Volume
3 Number 6 October 2005 |
NIOSH eNews Web site |
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NIOSH
Posts Nanotechnology ‘Approaches’ Document,
Strategic Plan, Library 2nd International
Nanotechnology Symposium Highlights NIOSH, Other Research World Safety Congress, Agreement, and National Safety Council Meeting |
Deep
South Center for Occupational Health and Safety NPPTL & National
Academies Respirator Certification
Update NIOSH Exhibits |
NIOSH deployed 57 people in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. These NIOSH personnel were deployed in the CDC Emergency Operations Center based in Atlanta, Georgia; and in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. NIOSH personnel provided assistance in a variety of areas in the days immediately following both disasters. NIOSH Commissioned Corps Officers assisted Houston-based health officials in dealing with broad occupational and environmental health issues at shelters in the greater Houston area. Their activities included health surveillance of worker and evacuee injuries and illness, radiation safety, building ventilation, direct measurements of indoor air indicators of comfort, and the institutionalization of infection control measures, to name just a few. NIOSH also deployed a team of eight industrial hygienists and medical officers to New Orleans from September 9-27. Two industrial hygienists from this group conducted visual assessments to identify worker exposures at a variety of work sites and provided the Army Corps of Engineers with recommendations to reduce their potential exposures while working to repair the levees. Occupational safety and health issues are important in the hurricane disaster response, and the importance of these issues will likely increase in the months ahead. In the short-term, NIOSH is focusing on (1) performing hazard assessments; (2) developing and disseminating concise and timely information and guidance regarding worker protection and health; and (3) establishing collaborations with our federal, private sector, and labor partners. In addition, NIOSH
has highlighted a topic page entitled, “Hurricane
Response: Storm and Flood Cleanup” (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/flood/).
NIOSH regularly updates this site with new information and guidance documents.
To date, NIOSH staff have developed 12 guidance documents for this response
and two have been translated into Spanish. These guidance documents will
be updated on a regular basis to adapt to changing risk. A profile for
rescue, recovery, and eventually, reconstruction workers is posted on
the redesigned NIOSH homepage, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/. |
NIOSH Posts Nanotechnology ‘Approaches’ Document, Strategic Plan, Library |
Three new documents pertaining to NIOSH research on
the applications and implications of nanotechnology for occupational
health and safety are posted on the NIOSH web page for comments and feedback: “Strategic Plan for NIOSH Nanotechnology Research: Filling the Knowledge Gaps” addresses what NIOSH is doing internally and externally to lead the occupational safety and health community collaboratively in nanotechnology research. It provides a guide for building a research effort capable of responding to the challenges of this emerging technology. It represents a timely research agenda and will evolve as new information becomes available and a more thorough scientific understanding about nanotechnology develops. “Web-Based Nano-Information Library: Concept and Invitation for Input” is intended to help occupational health professionals, industrial users, worker groups, and researchers organize and share information on nanomaterials, including their health and safety-associated properties. A prototype version of this searchable data base is under development and review and comments are being sought from a range of national and international partners who are collaborating on the format and content of the proposed library. “We
are pleased to use these new web resources for engaging our stakeholders,
and we look forward to comments and suggestions,” said
NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. The new documents are part of
the NIOSH topic page on nanotechnology and occupational health, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/nanotech/. |
2nd International Nanotechnology Symposium Highlights NIOSH, Other Research |
The 2nd International Symposium on Nanotechnology and Occupational Health, Oct. 3-6 in Minneapolis, Minn., highlights new reports of projects and study findings by researchers from NIOSH and other agencies and institutions. The conference, which follows the 1st International Symposium held last year in Buxton, U.K., provides a forum for advancing research on the occupational health implications and applications of nanotechnology. NIOSH is one of four sponsoring organizations for the symposium, joined by 10 additional organizations as co-sponsors. Topics scheduled to be addressed, in relation to NIOSH studies and NIOSH-sponsored research, include the following:
More information
on the international symposium appears at http://www.cce.umn.edu/conferences/nanotechnology/.
