|
Do you think a health hazard exists in your
workplace? Do any of the following stories resemble situations at your
workplace?
- A factory worker was feeling numbness and tingling in her fingers.
She learned that three coworkers had the same problem, and two had headaches
while at work but not over the weekend. Some workers said the air at
work smelled bad. Their supervisor noticed the smell but didn’t
think it was anything to worry about.
 A
manager noticed that employees in one work area had more skin rashes
in the past year than the year before. He wanted to know why, but didn’t
know what to do.
- A work crew was putting cement tiles on a roof. They were working
outside, but the air seemed dusty. The saws used to cut the tiles were
noisy. Someone told them that this work was dangerous and they should
have it checked out.
At no cost to employers or employees, or their representatives, the NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) program may be able to help with problems like these. This site lets you know about the program and how to ask for NIOSH help. It also has links to reports from thousands of HHEs done by NIOSH.
Two New Health Hazard Evaluation Reports Now Available
The NIOSH HHE Program evaluated the question of whether a higher-than-expected number of cancers existed among information services employees at a health agency and whether the cancers were associated with occupational exposures to magnetic fields from computer servers and other electronic equipment. Investigators found that the number and types of cancer reported did not appear unusual and were unlikely to be related to magnetic fields. The report recommended measures to address employee concerns, including steps to further reduce exposures to magnetic fields by limiting the amount of time spent in the computer server room and increasing distances between employees and magnetic field sources.
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2008-0286-3084.pdf.
The HHE Program evaluated firefighters’ potential exposure to antimony through station uniform pants made of FireWear® fabric. Investigators found that wearing pants made from FireWear® fabric did not pose a health hazard from antimony exposure. Investigators recommended that fire departments continue to issue station uniforms that comply with the National Fire Protection Association 1975 standard.
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2009-0025-0076-3085.pdf
 The free Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed to open a file on this page.
You can download Acrobat Reader from adobe.comLearn More About the HHE Program
>>
Page last modified: August 4, 2009
Page last reviewed: February 12, 2009
Content Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
|
