NIOSH eNews - July 2008

I hope you will be able to join us on July 29 in Denver, when NIOSH and its partners will convene NORA Symposium 2008: Public Market for Ideas and Partnerships. Information on registration, lodging, and the preliminary program are available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora/symp08/.

We are proud that the National Occupational Research Agenda, NORA, continues to serve as a beacon, a blueprint, and a rallying point for the national research that is so critical for preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. Chances are, you are familiar with the accomplishments that marked NORA's first decade, and with the anticipation that attended the launching of its second decade in 2006 http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora/. NORA Symposium 2008 will showcase successes associated with NORA partnerships in the second decade. Those successes include examples of r2p -- research to practice -- in which NORA has been instrumental for moving innovative research products into actual workplace use. The successes also include examples of ongoing research that address the increasingly complex challenges of our field in the 21^st Century. This research is the incubator for the next generation of r2p products.

NORA Symposium 2008 will also offer opportunities for expanding today's collaborations. If you have wondered how you might become one of our distinguished NORA partners, you are certain to find answers and inspiration in Denver. This will be a rare chance to learn about the range of current programs and projects under NORA, to network with eminent colleagues from NIOSH and partner organizations, to learn more about today's emerging challenges in safety and health, and to hear -- straight from the practitioners themselves -- about the effective, practical workplace interventions that have grown from NORA.

I am particularly pleased about these features of NORA Symposium 2008:

For the first time since the first NORA Symposium was held in 1999, we have moved the venue outside the Washington, D.C., area. As the Mile-High City, Denver is the ideal fit for the summit conference of our profession. By taking the symposium to Denver, we also hope to make the symposium more convenient for our partners, old and new, in the growing Western U.S., and to preview our hopes for expanded partnerships in the West through our Alaska Pacific Regional Office, our Spokane Research Laboratory, and our new Denver Regional Office.
The NORA Innovative Research Award and the NORA Partnering Award will be announced for 2008. The 2006 awards highlighted stellar achievements in research for preventing serious and potentially life-threatening green tobacco sickness in agricultural workers; protecting health-care workers from painful and disabling slips, trips, and falls; and instituting best practices to reduce occupational exposures to hazardous drugs http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora/symp06/award06.html. I am pleased that the NORA Symposium provides a forum for saluting the scientific ingenuity and dedicated teamwork that underpin NORA, and I look forward to this year's award presentations.
For the first time ever, the NORA Symposium will occur in cyberspace as well as in real space. Through the internet, we will present a Virtual Symposium in which more than 40 posters submitted for this purpose will be posted. You can find a preview at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora/symp08/virtualsymposium.html. We will invite interaction between poster presenters and viewers from July 30 until August 12 through a blog-type forum -- building on the dynamics of the symposium and extending the exchange of ideas in a way that modern information technology now makes possible.

Modern IT and communication systems such as the web, teleconferencing, and cell phones make it possible for researchers to work together over long distances. Nevertheless, the lifeblood of any successful partnership has to be face-to-face interaction. NORA Symposium 2008 provides a rare opportunity for our extended community to come together in person, share the excitement of our common mission for the public good, and plan ahead to meet our next set of challenges. I look forward to seeing you in Denver.

NIOSH Launches Online Global Road Safety at Work Resource Library

NIOSH now offers an online library to house resources from around the world related to the prevention of road traffic injuries and deaths while at work. The resources, which include employer policies and guidance documents on road safety at work, research reports on risk factors for work-related crashes, as well as statistics about worker injuries and fatalities on roads, are stored in the “Road Safety at Work” online library at http://www.roadsafetyatwork.org. Contact Jane Hingston at JHingston@cdc.gov for more information or to contribute to the online library.

NIOSH Receives IOM Report on Personal Protective Technology Program

On June 26, 2008 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued their report on the NIOSH Personal Protective Technology (PPT) Program. The review committee made five recommendations to further “the already substantial efforts of the PPT program.” Details of the committee’s findings and recommendations can be found at http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3740/45683/55601.aspx.