Additional information on the NIOSH strategic program of research,
including a report from the 1st International Symposium, is available
at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/nanotech/.
A special eNews wrap-up summary of the 2nd International
Symposium will appear in the November issue of eNews. |
World Safety Congress, Agreement, and National Safety Council Meeting |
NIOSH
and the National Safety Council entered into a three-year partnership
agreement during the joint World Safety Congress
and National Safety Council meeting in September in Orlando, FL.
The groups hope this partnership will advance the protection of workers;
promote best practices; and encourage employers to develop and utilize
safety and health management programs, effective prevention strategies,
and technologies. The complete agreement can be viewed at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/r2p/pdfs/NationalSafetyCouncilMOU.pdf.
NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. was also a key note speaker at the conference. |
The
Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety has released its
Fall 2005 and Spring 2006 class schedules listing training courses
targeted for OSH professionals. The full class listing can be accessed
at http://images.main.uab.edu/isoph/DSC/DSC2005/2005_06DSCSchedule.pdf.
These courses are part of the Center’s Continuing Education Component
that was designed to meet the educational needs of professionals working
in occupational health. The Deep South Center, located at the University
of Alabama at Birmingham & Auburn University, is one of 16 NIOSH
Education and Research Centers in the U.S. More information on the Center
is available at http://www.uab.edu/dsc. |
A standing Committee on Personal Protective Equipment for Workplace Safety and Health (COPPE) was recently established by the National Academies through the sponsorship of the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Lab (NPPTL). The COPPE and NIOSH’s NPPTL will meet three times per year to learn about existing conditions and emerging issues related to personal protective technology, and define prospective activities (such as studies or analysis of respiratory protection, sensor systems, and other technologies and standards). This
committee will provide a forum for discussion of scientific and technical
issues relevant to the development, certification, deployment, and use
of personal protective equipment, standards, and related systems to ensure
workplace safety and health. The committee will also provide liaison
and oversight to ad hoc study committees requested by NIOSH and approved
by the Institute of Medicine and the National Academies, and will coordinate
with the National Academies’ on-going review of
NIOSH research programs. For more information contact Dr. Mary Ann D’Alessandro,
Associate Director of Science, NPPTL (412) 386-6111 or go to http://www4.nas.edu/webcr.nsf/5c50571a75df494485256a95007a091e/af4d7fcc36884a008525707c0063bbac? |
During the month of August, the NIOSH respirator branch closed a total of 36 projects. Of these, 26 respirators (non CBRN) were certified and the remaining 10 were either denied certification by NIOSH or were withdrawn by the manufacturer. More information on the certification process can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/. Sixteen product audits were completed on previously certified products. The products audits are conducted to ensure proper operation of equipment being used in the field. The Certified Product Investigation Process (CPIP) program closed 7
user-generated investigations of device failure or other user-concern.
User notices are posted at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/usernotices. |
2005 Advanced Personal Protective Equipment: Challenges in Protecting First Responders Conference on October 16-18, in Blacksburg VA. http://www.conted.vt.edu/appe/. Tenth Occupational Safety and Health Conference on December 6-8, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Booth No. 23 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting on December 10-14, in Philadelphia, PA. http://www.apha.org/meetings/. International Symposium: Biomedical Aspects of Nano-Toxicology on January 29-February 2, 2006 in Miami, FL. http://www.pitt.edu/~nanotox/index.htm. The Sixth International
Conference on Occupational Stress & Health on March 2-4, 2006, in Miami FL. http://www.apa.org/pi/work/wsh2006.html. |
New Integrated Occupational Surveillance Program National Tractor
Safety Initiative The initiative involves unprecedented collaboration between NIOSH scientists
and all of the ten NIOSH-funded Agricultural Centers. The centers will
use an integrated approach to complete projects in areas such as: costs
of operator tractor injuries; impact of changes in ROPS standards; financial
incentives for ROPS retrofitting; community-based social marketing; and
communication and partners. At the end of this two-year project, NIOSH
and the agricultural centers will be poised to implement the first National
Tractor Safety Public Health Campaign. |
New
Instrument for Prevention of Vibration Disorders “It” is
the 3-Axis Hand-Transmitted Vibration Simulator, which was developed
through collaboration between NIOSH and MB Dynamics, Cleveland, Ohio.
