NIOSH Science Blog Posts

The 2018 Summer Occupational Health Internship Program (OHIP)

The 2018 Occupational Health Internship Program (OHIP) summer marked the program’s 15th year of placing students in the field with a worker or community based organization on projects that investigate work-related health and safety issues. This summer, 22 OHIP interns worked on 12 occupational health and safety projects in eight locations. At the start of Read More >

Posted on by Sarah Jacobs, MPH, and Robert Harrison, MD.4 Comments

Workers Using Prescription Opioids and/or Benzodiazepines Can Face Safety and Health Risks

See the 2021 fact sheet Prescription Opioid and Benzodiazepine Medications and Occupational Safety and Health: Information for Employers and Healthcare Providers. The opioid crisis that faces the nation has a great impact on workers and NIOSH has a comprehensive program to address opioids in workers. One issue of concern is workers who use prescription opioids Read More >

Posted on by Sudha P. Pandalai, MD, PhD, and Paul A. Schulte, PhD1 Comment

Three Tips for Choosing the Right Hearing Protector

We live in a noisy world. Some noises can damage our hearing, leading to hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and difficulty communicating especially in background noise. Permanent noise-induced hearing damage is incurable. If you cannot reduce your noise exposure by turning down the volume, moving away from the sound, or limiting the time Read More >

Posted on by CAPT William J. Murphy, Ph.D., Christa L. Themann, MA, CCC-A,CAPT Chucri (Chuck) A. Kardous, MS, PE, and CAPT David C. Byrne, Ph.D., CCC-A36 Comments

Visualizing National Worker Survey Data through Worker Health Charts

Anne is the CEO of a major hospital in a large metropolitan area. She is concerned by reports the Human Resources Department is receiving from employees about harassment and bullying. She understands that harassment and bullying can create a hostile work environment. With these concerns in mind, she includes questions about hostile work environment in Read More >

Posted on by Blair Carlin; CAPT Sara E. Luckhaupt, MD, MPH; and Amy Mobley, MEnLeave a comment

NIOSH and USDA Partner to Protect Workers after Hurricane Florence

Responders face many challenges and hazards when responding to disasters. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) maintains an emergency preparedness and response resources page to help workers stay protected during response and recovery activities. In some cases unique hazards are identified during a response and NIOSH works to develop communication materials to Read More >

Posted on by CAPT Lisa Delaney, MS, CIH8 Comments

Job Strain, Long Work Hours, and Suicidal Thoughts

September 9-15th, 2018 is National Suicide Prevention week. Workplace suicide and mental health in general are often underrepresented in workplace health and safety discussions. However, globally, more than 300 million people suffer from depression, the leading cause of disability (WHO, 2017). In the US, the suicide mortality rate increased by 24% from 1999 to 2014, Read More >

Posted on by Sarah Mitchell, MPH, and BongKyoo Choi, ScD, MPH6 Comments

N95 Day 2018: Getting Down to the Particulars about Filter Class

Calling all N95 filter facepiece respirator users, program managers, educators, manufacturers, and general enthusiasts of respiratory protection. Today is N95 Day and we are psyched! We’ve planned this N95 Day party to be particularly packed with information pertaining to particles. (Say THAT five times fast.) We admit it; we are pretty geeky when it comes Read More >

Posted on by Jaclyn Krah Cichowicz, MA, and Bingbing Wu, PhDLeave a comment

Labor Day Message from NIOSH Director, John Howard, MD

More than just a “day off,” Labor Day provides us a moment to pause and reflect on the efforts and sacrifice all men and women across the nation have worked through to keep this country moving, day and night, contributing to the economic and material well-being of its inhabitants. NIOSH’s mission has been and will Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, MD2 CommentsTags

Workplace Medical Mystery Solved: Water Patrol Deputy Gets Sick Out on the Lake

Jim worked as a water patrol deputy for the county sheriff’s office. While working a 10-hour shift in the hot sun over a busy holiday weekend he began to feel sick. It started with a headache while he was working in a channel where hundreds of boaters congregate for a floating party.  He then became Read More >

Posted on by Stephanie Stevens, MA2 Comments

Workplace Medical Mystery: Water Patrol Deputy Gets Sick Out on the Lake

“Today’s going to be a scorcher–expect highs to reach a balmy 99 degrees!” exclaimed the voice from the radio. Jim grumbled as he listened to the weather report on his drive to work. Jim is a deputy with the county sheriff’s office assigned to the water patrol unit. Hot summer days always bring people out Read More >

Posted on by Stephanie Stevens, MA22 Comments

Gases and vapors continue to pose hazards on oil and gas well sites during gauging, fluid transfer, and disposal