Lifetime Scientific Achievement Award

Congratulations to Dr. Vincent Castranova on receiving the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 2008 Charles C. Shepard Award for Lifetime Scientific Achievement. Dr. Castranova is the chief of the Pathology and Physiology Research Branch, NIOSH Health Effects Laboratory Division in Morgantown, WV. More information about the award and Dr. Castranova’s distinguished record of scientific achievements and leadership can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-06-16-08.html.

NIOSH to Host “No Fit Test” Respirator Workshop

Are innovations in half-mask respirator fit possible? If so, what are the factors that inhibit or encourage the development of better fitting respirators? These topics will be discussed at the “No Fit Test” Respirator Workshop to be held November 6, 2008 in Pittsburgh, PA. The NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory and the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, will host the workshop to focus on the nature and process of product innovation and development in negative pressure half-face piece respirators, to gauge the current “state-of-the-art,” and to stimulate new designs and approaches for improved respirator fit. The results of the workshop will lead to a better understanding of how future NIOSH research can encourage ongoing development of better fitting respirators without compromising long-term protection. Registration is free but required. You can register at http://cpheo.sph.umn.edu/mcohs.

CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Two recent scientific articles in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) were co-authored by NIOSH scientists.

“Cutaneous Anthrax Associated with Drum Making Using Goat Hides from West Africa – Connecticut, 2007” published in the June 13, 2008 issue, describes the sequence of events following a drum maker’s direct occupational exposure with djembe drums made from untreated animals hides from West Africa, and offers recommendations for safer practices. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5723a3.htm
“Heat-Related Deaths Among Crop Workers – United States, 1992-2006” published in the June 20, 2008 issue, provides a case study of a crop worker’s heat-related death and summarizes heat-related fatalities among crop production workers during the 15-year period. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5724a1.htm

Two Documents for Public Review and Comment

NIOSH has posted two documents for public comment.

The revised draft strategic research document, “Asbestos Fibers and Other Elongated Mineral Particles: State of the Science and Roadmap for Research,” incorporating public comments and peer review comments on the initial version. All comments are requested by September 30, 2008 http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/review/public/099-A
The draft document, “The Potential Modification of the NIOSH Statement of Standard for a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Full Facepiece Air-Purifying Respirator.” Comments will be accepted until October 16, 2008. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/review/public/139

REMINDERS

Save the Date: NIOSH To Host DREAM Workshop in November

NIOSH will host the “DREAM (Direct Reading Exposure Assessment Methods) Workshop” on November 13 – 14, 2008, in Arlington, VA. The workshop will bring together stakeholders from academia, labor, management, method development and research, government and manufacturing to discuss research needs in the area of direct reading methods for assessing occupational exposures. Input from the workshop will be used to set research priorities for the methods. Information on the workshop will be available on the NIOSH Web page, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/drm.

Nominations Being Accepted for First “Safe in Sound” Award

NIOSH and the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) have established a new award to be given each year to companies or organizations that exemplify Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention. The first “Safe in Sound” award will be presented at the NHCA annual conference in February 2009 and will recognize organizations that document measurable achievements in hearing loss prevention programs, obtain information on their real-world successes, and widely disseminate information on how others can use these successful strategies or benchmark their own programs. Additional information and submission details can be found at http://www.safeinsound.us. Nominations will be accepted until September 1, 2008.

NIOSH Science Blog

“Making the Business Case for Prevention through Design” posted on June 2, 2008 by Donna Heidel and Paul Schulte of the NIOSH Education and Information Division describes the NIOSH Prevention through Design (PtD) initiative. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/blog/nsb060208_ptd.html
The June 16, 2008 posting by Cammie Chaumont Menndez of the NIOSH Division of Safety Research invites the taxicab community to express their views on safety interventions in taxicabs, specifically cameras, GPS, partitions and other safety devices and crime deterrents. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/blog/nsb061608_taxiviolence.html
Understanding the effects of police work and stress on future cardiovascular outcomes is the topic of the June 30, 2008 posting by Tara Hartley and Cecil Burchfiel of the NIOSH Health Effects Laboratory Division and John Violanti of the University at Buffalo. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/blog

