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Volume
3 Number 5 September 2005 |
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NIOSH eNews Web site |
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Precautions,
Resources on Storm, Flood Clean-Up Spotlighted New NIOSH Study Links Certain Professions with Neurodegenerative
Diseases MMWR:
Fatal Injuries among Volunteer Workers – U.S., 1993-2002 |
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NIOSH
Encourages Stakeholder Input for Reviews of Occupational Energy
Research Program Respirator
Certification Update Seeking
Comment to Respirator Standard Concepts Fiscal
Year 2004 Annual Program Report Now Available Upcoming Exhibits |
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Later this month, the global safety community will converge upon the city of Orlando as two prominent international and national conferences are held. Attendees will share the latest research findings, new innovative technologies and ideas for improving worker safety. On September 18-22, 2005, NIOSH, along with a number of other private and public sector organizations, will co-support the XVIIth World Congress on Safety and Health at Work. The Congress, jointly organized by the International Labor Organization, the International Social Security Association and the National Safety Council, will make its first appearance in the U.S. as approximately 3,000 professionals will gather at this international forum. Scheduled in tandem with the World Safety Congress, the National Safety Council Congress and Expo will run from September 21-23, 2005 at the same location. The Congress will feature over 200 sessions ranging from broad-based to industry-specific topics for the seasoned professional and newcomers to safety and health. The Expo is the world’s largest annual safety and health exhibit, where more than 750 exhibiting companies demonstrate and showcase the latest in safety materials and products. NIOSH will have significant presence at both conferences, as researchers will share findings through key presentations. Listed below are some of the topics that NIOSH researchers will be discussing.
In addition to the
valuable and insightful information shared through these presentations,
don’t
forget to stop by the NIOSH Exhibit Booth for additional safety and
health information. You can find us at the back left section of the
Expo hall at Exhibit Booth #777. More information on the World
Safety Congress can be found at http://www.safety2005.org. More information
on the National Safety Council Congress and Expo can be found at http://www.congress.nsc.org. |
Precautions for working safely during storm and flood clean-up, and resources for assessing and addressing potential clean-up risks, are spotlighted on the NIOSH Web page. Preventing injury, illness, and death from electrical hazards, carbon monoxide, and heat stress are among the issues highlighted. These resources are designed to be useful in the field for workers involved in clean-ups such as those that will follow in the wake of the devastation in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina. The storm and flood clean-up page can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/flood. Other important web-based resources for safety and health in relief and clean-up from Hurricane Katrina are available from: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/index.asp The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/emergency/hurricane.html The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/hurricaneRecovery.html The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/katrinaemergency.shtm The
U.S. Department of Homeland Security: http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=16&content=4768 |
New NIOSH Study Links Certain Professions with Neurodegenerative Diseases |
Findings
from a new NIOSH study add to the body of scientific evidence for exploring
whether the risks of certain neurodegenerative diseases are associated
with work-related factors. The article, “Potential Occupational
Risks for Neurodegenerative Disease,” was published in the July
issue of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine (48:63-77).
It investigated hypotheses suggested by previous research, which statistically
linked certain occupations with higher-than-expected incidences of
such diseases. The new results show that about one-third of those occupations
had statistically significant elevated mortality odds ratios for the
same outcomes, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s
disease. The abstract for the article can be viewed at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/110520795/ABSTRACT. |
MMWR: Fatal Injuries among Volunteer Workers – U.S., 1993-2002 |
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NIOSH Encourages Stakeholder Input for Reviews of Occupational Energy Research Program |
NIOSH is encouraging its stakeholders to engage in two subject-related
public reviews of the NIOSH Occupational Energy Research Program. Funded
by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), first under a 1990 memorandum of
understanding and then under a renewed agreement in 2000, the program has
stimulated NIOSH studies and NIOSH-funded extramural research related to
the health of current and former DOE employee populations. Through rigorous
scientific evaluations, the program addresses the question of whether employment
at DOE nuclear sites is associated with higher-than-expected risk for adverse
health effects.
