Volume
4 Number 5 September 2006 |
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Report Released on National Academies' Review of NIOSH Hearing Loss
Research Program NIOSH Posts Revised Nanotechnology Page NIOSH to Seek Applications for 2006 Director's Award |
MMWR:
Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance-United States 2003-2004 Monthly
Report from the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory NIOSH
Agricultural Centers to Host Journalists Workshop New
Site Showcases Industrial Workers from the 1940s. |
r2p Corner Two Revised Standards Released by National Fire Protection Association NORA Around NIOSH Division of Respiratory Disease Studies (DRDS) Division of Safety
Research Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies (DSHEFS)
|
Education
and Information Division (EID) Health
Effects Laboratory Division (HELD) National
Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) Pittsburgh Research
Laboratory (PRL) Spokane Research
Laboratory (SRL) News
From Our Partners Communication
Products |
Proceedings of the First American Conference on Human Vibration Glutaraldehyde Topic Page Health Hazard Evaluations
Upcoming
Events |
On September 11, the United States marks the fifth commemoration of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. First and foremost, the commemoration gives occasion to honor the courage of those who died in the attacks, to express our deepest sympathy for their survivors and loved ones, to thank the responders who labored selflessly at the disaster site, and to recognize the continuing impact of those tragedies. I am proud that NIOSH has worked closely with its universe of partners and stakeholders to address the health and safety demands of the 9/11 disaster. This work has drawn on scientific and technical expertise rooted in NIOSH's 35 years of leadership. It has also challenged NIOSH, in many ways, to adapt its expertise to the changing landscape of the post 9/11 era. To name some of these contributions: Within hours of the World Trade Center (WTC) destruction, NIOSH staff were on site at Ground Zero to offer technical assistance to responders who labored heroically in the wake of the attacks. This was part of an unprecedented federal deployment of help. In other technical assistance, NIOSH also helped to assess and recommend steps to address potential occupational exposures to workers in several buildings in the zone of the WTC dust plume. NIOSH has been the diligent steward of federal funds to fund medical screening, monitoring, and treatment of WTC responders. This effort was begun with first steps in 2002, recognizing the need to identify, anticipate, and address potential health threats associated with WTC exposures in rescue, recovery, clean up, and restoration. NIOSH has built on lessons learned from the 9/11 emergency response to help design new equipment and strategies for safeguarding responders in large-scale disasters. More information
can be found at the WTC topic page at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/wtc/.
In the past seven months, I have been privileged to meet many in the
New York City community. Their personal stories have reinforced my
conviction that NIOSH has a vital continuing role to play in strengthening
safety, health, and security in the post-9/11 workplace. With your
help, we are dedicated to fulfilling that mission. |
Report Released on National Academies' Review of NIOSH Hearing Loss Research Program |
The
National Academies' Committee to Review the NIOSH Hearing Loss Research
Program released its report of findings and recommendations on August
30, 2006. The Hearing Loss Research Program is the first of as many
as 15 NIOSH programs that will be evaluated with respect to their impact,
relevance, and performance addressing emerging issues. A copy of the
report is available online at http://www.iom.edu/Default.aspx?id=36811.
NIOSH thanks the National Academies, the evaluation committee, and
review participants for their work. NIOSH is studying the report's
findings and recommendations. More information about National Academies'
evaluation of NIOSH research programs can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nas. |
A
revised nanotechnology topic page, describing NIOSH research on the occupational
safety and health implications and applications of this emerging technology,
is available online at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/nanotech. The
page was revised to make it easier for stakeholders and the general public
to navigate, read, and use, reflecting the substantial amount of material
that has been added to the topic page since the original version was
introduced in 2004. The revised page also highlights an updated version
of the online document "Approaches to Safe Nanotechnology: An Information
Exchange with NIOSH," which was first posted in 2005. |
NIOSH is soliciting applications for the 2006 NIOSH Director's Award for Scientific Achievement in Occupational Safety and Health. The award each year recognizes outstanding scientific research achievement in the field of occupational safety and health that has made a major impact or has the potential of making a major impact for practitioners and workplaces. Researchers who are currently receiving independent investigator-initiated grant support from NIOSH are eligible for the competitive award, which provides a $10,000 supplement in direct costs to the grant that is the basis for the work cited in the award. Watch the NIOSH Web page at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/oep for the announcement. With the 2005 Director's Award, NIOSH was pleased to recognize the exemplary
research of Dr. Charles A. Czeisler, whose positions include Baldino
Professor of Sleep Medicine and Director of the Division of Sleep Medicine
at Harvard Medical School. The 2005 award recognized groundbreaking research
by Dr. Czeisler on the impact of long working hours on serious medical
errors by interns, and reductions in the rate of such errors with strategic
limitations on work shifts. More information about Dr. Czeisler and his
research activities can be found at
http://sleep.med.harvard.edu/people/faculty/210/Charles+A+Czeisler+PhD+MD. |
MMWR: Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance-United States 2003-2004 |
The
number of U.S. adults with elevated blood lead levels declined in 2003-2004
from previous years, according to new findings reported by NIOSH from
data collected through the Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance
(ABLES) program. The program is funded by NIOSH and enhances health surveillance
to identify elevated blood lead levels. The new findings were reported
in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) for August 18. The full
MMWR can be accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5532a2.htm.
