Category: Observances

Labor Day 2016: A Statement by NIOSH Director John Howard, MD

To many, Labor Day signifies the end of summer vacations, the beginning of a new school year or a time to find bargains. It’s important to remember Labor Day is much more than just a retail holiday or a day off of work. We must not forget it is a day to celebrate workers—from teachers Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, M.D.2 Comments

National Safety Month

It’s National Safety Month. Each June, the National Safety Council and its partners raise awareness on preventing the leading causes of injury and death at work, on the roads and in our homes and communities.  This year’s theme is SafeForLife. Each week of June has a different focus area. In this joint blog from the Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, MD, and Kathy Lane 2 Comments

Healthy Vision Month

  NIOSH is excited to partner with the National Institutes of Health’s National Eye Institute (NEI) to help promote Healthy Vision Month! Every May, the NEI empowers Americans to make their eye health a priority and educates them about steps they can take to protect their vision. For more on NEI’s Healthy Vision Month campaign, Read More >

Posted on by Michelle Lee, BA; Sydney Webb, PhD; L. Casey Chosewood, MD, MPH; James Grosch, PhD; Juliann Scholl, PhD; and Chia-Chia Chang, MPH, MBA5 Comments

Workers Memorial Day Message 2016

  Each year we pause on April 28 for Workers Memorial Day to publicly remember the workers who died or suffered from exposures to hazards at work. While worker deaths in America are down, on average, even one death or one injury is still too many. To prevent injury, illness, and death in today’s workplaces, Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, MD 6 Comments

Workplace Injury, Illness and Death- How do we know how many?

  Workers Memorial Day, April 28, is a day to reflect on how work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths affect American workers, their families and society at large. Each year at this time NIOSH reports on the burden of workplace injury and illness (see MMWR). But how do we know how many workers died or suffered Read More >

Posted on by Kerry Souza, ScD, MPH 3 Comments

Black History Month: Saluting Two NIOSH Pioneers of Diversity

  During Black History Month, we celebrate the men and women of African-American heritage who have contributed so much to our nation’s leadership in the global community. At NIOSH, we recognize the importance of a diverse scientific workforce that mirrors the diversity of today’s workforce as a whole.  As we approach the third decade of Read More >

Posted on by Jenise Brassell, B.S. and Constance C. Franklin, MPA 7 Comments

The Importance of High Standards: A Valentine’s Day Message about Closed-Circuit Escape Respirators

  We here at NIOSH LOVE respirators. That’s why every Valentine’s day, we blog about important respirator considerations. It’s our version of an information-packed love letter. In 2014 we discussed essential maintenance tips for self-contained self-rescuers (SCSRs), also known as closed-circuit escape respirators (CCERs). Since that blog entry, the implementation of a new CCER standard Read More >

Posted on by Jaclyn Krah, MA Leave a comment

#PlanAhead for Drive Safely Work Week 2015

  How do you plan to celebrate Drive Safely Work Week? Don’t know? Haven’t thought about it yet? Well, you are in luck. This year, we are posting our blog in advance of the annual observance that encourages safe driving on and off the job (October 5-9, 2015) to give you plenty of time to Read More >

Posted on by Rebecca Olsavsky, MS and Stephanie Pratt, PhD 2 Comments

Health Effects from 9/11: Lessons Learned

  Today, as the world remembers the terrorist attacks of 9/11 we must also remember that tens of thousands of responders and survivors of the disaster continue to suffer adverse health effects every day. Multiple types of toxic exposures were encountered by the responders, clean-up personnel and residents of the surrounding community. A new Continuing Read More >

Posted on by Max Lum, Ed.D., MPA15 Comments

Labor Day Message from NIOSH Director, John Howard, M.D.