One public review is being conducted by the National Academies (NA) at the request of DOE. The review will assess the NIOSH energy research program, as well as public health activities conducted under the same agreement with DOE by NIOSH’s fellow agencies in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Center for Environmental Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. From the review, NA will recommend ways to enhance the scientific merit, focus, and effectiveness of the initiatives, as well as their impact on DOE’s policies and decisions. More information can be found at the NA Web site, http://www4.nas.edu/webcr.nsf/ProjectScopeDisplay/NRSB-O-05-01-A?OpenDocument. In the other review, NIOSH will convene a public meeting on Oct. 27, 2005, in Washington, D.C., with stakeholders and other interested parties to outline ongoing activities under the Occupational Energy Research Program, and discuss needs and plans for future research. The meeting also will provide follow-up to a July 2004 public meeting in which NIOSH addressed research into the question of whether associations exist between occupational exposures to radiation and risk for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Although the Oct. 27 meeting is independent of the NA review, NIOSH anticipates that information from the meeting will help inform and facilitate the NA process. NIOSH announced the meeting and invited public comment and participation in an Aug. 17, 2005, Federal Register notice. The notice is available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-16257.htm. More information
on the NIOSH Occupational Energy Research Program is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/2001-133.html. |
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The
NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) policy
and standards team is seeking comment regarding respirator standard
development efforts. Interested participants may obtain copies of the
CBRN Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR), the Industrial PAPR,
and the CBRN Closed Circuit, Self Contained Breathing Apparatus concept
papers from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl. Comments regarding these
concepts will be discussed at future public meetings. Send your ideas
to Jon Szalajda at JSzalajda@cdc.gov. |
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Look for the NIOSH Exhibit Booth at these upcoming conferences:
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Division of Applied Research and Technology (DART) Division
of Respiratory Disease Studies (DRDS) Division of Safety Research
(DSR) Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
(DSHEFS) Education
and Information Division (EID) Health Effects Laboratory Division (HELD)
The revision and posting is the culmination of a two-year effort by the Respirator Branch to develop an easy-to-read and user-friendly version. In addition, the revised SAP more accurately reflects the current operating procedures of the branch. It is recommended that applicants and approval holders review the entire document before submitting a respirator for approval. The Respirator Branch is currently working on the next generation of the SAP with the goal of developing an easy-to-navigate text-based Web site providing information and resources on the entire respirator certification process including specifics for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) applications. Contact the NPPTL Respirator Branch at (412) 386-4000 for more information. Pittsburgh
Research Laboratory (PRL) Spokane
Research Laboratory (SRL) In addition to their
work at the lab, Quentin Williams, Mary Glover, and Aja Lampley joined
seven other NIOSH employees and summer students for a field visit to
the Galena Mine in Wallace, ID to visit workers most directly affected
by SRL's research. The group traveled over half a mile beneath Idaho's
Silver Valley to meet with miners, ask questions, collect mineral samples
and see some of NIOSH's innovations first hand. The trip opened their
eyes to a whole new world beneath their feet and reinforced the importance
of NIOSH’s research for preventing injuries
and illnesses in mining. |
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The deadline for
award nominations is February 1, 2006. More
information, including how to apply, is available on the NORA Web site
at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/NORA. |
Dr. Aida Giachello, a public health research leader at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a partner with NIOSH on efforts to reduce minority safety and health disparities, was named by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential Hispanics in the U.S. The Aug. 13, 2005, Time article highlighted Dr. Giachello’s innovative approaches to engaging Hispanic community leaders in gathering data, assessing medical needs, and developing strategies to address health problems that disproportionately affect Hispanics. “Dr. Giachello
has helped NIOSH to establish partnerships with an impressive number
of Chicago community-based organizations that serve a diversity of
minority and immigrant populations in that area,” says
Rashaun Roberts of the NIOSH Division of Applied Research and Technology. Dr.
Giarchello and her staff teamed with NIOSH to design and conduct a multilingual
study in the Chicago area. Results will help NIOSH gain a better
understanding of the psychosocial factors that minority and immigrant
groups experience at work, and how those factors may interact with occupational
safety and health concerns. The Time magazine profile
is available at http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1093646,00.html. |
NIOSH offers recommendations to outdoor workers and their employers for protection from West Nile Virus. The document identifies occupations at greatest risk, common mosquito breeding grounds, and potential symptoms. The document also offers recommendations for ways employers can keep their workers safe and actions workers should exercise to reduce exposure. The document is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2005-155. |
North
American Congress of Clinical Toxicology (NACCT) 2005 Second International Symposium on Nanotechnology and Occupational
Health Advanced
Personal Protective Equipment - Challenges in Protecting First Responders 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 |
FACE
(Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation): a NIOSH research program
for identifying and studying fatal occupational injuries. FACE is designed
to reduce occupational fatalities across the nation by identifying
and investigating work situations at high risk for injury and then
formulating and disseminating prevention strategies to those who can
intervene in the workplace. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face. |
NIOSH eNews on the Web: www.cdc.gov/niosh/enews/
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