Contact: Fred Blosser (202) 260-8519
April 22, 1999
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is inviting applications for new research to help prevent injury and death to workers less than 18 years of age in the construction industry. NIOSH is seeking research that will help the government determine if changes are needed in existing Department of Labor regulations that prohibit the employment of youths under 18 in particularly hazardous activities.
Approximately $550,000 is available this year from the Labor Department's Employment Standards Administration (ESA) to fund some three to five awards under cooperative agreements, NIOSH said. Deadlines are May 28, 1999, for filing a letter of intent to submit an application, and June 30, 1999, for submission of an application.
"NIOSH is pleased to team with the Employment Standards Administration and the outside scientific community to advance this essential research," said NIOSH Director Linda Rosenstock, M.D., M.P.H. "Our partnership will generate new data that are critically needed to protect the safety and health of adolescent workers in the construction industry - a population that appears to face a disproportionately high risk of job-related injury and death."
The NIOSH notice of availability of funds was published in the Federal Register and can be found on the NIOSH Home Page on the World Wide Web at www.cdc.gov/niosh, under the "Federal Register"; link. NIOSH is the nation's agency for research on the prevention of work-related injuries and illnesses. It is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Department of Labor reported 62 deaths of workers under 18 in 1997, and NIOSH estimates that another 70,000 were injured seriously enough to require treatment in hospital emergency rooms. A previous NIOSH review suggested that the construction industry, which ranks among the most dangerous industries in the U.S. for workers of all ages, may be inadequately addressed in existing child labor regulations.
The construction industry consistently has been among the industries accounting for the most deaths of workers 16 and 17 years of age, exceeded only by the retail trade and agricultural industries. Although the construction industry accounts for about 2.5 percent of adolescent employment, it accounts for about 15 percent of youth work fatalities. Information about risks specific to youth or tasks are needed to determine if rrevisions to existing child labor regulations are needed to adequately protect working youth.
For further information on research pertaining to adolescent worker injury prevention, or other areas of NIOSH research, call the toll-free NIOSH information number, 1-800-35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674) or visit NIOSH on the World Wide Web at www.cdc.gov/niosh.
