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NIOSH Update:Workers Memorial Day 2008: Statement by NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. |
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Contact: Fred Blosser
(202) 245-0645
April 23, 2008 On Workers Memorial Day, April 28, 2008, the nation will mourn fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, children, grandparents, brothers, sisters, and cherished friends who have died from work-related injuries and illnesses. In their memory, we renew our national commitment to make the workplace safer and healthier. Although much progress has been made since the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970, more remains to be accomplished. Research is a vital part of this national mission, and NIOSH is proud of its role in helping to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. For the general public, the magnitude and impact of the problem perhaps emerge most starkly in the news coverage of workplace calamities in which two, three, four, or more workers die at one time. For occupational safety and health professionals, these catastrophes are compounded by the toll of deaths, disabilities, and impairments that occur with little or no media coverage, individually, every day – wrenching personal tragedies for families and communities.As we near the end of the first decade of the 21st Century, NIOSH research is increasingly important for maintaining the progress gained so far, and for making further inroads. Work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths continue to occur, and in 2006, the number of work-related fatalities was even higher than previously thought, representing an increase over the number in 2005 rather than a decrease as initially estimated, according to revised estimates announced recently by BLS. The challenges that face all of us are more complex and varied than ever before, and they include these:
"Great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds," Alexander Graham Bell observed. NIOSH depends on the help of our partners and collaborators – on your help – for success in our endeavors. Please join me in honoring Workers Memorial Day, April 28, 2008, and striving together to safeguard our working men and women. |