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Help! What do you want from a mobile Pocket Guide?
Since its first printing in 1978, the NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (NPG) continues to be the Institute’s most popular document. The NPG provides general descriptive, exposure, and protective and emergency recommendations for 677 chemicals commonly found in the work environment. Workers, employers, and occupational health professionals all use the NPG in the course Read More >
Posted on by 159 CommentsWorkplace Health Is Public Health
It’s National Public Health Week. Those of us who work in workplace safety and health know that workplace health is an integral part of public health. While “Creating a Healthy Workplace” is one of the five themes of National Public Health Week, the role of workplace health in Public Health is not always clear to the general public. If you Read More >
Posted on by 22 CommentsWork-Related Amputations: Who’s Counting?
Knowing how many, who and where injuries or disease are occurring is a basic premise of preventing injuries and illnesses. If we don’t have accurate information on injury/illness occurrence, we don’t know how many resources to devote, what action(s) to take or whether the action we do take is effective. New findings from Michigan State Read More >
Posted on by 11 CommentsMaintaining a Relationship with your SCBA
Happy Valentine’s Day! Today is the day of the year dedicated to showing our significant others just how much we care. Boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, and wives all scurry to make the day special with chocolates, flowers, romantic dinners, and thoughtful gifts. Why? Because good relationships take work. Good relationships take maintenance. Have you ever thought Read More >
Posted on by 22 CommentsDangers of Bathtub Refinishing
On April 30, 2024, the EPA finalized a ban on most uses of methylene chloride, protecting workers and communities from fatal exposure. The rule requires stronger worker safety requirements for remaining industrial uses. Information on the ban can be found here. At least 14 workers have died since 2000 as a result of Read More >
Posted on by 181 CommentsHypertension and Low Wages
If workers earning low wages didn’t have enough stressors in their lives, they can now add hypertension to the list. Our new research finds that low wages are a risk factor for hypertension among working people. The research was recently published in the European Journal of Public Health, “Are Low Wages Risk Factors for Hypertension?”, Read More >
Posted on by 10 CommentsTop 12 NIOSH Science Blog Posts in 2012
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 Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsThe Superhero Ensemble: Protecting More than a Secret Identity
It’s that time of year again – the time of mall madness and wracking our brains for gift ideas. Those of us reaching for the easy stocking stuffers are perhaps sharing the same idea – DVDs of this summer’s big screen blockbusters. We noticed many were of the superhero variety (The Dark Knight Rises, Avengers, Read More >
Posted on by 12 CommentsNIOSH Takes a Stand
Over the past year, NIOSH and its Total Worker HealthTM Program have been traveling the country sharing the evidence and benefits of comprehensively integrating health protection with health promotion, including workplace programs that encourage physical activity, weight loss and stress management. Recently, we launched an internal NIOSH pilot program to explore the use of sit Read More >
Posted on by 63 CommentsJoint Pain in the Workplace
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) include a number of physical conditions affecting muscles, tendons, nerves, ligaments, joints, and other soft tissues that can be caused, or exacerbated, by work. It is estimated that MSDs account for approximately one-third of injury and illness costs in U.S. industry. Many musculoskeletal conditions can result specifically in chronic or short-term joint Read More >
Posted on by 41 CommentsEven a Dummy Knows October is Protect Your Hearing Month
Meet Nick. Nick is a training mannequin who helps NIOSH teach young people and their families about preventing noise-induced hearing loss. Hearing loss can result from working around noise–even non-powered hand tools–without wearing proper hearing protection. It is not uncommon for a 25 year-old farmer or carpenter to have the hearing of a 50 year-old. Read More >
Posted on by 29 CommentsLung Cancer Screening in the Occupational Setting – An Update
Last year we posted two blogs on the use of computerized tomography (CT) scans of the chest for lung cancer screening — Helical CT Scans and Lung Cancer Screening1 and Low-dose CT Scans and Lung Cancer Screening in the Occupational Setting.2 Since the postings, various organizations have provided guidance with differing implications for early detection Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsStress and Health in Law Enforcement
Earlier this month the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health released a special issue highlighting research from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study and from related studies of morbidity and mortality among police officers. The BCOPS study is an investigation of the early or subclinical health consequences of stress in police officers and Read More >
Posted on by 10 CommentsSleep, Pain, and Hospital Workers
We know that decreased sleep duration and extended shifts in healthcare workers are linked to workplace injuries. The effects of decreased sleep on pain in the workplace are less clear. New research from the Harvard Center for Work, Health and Wellbeing –one of four NIOSH Centers of Excellence funded to explore and research the concepts Read More >
Posted on by 18 CommentsMaking the Case for Paid Sick Leave
Does it make economic sense for employers to offer or expand paid sick leave benefits to their employees? A new NIOSH study published in the American Journal of Public Health reported that workers with access to paid sick leave were 28% less likely overall to suffer nonfatal occupational injuries than workers without access to paid Read More >
Posted on by 36 CommentsSafer and Healthier at Any Age: Strategies for an Aging Workforce
Profound changes continue to unfold in the American workforce as Baby Boomers—Americans born between 1945 and 1964—swell the ranks of our workplaces. This has led many employers to fear the possibilities of negative impacts associated with this demographic trend. On one hand, they are concerned that having age-gifted workers on the job may mean escalating Read More >
Posted on by 17 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 Read More >
Posted on by 29 CommentsWorker Exposure to Crystalline Silica During Hydraulic Fracturing
Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is the process of injecting large volumes of water, sand, and chemicals into the ground at high pressure to break up shale formation allowing more efficient recovery of oil and gas. This form of well stimulation has been used since the late 1940s, but has increased substantially over the last 10 Read More >
Posted on by 27 CommentsU.S. Businesses Start and Stay Smaller
Next week is National Small Business Week. Recent research finds that U.S. businesses are starting smaller and staying smaller than in decades past. What are the implications for occupational safety and health? Read More >
Posted on by 9 CommentsGetting Closer to Understanding the Economic Burden of Occupational Injury and Illness
A recent landmark paper by J. Paul Leigh shows that the annual direct and indirect costs of occupational injury and illness in the U.S. are at least $250 billion. This amount exceeds the individual cost of cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Read more about the most comprehensive analysis ever conducted of the burden of occupational illness and injury in the U.S. on the NIOSH Science Blog. Read More >
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