Global Collaborations
Outputs: NIOSH International Technical Assistance
Silicosis project in Chile
As part of the NIOSH 2006-2007 Program for Elimination of Silicosis in the Americas, a five-member NIOSH team traveled to Santiago, Chile to provide training and technical assistance to the Occupational Health Department, Instituto de Salud Publica de Chile (ISP) and the Ministerio del Salud from September 9-17, 2006. Both the ISP and the Ministerio del Salud have some functions similar to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The team presented a 3-day course titled “Application of Control Banding Methodology,” which included control banding theory, American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) and NIOSH exposure assessment strategies, intervention design and evaluation, principles of engineering controls for industrial hygiene, mining engineering control case studies, and hands-on use of real-time instrumentation to measure silica-containing dust in mines and other high-risk workplaces.
Course participants from ISP and the Chilean Ministry of Health with the five NIOSH instructors at ISP Chile.
NIOSH personnel discuss dust control with ISP staff and officials of Codelco Andina in their largest underground copper mine
The course included live translation during two classroom days and one field visit day that included use of real-time particle measuring instruments and discussion of results and potential control solutions. There were 27 course attendees, including 3 ISP investigators and 24 Ministry of Health inspectors, from regional offices around the country. Class field visits were to two medium-sized enterprises in the Santiago region, a quartz quarry and a rock crushing plant.
On following days, the team participated in joint field site visits with ISP to a large underground / surface copper mine in the Andes (Codelco Andina division; 3000 employees), and a rock crushing small enterprise in the Santiago region (6 employees). On behalf of Dr. John Howard, NIOSH Director, Marilyn Fingerhut, NIOSH International Coordinator, was present on the initial day of the course to sign a letter of agreement for cooperation on silicosis elimination with the Directors of ISP, the Chilean Ministry of Health, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)-Chile. Plans are being made for continued collaboration during 2007.
NIOSH Offers Training, Technical Assistance for Salvadoran Lead Evaluation
A Ministry of Health of El Salvador staff member checks workers' personal air monitors during the Ministry's lead exposure assessment in Salvadoran battery recycling/manufacturing plant. Photo courtesy of Aaron Sussell.
NIOSH provided international training and technical assistance in December 2005 in support of an occupational and environmental health evaluation in El Salvador. The assistance helped Salvadoran health officials and company officials evaluate potential occupational and community lead exposures associated with a lead-acid battery recycling and manufacturing plant. The NIOSH team, consisting of Kevin Ashley, Manuel Rodriguez, and Aaron Sussell, offered training on the calibration and use of lead sampling devices and laboratory analytical equipment, provided equipment that enabled the Salvadoran colleagues to continue the public health evaluation, and observed their Salvadoran counterparts' technical performance in action.
The assistance was provided in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Global Health Central America Field Epidemiology Training Program (CA-FETP), and the Salvadoran Ministry of Health. The focus of CA-FETP is to build institutional capacity in the region for epidemiology and public health surveillance. The NIOSH assistance to this project was part of NIOSH's ongoing commitment of technical assistance to help build occupational safety and health capacities in other countries. In turn, the findings and insights from such partnerships often are useful in building similar capacities in small businesses in the US. For more information on the project, contact Manuel Rodriguez at MRodriguez1@cdc.gov.
Mining Technical Assistance and Research Collaborations
As a result of research accomplishments by the NIOSH Mining Program, collaborations with the worldwide mining engineering and scientific community have been undertaken involving mining expertise, capabilities, and facilities. Descriptions of the collaborative activities between NIOSH mining researchers and various organizations around the world since 1996 can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nas/mining/whatdoes-collaborations.htm.
