforms remains high. The subject matter making our most-viewed lists covers a wide range of topics including the prevention of firefighter cancer,
Posted on by 1 CommentWorkplace Safety and Health in a Barbie World
As the occupational safety and health community continues to combat very real and serious hazards, we are closing out the summer with a little fun. This summer Barbie and friends have recaptured national attention breaking box office records with movie ticket sales exceeding one billion dollars in just a few weeks. While Barbie’s first “job”
Posted on by 4 CommentsProtecting Workers and the Public from Wildfire Smoke
The Canadian wildfires highlight the hazard of wildfire smoke, an issue faced annually by many communities across the United States. In this blog, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and National Center for Environmental Health teamed up with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide
Posted on by 4 CommentsThe National Firefighter Registry for Cancer: Understanding the Link Between Firefighting and Cancer
Firefighting is a demanding profession that presents many risks from acute injuries on the fireground to long-term illness, like cancer. Firefighters can encounter cancer-causing chemicals by breathing them in, getting them on their skin or in their eyes, or by ingesting them. Exposure to these chemicals can occur while being near burning materials, from
Posted on by 2 CommentsThe State of Health Surveillance Across the Public Safety Sector
Surveillance is the cornerstone of public health practice, including in occupational safety and health (OSH). OSH surveillance systems have the ability to generate data that drives decision making and action.1, 2 There are multiple steps in a surveillance system including timely and accurate data collection; data quality monitoring; data management; data analysis; interpretation of results;
Posted on by 2 CommentsOutdoor Workers and Poisonous Plant Exposures
Poisonous Plants Are an Occupational Hazard For many outdoor workers (and some who work indoors), contact with poisonous plants is a common work hazard. Workers at risk include construction workers, farmers, landscapers and arborists, gardeners, outdoor painters, roofers, and wildland firefighters. Common plants they may come in contact with include poison ivy, poison oak, poison
Posted on by 2 CommentsMining, Maritime, and More: NIOSH’s Spokane Research Laboratory’s Expanded Mission Serves Broad Array of Industries
NIOSH’s Spokane Research Laboratory (SRL), located in the Eastern Washington city of Spokane, is the largest NIOSH facility west of the Mississippi River and has a history dating back to the post World War II era. The purpose-built facility has a long track record of supporting engineering research, but today its mission has expanded to
Posted on by 2 CommentsThe Most-viewed NIOSH Products of 2021
It’s that time of year again when we take stock of the past year and what NIOSH information was most viewed on our channels. As the world and NIOSH continued to fight a pandemic it is not surprising that respirator information dominated on the NIOSH website and the NIOSH Science Blog. NIOSH continues to work
Posted on by 1 CommentNIOSH in Denver
NIOSH has had a presence in Denver since the early 1970s shortly after NIOSH was created. While the name of the office and the functions have changed over time, a commitment to improving occupational health and safety conditions for those working in the Western United States has remained constant. In 2015, the Denver Office became
Posted on byExtinguishing the Risk of Forever Chemicals: State of the science to protect first responders
Forever Chemicals, aptly named because they are resistant to breaking down, are artificially produced chemicals used to enhance everyday products like stain resistant clothing and furniture, cosmetics, and food packaging material. Scientists refer to them as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS includes thousands of individual compounds that have been used worldwide since the early
Posted on by 7 Comments50 Years of NIOSH and 30 Years of NIOSH in Alaska
For the past 30 years, NIOSH has operated a small research office in Anchorage, Alaska. The NIOSH Division of Safety Research established the Alaska Field Station in 1991 to address the high rate of occupational fatalities among workers in the state. Surveillance from 1980-1989 showed Alaska had the highest rate of occupational fatality in the
Posted on by 3 Comments