The device is an instrument handle that reproduces the vibration from
power tools. NIOSH provided the specifications, looking for a device
that could reproduce vibration from many directions, or axes, as the
handles of actual power tools do. A public advertisement of their request
yielded a number of proposals, and after an extensive review process,
the NIOSH research team settled on MB Dynamics design. MB Dynamics,
working through the awarded purchase order from NIOSH, turned the specifications
into a working device. NIOSH uses the device to gain better insight
into the factors that link occupational exposures to vibration with
given physiological outcomes. MB Dynamics plans to market a commercial
version of the device at conferences to researchers in both the academic
and government worlds who are studying hand-transmitted vibration exposure
and to companies interested in testing the components and assemblies
that may be used on cars, trucks, and airplanes. Mention of a commercial
product does not represent a NIOSH endorsement of the commercial product.
More information on the NIOSH research program for preventing vibration-related
hand-arm vibration disorders is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/97-141/ergotxt5c.html. |
In September NIOSH expanded its growing list of r2p partnerships when it entered into three new Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with International partners.
Most recently, NIOSH entered into a partnership through 2008 with the
National Safety Council (NSC). NIOSH and NSC will work cooperatively
through the Partnership to provide improved evaluation research, outreach,
and communication. |
Stakeholders
Share Their Comments
These comments will
help create research agendas for the next decade of NORA. If you are
interested in reading comments or submitting your own, please visit
the NORA Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora. Stay tuned next
month for a closer look at comments related to cross-sector issues. |
QuickTakes,
an electronic news bulletin from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA), is a great way to receive updates on important OSHA issues. QuickTakes
is sent out the 1st and 15th of each month and contains a snapshot of
OSHA's activities that support safety and health in the workplace, including
news and announcements, background information, and other information
of interest to stakeholders. Readers can receive the news memo by clicking
on the QuickTakes icon on OSHA's homepage at http://www.osha.gov and
following the subscription instructions. |
Work-Related Lung Disease (WoRLD) Surveillance Report This report is an update of the 2002 WoRLD Surveillance Report. It is the sixth in a series of NIOSH occupational respiratory disease surveillance reports. It presents summary tables and figures of occupational respiratory disease surveillance data focusing on various occupationally-relevant respiratory diseases, including pneumoconiosis, occupational asthma and other airways diseases, and several other respiratory conditions. This document is available at http://www2a.cdc.gov/drds/worldreportdata. NIOSH Publication No. 2005-147: Injury and Asthma among Youth Less
than 20 Years of Age on Minority Farm Operations in the United States,
2000. Volume I: Racial Minority National Data NIOSH Publication No. 2005-137: Dangers of Entanglement during Lobstering New Reports Issued Under Energy Research Program
Topic Pages
|
Advanced Personal Protective Equipment - Challenges in Protecting
First Responders The NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University are sponsoring Advanced Personal Protective Equipment - Challenges in Protecting First Responders. The conference will be held October 16-18, 2005 at the Inn at the Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center in Blacksburg, VA. Attendees will learn about the hazards posed by emerging threats, the application of personal protective equipment (PPE) technology to these threats, and associated challenges with selecting and interfacing different PPE items. The emphasis of the conference will be on practical issues of threat accommodation, standards, regulations, applications of best practices, manufacturing and distribution issues, PPE decision-making and purchasing, and multi-PPE integration. More information on the conference can be found at http://www.conted.vt.edu/appe or by contacting Tom Fisher at TFisher@cdc.gov. Mechanisms of Action
of Inhaled Fibers, Particles, and Nanoparticles in Lung and Cardiovascular
Disease Second Symposium on Beryllium
Particulates and Their Detection Work, Stress and Health 2006: Making a Difference in the Workplace |
ROPS or
Rollover Protective Structure, is a cab or frame that provides a safe
environment for the tractor operator in the event of a rollover. |
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