r2p Corner

NIOSH Offers Workplace Solution for Water Spray Control of Hazardous Dust

A new NIOSH Workplace Solutions document, Water Spray Control of Hazardous Dust When Breaking Concrete with a Jackhammer, NIOSH Publication No. 2008-127, provides practical recommendations for using water-spray control devices to reduce occupational exposures to hazardous dust in employing jackhammers to break concrete pavement. Dust released in such operations may contain crystalline silica, which can cause silicosis, a deadly lung disease. The document is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/wp-solutions/2008-127/.

NORA

NORA Wholesale and Retail Trade Draft Agenda

The NORA Wholesale and Retail Trade Sector Council requests comments on its draft National Wholesale and Retail Trade Agenda posted at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora/comment/public/WholRetTradeDraftJune2008. This preliminary draft national strategy consists of six strategic goals. Four focus on adverse health or exposure conditions, and the remaining two focus on demographic characteristics that contribute to the risk of injury, illness and death. The Council also seeks organizations to join partnership efforts to advance the draft priorities.

NORA 2008 Virtual Symposium Opens July 30!

A virtual symposium is being held in conjunction with the NORA Symposium 2008: Public Market for Ideas and Partnerships. The virtual symposium, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora/symp08/virtualsymposium.html, will showcase the keynote presentations, NORA 2008 awards, and workshop presentations. It will also feature a virtual poster session with a blog-like capability to encourage dialogue between the poster author(s) and the viewer about the importance of the work to the viewer, as well as possible collaborations and partnerships to use the results to improve workplace practice.

News From Our Partners

The deadline has been extended to apply to the “2008 National Safety Council’s Research Poster Award Program” for research papers based on occupational safety and health. The extended deadline for submissions is August 1, 2008. Application and submission forms can be accessed at http://www.nsc.org/network/college_univ_init/posterhome.aspx. The award is sponsored by the NSC College and University Initiative: Education and Research and the Campbell Institute.

Communication Products

The second issue of “PtD in Motion” is now available with a focus on the construction industry. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/PtD/html/Ptd-inMotion-Issue2.html

Recent submissions to the NIOSH Docket 129 “Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers action plan” have been added to http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket/nioshdocket0129.html

“Guidance on Emergency Responder Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Response to CBRN Terrorism Incidents” DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 2008-132. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2008-132

Two NIOSH documents are now available in Spanish

“Preventing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Sonography” DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 2006-148 http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/niosh/docs/wp-solutions/2006-148_sp. The English version is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/wp-solutions/2006-148.
“Safe Nanotechnology in the Workplace” DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 2008-112 http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/niosh/docs/2008-112_sp. The English version is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2008-112.

Two new NIOSH Topic Pages are now available:

“Tick-Borne Diseases” http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/tick-borne
“Welding and Manganese: Potential Neurologic Effects” http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/welding

Health Hazard Evaluation: Evaluation of Potential Musculoskeletal Hazard.

The HHE Program responded to a union request at a poultry processing plant concerning potential musculoskeletal hazards resulting from job tasks in the deli division. The NIOSH HHE investigators observed frank hanging and frank removing tasks and interviewed workers about their work and medical histories. It was found that workers used awkward postures and performed heavy lifting, which increased their risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders. Investigators found that workers reported musculoskeletal pain and discomfort in their back and shoulders when hanging and removing franks. HHE Program investigators recommended that managers provide workers with taller platforms in both the raw and cooked production areas to reduce awkward postures; that managers rotate workers from lifting to non-lifting jobs to limit lifting tasks to less than two hours per rotation; that employees take specific measures to minimize horizontal research distance while working; and that employees take the time to work safely and lift properly. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2007-0098-3061.pdf.

