FREE ESSAY ON NIOSH

NIOSH

NIOSH and It's Direction and Programs
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational
Safety an Health Administration (OSHA) were established by the Occupational Safety and
Health Act passed by congress in 1970. NIOSH is a part of the Center for Disease Control
(CDC) and is the only federally funded and controlled division responsible for conducting
research and making recommendations for the prevention of work related illnesses and
injuries.
It is important to understand the OSHA and NIOSH are two separate agencies. OSHA is
housed under the Department of Labor and is responsible for the development and
enforcement of workplace health and safety regulations. NIOSH on the other hand is in the
Department of Health and Human Services and is a research agency.
NIOSH was created when the US Secretary of Labor was directed by congress through section
2B (5,6) of the OSH Act to "provide for research in the field of occupational safety and
health, including the psychological involved, and by developing innovative methods,
techniques, and approaches for dealing with occupational safety and health problems: by
exploring ways to discover latent diseases, establishing causal connections between
diseases and work and environmental conditions, and conducting other research relating to
health problems, in recognition of the fact that occupational health standards present
problems often different from those involved in occupational safety".
During its 25 year history NIOSH has had its function revised two times, once in 1977 by
amendment to the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act and in 1995 when the U.S. Bureau of Mine
Health and Safety Research was consolidated and placed in NIOSH. These changes allowed
NIOSH to play the same role in the mining industry that they played in all others.
The duties and responsibilities of NIOSH are numerous but include:
? Investigating potentially hazardous working conditions as reported by employees or
employers.
? Evaluate the hazards of new technologies and work practices.
? Researching, Creating and Evaluating methods for preventing disease, illness or injury
in the workplace.
? Providing education and training to individuals preparing for or actively involved in
the field of occupational safety and health.
? Recommend occupational safety and health standards to OSHA.
Many of the efforts of NIOSH are targeted at anticipating workplace crisis and making
sure that they do not come to pass. An example of one of these efforts is the many mine
disaster that have been prevented as a result of the pillar system developed by NIOSH for
longwall mining. Another example is the many health emergencies that have been avoided as
a result of the NIOSH information hotline. 
As a federal agency NIOSH has given itself both a vision and a mission statement. It's
vision is "Delivering on the Nations promise: safety and health at work for all people
through research and prevention". The mission of NIOSH is to "provide national and world
leadership to prevent work-related illness, injury and death by gathering information,
conducting scientific studies and translating the knowledge gained into products and
services".
NIOSH has given itself four strategic goals for the next decade. The first goal is to
"conduct a targeted program of research to reduce morbidity, injuries and mortality among
workers in high priority areas and high-risk sectors". In order to accomplish goal number
one NIOSH will follow NORA or the National Occupational Research Agenda. NORA breaks
NIOSH research down into 3 distinct areas, disease and injury, work environment/workforce
and research tools and approaches. Each of the three areas has specific areas of research
that will be targeted. The following is a brief list of the targeted research areas:
Disease and Injury Allergic and Irritant Dermatitis
Hearing Loss
Low Back Disorders
Cumulative Trauma Disorders
Work Environment Emerging Technologies 
And Workforce Indoor Environment
Special Populations at Risk
Research Tools and Cancer Research Methods
Approaches Control Technology and PPE
Exposure Assessment Methods
Risk Assessment Methods
It is understood that while there are many other area's of research that may still have
importance, under NORA these will be some of the areas receiving the majority of research
attention at this time.
The second goal is to "develop a system of surveillance of major occupational illnesses,
injuries, exposures and health hazards". Congress decided in 1986 that the ability to
identify, quantify and report work-related injury and disease is vital to prevention. To
make optimal use of public resources to conduct this surveillance NIOSH has created
partnerships at Federal, State and Local levels throughout the country. An example of
this type of surveillance is the FACE program or Fatality Assessment and Control
Evaluation. In this program partnerships formed with state Health Departments allow NIOSH
to investigate worksites where fatalities have occurred. NIOSH conducted 139 such
investigations in 1998. Following the investigations NIOSH gives prevention
recommendations to the employers and workers. Other partnerships have been formed with
the Consumer Product Safety Commission to study non-fatal occupational injuries and with
the EPA to study pesticide related poisonings.