Background A previous NIOSH report (2016)1 described the death of nine oil and gas extraction workers that occurred during gauging or sampling activities at open thief hatches on crude oil storage tanks. Hydrocarbon gases and vapors (HGVs) and associated oxygen displacement were the primary or contributory factors in these fatalities. Additionally, wellsite exposure assessments conducted Read More >

Posted on by Kyla Retzer, MPH; Emily Schmick, MSPH, CIH; Alejandra Ramirez-Cardenas, MPH; Bradley King, PhD, MPH, CIH; and John Snawder, PhD, DABT19 Comments

Characterizing 3D Printing Emissions and Controls in an Office Environment

Disclaimer: Mention of any company, product, or service does not constitute endorsement by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), or imply that any company or its products or services are preferred over any other.   Read More >

Posted on by Kevin L Dunn, MS, CIH; Duane Hammond, MS, PE; Jennifer Tyrawski, PhD; and Matthew G. Duling, MS, REHS26 Comments

Beyond Determining Compliance: How Can Workers’ Compensation Insurers’ Exposure Data Be Improved and Used?

The workers’ compensation system can be used for more than processing work-related illness or injury insurance claims. The data collected through this system provide valuable information to identify how these injuries and illnesses happen, so that they can be prevented. In recent years, use of workers’ compensation injury and illness data in the public health Read More >

Posted on by Taylor M. Shockey, MPH; Steven J. Wurzelbacher, PhD; and Libby L. Moore, PhD2 Comments

Grounds for Change: Reducing Noise Exposure in the Grounds Management Professions – Part 2

Workers in grounds management professions, which includes landscaping, lawn maintenance and horticulturists, are often exposed to hazardous noise while on the job. Part One of this summer series discussed some of the dangers of noise, including hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and other health issues. In addition to its negative effects on personal Read More >

Posted on by Jackie DiFrancesco BA, COHC; Asha Brogan and Bryan Beamer PhD, PE, CSP1 Comment

The Powerhouse: Students’ contributions towards expanding and improving occupational safety and health content in Wikipedia

The history and motivation behind the efforts NIOSH is putting into expanding and improving occupational safety and health in Wikipedia was discussed in earlier NIOSH Science Blogs (May 19,2015 and July 25, 2018)  and thru the NIOSH January 2017 eNews. Here we will focus on the partnerships created between NIOSH and university graduate and training Read More >

Posted on by Thais C. Morata, Max Lum, John Sadowski, Tania Carreón-Valencia, Deanna Meinke, Emily Wakefield, Diana Ceballos, and Mary Beth Genter1 Comment

Grounds for Change: Reducing Noise Exposure in Grounds Management Professionals – Part 1

While the dog days of summer mean slowing down for some people, sunshine brings the busy season for those in the grounds management professions, which includes landscaping, tree care and horticulture. This summer work means breaking out tools that can create loud noise: lawn mowers, edgers, chainsaws, chippers — just to name a few. This Read More >

Posted on by Jackie DiFrancesco BA, COHC; Asha Brogan and Bryan Beamer PhD, PE, CSP7 Comments

Expanding and Improving Occupational Safety and Health Content in Wikipedia. It Matters.

NIOSH is one of the first US federal agencies to collaborate with the Wikimedia organizations and it is doing so by actively contributing data and the latest research to help improve the health of the population. NIOSH’s effort involves examining mechanisms to help make sure that the occupational safety and health information that reaches Wikipedia’s Read More >

Posted on by Max Lum, Thais C. Morata, James Hare, and John P. Sadowski4 Comments

How Can we Measure Impulse Noise Properly?

Impulsive noise is typically generated by the rapid release of compressed gases (impulse) or the collision of solid objects (impact) and is defined as the instantaneous change in sound pressure over a short period of time. Considerable research has shown that impulsive noise is more likely to cause noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) than continuous noise Read More >

Posted on by CAPT Chucri (Chuck) A. Kardous, MSEE, PE, and CAPT William J. Murphy, PhD

Workplace Noise: More than just “All Ears”

Noise is everywhere, but how loud does it need to be to cause harm? While many people know that loud noise can hurt their ears, they don’t know how loud is too loud or how long they can listen before it becomes harmful. Noise around 85 decibels (dBA) – which is loud enough that you Read More >

Posted on by Ellen Kerns, MPH, CPH, COHC and Elizabeth Masterson, PhD, CPH, COHC8 Comments

Fentanyls and the Safety of First Responders: Science and Recommendations

The severity of the opioid epidemic is well-documented. In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that drug overdose deaths in the United States more than tripled from 1999 to 2015.[1] From 2015 to 2016, opioid overdose deaths increased by more than 20 percent—rising from 52,898 in 2016 to 64,070 deaths in Read More >

Posted on by John Howard, MD, and Jennifer Hornsby-Myers, MS, CIH2 Comments