Upcoming Events

Look for Us

“International Association of Fire Fighters 49^th Convention”
August 10 – 15, 2008, Las Vegas, NV. http://www.iaff.org/events/08convention/index.aspx

“International Association of Fire Chiefs Fire Rescue International 2008”
August 14 – 16, 2008, Denver, CO. Booth #1372. http://www.iafc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlebr=356

“Association of Occupational Health Professionals”
September 17 – 20, 2008, Denver, CO

“National Safety Council Expo”
September 22 – 24, 2008, Anaheim, CA

Call for Abstracts

ASSE Professional Development Conference and Exposition “SAFETY 2009”
June 23 – July 1, 2009, San Antonio, TX. Deadline is July 18, 2008. http://www.asse.org

“29^th Triennial Congress of the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH 2009)”
March 22 – 27, 2009, Cape Town, South Africa. Deadline is July 31, 2008.
http://www.icoh2009.co.za

“Emergency Nurses Association Leadership Conference”
March 4 – 8, 2009, Reno, NV. Deadline is August 1, 2008
http://www.ena.org

“American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Expo”
May 30 – June 4, 2009, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Deadline for Professional Development Course Proposals is August 15, 2008. Deadline for Technical Papers, Poster Abstracts and Roundtable Panel Program submissions is October 6, 2008. http://www.aiha.org/aihce09/default.htm

“American Occupational Health Conference 2009”
April 26 – 29, 2009, San Diego, CA. Deadline for Individual Scientific Abstracts is September 15, 2008. Deadline for Academic Abstracts is January 31, 2009
http://aohc2009.abstractcentral.com

“Association of periOperative Registered Nurses Congress 2009”
March 15 – 19, 2009, Chicago, IL. Deadline is October 1, 2008.
http://www.aorn.org/Education/EducationEvents/CallForProposals

“2009 Emergency Nurses Association Annual Conference”
October 7 – 10, 2009, Baltimore, MD. Deadline is January 15, 2009.
http://ena.org

Upcoming Conferences

“2008 Johnson Conference: Critical Issues in Monitoring Asbestos”
July 14 – 18, 2008, Burlington, VT. http://www.astm.org/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/filtrexx40.cgi?U+mystore+rnme8276+-P+MAINCOMM+D22+-P+EVENT_ID+1126+-P+MEETING_ID+32970+/usr6/htdocs/newpilot.com/MEETINGS/sympotherinfo.frm

“International Association of Fire Chiefs Fire Rescue International 2008”
August 14 – 16, 2008, Denver, CO. http://www.iafc.org

“American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Conference for Leadership Advancement”
September 10 – 12, 2008, Atlanta, GA. http://www.aaohn.org

“14^th International Society for Respiratory Protection”
September 14 – 18, 2008, Dublin, Ireland. http://www.isrp.com/dublin/index.html

“2008 National Occupational Injury Research Symposium (NOIRS)”
October 21 – 23, 2008, Pittsburgh, PA. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/noirs/2008

“PCIH 2008”
November 8 – 11, 2008, Tampa, FL. http://www.aiha.org/pcih08/

“8^th Conference of the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology”
November 12 – 14, 2008, Valencia, Spain. http://www.ea-ohp.org

“International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) 2008 Annual Conference”
November 15 – 20, 2008, Overland Park, KS. http://www.iaem.com

“International Roofing Expo”
February 3 – 5, 2009, Las Vegas, NV. http://www.theroofingexpo.com

“2009 SME Annual Meeting” and “CMA 111th Annual National Western Mining Conference”
February 22 – 25, 2009, Denver, CO. http://sme2009.abstractcentral.com

“Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) 2009”
April 20 – 25, 2009, Indianapolis, IN.
http://downloads.pennnet.com/fe/fdic2008/2009indycallforpapers.doc

“19^th International Symposium on Shiftwork and Working Time”
August 2 – 6, 2009, Venezia, Italy. http://www.shiftwork2009.it

Word of the Month

Prevention through Design (PtD): A NIOSH initiative to “design out” or minimize hazards and risks early in the design process as a way of preventing and controlling occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities to workers throughout the life cycle of work premises, tools, equipment, machinery, substances, and work methods, including their construction, manufacture, use, maintenance and ultimate disposal or re-use.

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