The third goal is to "increase occupational disease and injury prevention activities
through workplace evaluations, interventions and recommendations". NIOSH has 5 separate
programs aimed at achieving goal number three. The first being Health Hazard Evaluations.
These are conducted at the worksite, based on the request of workers, employers or
government agencies. Specific recommendations will be made following an HHE to prevent
hazards at the worksite evaluated. The second program is Intervention Effectiveness
Research. These are conducted to evaluate how effective current prevention methods are at
reducing injuries, when there are known hazards. The third is Control Technology
Assistance. In this program NIOSH work with industry to create practical solutions to
hazards that will have a broad impact on worksites. The fourth is Recommendations. NIOSH
disseminates its research information to the public to have a greater impact on hazards
that may affect people at home as well as work. The fifth and final is Respirator
Certification. This program conducts site audits, investigates respirator problems in the
field, studies proposed modifications, and conducts research to improve respirator use
and performance.
The fourth and final goal is to provide workers, employers, the public and the
occupational safety and health community with information, training and capacity to
prevent occupational diseases and injuries. NIOSH is also responsible for many different
types of publications, such as Criteria Documents, Current Intelligence , Bulletins,
NIOSH Alerts, Updates, Hazard Controls, Hazard Identifications, Reports of Investigations
and Informal Circulars.
Criteria Documents provide the basis for occupational safety and health standards. Each
document generally contains a review of scientific and technical information on a
particular hazard, existence of safety and health risks regarding the hazard and a review
of the control methods. These documents will make recommendations for minimizing safety
and health risks. These recommendations may include medical monitoring, exposure
assessment, worker training, control technology, personal protective equipment and record
keeping. An example is a 1998 document relating to the criteria for occupational noise
exposure. In the document NIOSH reaffirms the recommended exposure level for occupational
noise. The level has been at 85 Db since 1972. For occupations that exceed the REL the
document recommends a hearing loss prevention program that includes all of the following,
exposure assessment, engineering and administrative controls, proper use of hearing
protection, audiometric evaluation and education.
Current Intelligence Bulletins review, evaluate and disseminate new information about
occupational hazards . An example of such a document is a 1997 bulletin on the commercial
fishing industry fatalities in Alaska. The document uses great detail to describe the
difference between commercial fishing in Alaska and other areas. Much of the harvesting
is done using different machinery and weather conditions than the rest of the industry.
NIOSH recommends that there be continued training with regards to the Commercial Fishing
Industry Vessel Safety Act, aimed at reducting injuries and fatalities even further.
NIOSH Alerts briefly present new information about occupational illnesses, injuries and
deaths. They generally ask for immediate action on the part of the employer, employee and
safety and health professionals to reduce the risks and implement controls with regards
to the hazard addressed by the alert. An example is an Alert from December of 1999
entitled "Preventing Injuries and Deaths of Workers Who Operate or Work Near Forklifts".
In the report, NIOSH states that over 1021 deaths have occurred as a result of forklifts
in the past 10 years. Of that, 22% occurred as a result of a forklift overturning. NIOSH
give the current OSHA regulations, and manufacturer recommendations for safe operation.
It then give specific case data to drvie the point home to the reader. After they have
the readers attention NIOSH give its recommendations to increase safety, which include 
? Use seat belts if they are available
? Report any damage problems noticed or occurring during your shift.
? Do not jump from an overturning forklift.
? Use extreme caution on grades and ramps.
Additional recommendations are available but are too numerous to mention for the purpose
of this example.
Updates are brief publications that provide information on NIOSH findings and recommend
preventativ