  Labor Day is a time to reflect upon and honor the contribution by American workers to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. First celebrated in New York City in 1882, Labor Day became an official federal holiday in 1894. While the character of the celebrations has changed over time, Labor Day today Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, M.D.2 Comments

N95 Day 2015: The tools to build a culture of proper respiratory protection practices

  Every day is a day to think about worker safety. But today, on our annual N95 Day (09/04/2015), we embrace our dedication to proper respiratory protection practices, shining it with a bit of elbow grease, and displaying it at the very front line of our priorities. Today we find the time necessary to focus Read More >

Posted on by Jaclyn Krah, M.A2 Comments

The Stand-Down Is On! Join the National Safety Stand-down to Prevent Falls in Construction

The construction industry is one of the most dangerous, and within construction, falls are the leading cause of death and injury. Every year, workers fall from ladders and roofs, down stairs, through floors and holes, and off of scaffolding. In 2013 across the United States, three-hundred and five construction workers died because of a fall. Read More >

Posted on by Elizabeth P. Garza, M.P.H.; Scott Earnest, Ph.D., P.E., C.S.P.; and Christine M. Branche, Ph.D., FACE 4 Comments

Workers Memorial Day 2015

  Every year we pause on April 28 for Workers Memorial Day to publicly remember the workers who died or suffered from exposures to hazards at work. While worker deaths in America are down, on average, even one death or one injury is still too many. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the passing Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, M.D.9 Comments

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: Workers’ Memorial Day 2015

  On Workers’ Memorial Day we acknowledge the toll that work-related exposures have taken on American workers, their families, and communities. Each year, NIOSH collaborates with the staff of the CDC Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report (MMWR) to publish the most recent NIOSH analyses of occupational illness and injuries, and investigations of occupational hazards. The Read More >

Posted on by Kerry Souza, ScD, MPH 2 Comments

Your NIOSH Top 5 for 2014

  What did you read in 2014? While we aren’t privy to your favorite beach read or your book club selections, we do know what caught your eye on the NIOSH blog and website. Your favorite blogs last year are listed below. So How Accurate Are These Smartphone Sound Measurement Apps? N95 Respirators and Surgical Read More >

Posted on by Blog Coordinator6 Comments

N95 Day 2014: Respirator Preparedness – Where Technology Meets Good Practices

N95 Day is finally here again. We hope that you have been looking forward to it as much as we have! N95 Day has become an annual observance, now in its third year. This year we are focusing on the specific theme of “Respiratory Preparedness: Where Technology Meets Good Practices.” Confidence and familiarity with proper Read More >

Posted on by Jaclyn Krah, MA4 Comments

Labor Day 2014

  On Labor Day 2014, we reflect on the ways in which work sustains us as individuals, strengthens our families and communities, and enables our society to function smoothly and productively.  We see this in our daily lives.  On any given morning, as a working parent or caregiver, you may drop your child off at Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, M.D.10 Comments

Workers Memorial Day 2014

Workers Memorial Day, April 28, reminds us that every death, injury, or illness on the job represents a human tragedy.  Behind each statistic is the loss of a loved one’s life, the diminution or loss of a father’s or mother’s ability to provide for family needs, or a medical crisis that can have lifelong consequences. Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, M.D.1 Comment

World Cancer Day – Cancer Detectives in the Workplace

Today is World Cancer Day. Around the world, 12.7 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year, and the number is expected to increase due to the growth and aging of the population, as well as reductions in childhood mortality and deaths from infectious diseases in developing countries (ACS 2011). Cancer is the leading cause Read More >

Posted on by Mary K. Schubauer-Berigan, Ph.D.; Tania Carreόn-Valencia, Ph.D.; Avima M. Ruder, Ph.D.; Lynne E. Pinkerton, M.D., M.P.H.8 Comments

Happy N95 Day! A Guide to N95 Resources

  Welcome to year two of this NIOSH-approved observance, marking N95 day as an official annual event. (We debated about decorating our offices with N95s – but that seemed a tad wasteful). To those who missed the memo last year, let us update you. Because N95 respirators are so important to the health and safety Read More >

Posted on by Jaclyn Krah, MA 13 Comments