More information on the ABLES program can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ABLES/ables.html. |
Monthly Report from the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory |
The NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) releases new figures on the respirator certification and approval process. During the month of July, 17 requests for extensions of existing respirator approvals and nine applications for new approvals were opened. In addition, NIOSH opened processes for reviewing quality assurance (QA) manuals for three respirator products; some manufacturers choose to submit their QA manuals for NIOSH review prior to submitting the actual products. Thirty applications were closed. These include 23 air-purifying, five air-supplied respirator applications as well as applications involving two quality assurance manuals, 14 extensions of approval and eight new approvals. Certification was granted for 27 products, and one application was denied and two were withdrawn. NIOSH also conducted post-certification activities, including three site audits and four product audits. Product audits are conducted on previously certified respirators that NIOSH purchases and checks to ensure they are still in compliance with NIOSH certification standards. NPPTL will host the following public meetings.
Additional
details, including registration information, are available on the NPPTL
Web site http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/. |
The “Children and Agriculture: Telling the Story” Workshop
for Journalists will be held October 20-21 in Wenatchee, Washington. This
workshop provides an excellent opportunity for interested journalists to
learn more about the role of media covering childhood agricultural safety
and health issues. Among the topics for discussion: children at work in the
agriculture industry, farmworker housing and children’s health, and
environmental exposures including pesticide takehome pathways. The workshop
will be hosted by two NIOSH Agricultural Centers: the National Children’s
Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety and the Pacific Northwest
Agricultural Safety and Health Center. More information on the workshop can
be found at http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/nfmc/pages/default.aspx?page=nfmc_edu_and_train_journ_wkshp_welcome
or by contacting Scott Heiberger, National Farm Medicine Center, at heiberger.scott@mcrf.mfldclin.edu. |
Over
50 photos of Connecticut workers and occupational health professionals
are now available for viewing on the Connecticut Department of Public
Health Web site. These photos are from the NIOSH Collection of Historic
Photographs and were taken by John Collier, Jr., a photographer for the
Farm Security Administration on assignment for the U.S. Public Health
Service and the State of Connecticut Department of Health in the early
1940's. The photos and brief descriptions can be viewed at http://www.dph.state.ct.us/BRS/EOHA/Documents/present.pdf. |
NIOSH
and AIHA co-host Chinese delegation Two Revised Standards Released by National Fire Protection Association |
First
Meetings Scheduled for the NORA Sector Councils
The councils are
designed to be representative of the sectors and knowledgeable of the
many issues facing those workers but still small enough to work effectively
as a group. If you want to be involved but are not called upon to be
a member, stay tuned to next month’s eNews to find out
how you can be sector council corresponding member. As always, contact
the NORA Coordinator, NORACoordinator@cdc.gov, if you have any questions. |
Division of Applied Research and Technology (DART) Division of Respiratory Disease Studies (DRDS)
Division of Safety Research (DSR) Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies (DSHEFS) Education and Information Division (EID) Health Effects Laboratory Division (HELD) National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL) Spokane Research Laboratory (SRL) |
AAOHN
to debut conference for leadership achievement in September |
Preventing
Asthma and Death from MDI Exposure During Spray-on Truck Bed Liner
and Related Applications Proceedings of the First American Conference on Human Vibration Glutaraldehyde Topic Page Health Hazard Evaluations The following Health Hazard Evaluation Reports have been released.
|
Contact
Dermatitis 2006 – Blending Science with
Best Practice Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Children at Work and Play International Conference on Nanotechnology Occupational and Environmental
Health and Safety: Research to Practice |
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