In the US there are over 14 million healthcare workers and many are not adequately protected from hospital and nursing home infections. Now NIOSH is going on the education offensive to alert healthcare workers on how to use respiratory protection at work.
Over the last few months, I have seen first hand how hospitals struggle to stop the spread of Staph
and Strep infections to little avail.Many healthcare professional don't know how to properly take an efficient culture while swabbing the patient's skin leading to alarming rates of incorrect diagnosis and frantic use of high powdered antibiotics that merely stress that patient more.
"Poor compliance with respiratory protection requirements and proper use recommendations in healthcare settings remains a vexing problem."
Click here to read the complete NIOSH announcement.
Copyright
(c) 2010-2024 Jon L Gelman, All Rights Reserved.
Showing posts with label NIOSH. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NIOSH. Show all posts
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
NIOSH Announces the Top 10 Science Blog Posts in 2012
The list shows the vast array of topics covered by NIOSH. Of note this year, the third and eleventh most viewed blogs were written by external partners.
- Help Wanted: Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation Research. We urged you to help us collect on-site air samples during SPF installation. The response was fantastic! Thank you!
- Worker Exposure to Crystalline Silica During Hydraulic Fracturing highlighted a newly-identified hazard in the fracking industry, provided prevention information and asked for assistance with future efforts.
- Hair Formaldehyde and Industrial Hygiene, from the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET) at Oregon Health and Science University, summarized the campaign to inform stylists of the risks related to formaldehyde-containing hair straighteners and the need for proper protection.
- Sleep and Work. In honor of National Sleep Awareness Week we summarized sleep and work issues in this blog and highlighted NIOSH research in the companion blog NIOSH Research on Work Schedules and Work-related Sleep Loss(#6).
- Stress and Health in Law Enforcement highlighted research from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study and from related studies of morbidity and mortality among police officers.
- See #4 above
- Brain Injury in the NFL discussed new research finding that National Football League (NFL) players may be at a higher risk of death associated with Alzheimer’s and other impairments of the brain and nervous system than the general U.S. population.
- Safer and Healthier at any Age: Strategies for an Aging Workforce presented strategies for preparing your workplace to accommodate an older workforce.
- All-terrain Vehicles and Work highlighted the risks associated with ATVs and identified safe practices for use in the workplace.
- Respiratory Protection for Workers Handling Engineered Nanoparticles. While this blog was technically posted in December of 2011 we included it anyway. This blog provided an update on the science and rationale behind NIOSH’s recommendations for the use and selection of respirators against engineered nanoparticles.
- Sleep Pain and Hospital Workers, from colleagues at Harvard, examined the question: Does lack of sleep increase pain and limit function among hospital care workers?
- Safety and Health in the Theater: Keeping Tragedy Out of the Comedies… and Musicals…and Dramas discussed the often overlooked hazards in the theater.
Related articles
- NFL Players' Association has Melissa C. Brown on Their Team (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Warehouse Workers Are At Risk By Company Safety Violations (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Statement from the Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network On the Bangladesh Factory Fires and What's Needed to Prevent Them (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Repeated Fall Injuries Results in OSHA Fines of $58,000 to NJ Employer (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Thursday, July 5, 2012
NIOSH Seeks Occupational History for Inclusion in Electronic Health records
NIOSH logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The instructions for submitting comments can be found at www.regulations.gov. Written comments submitted to the Docket will be used to inform NIOSH with its planning and activities in response to the 2011 letter report “Incorporating Occupational Information in Electronic Health Records” written by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Occupation and Electronic Health Records.
Input from primary care providers, occupational and public health specialists, EHR vendors and others with interest in the topic is sought on the questions listed below pertaining to the collection and use of work information in the clinical setting. NIOSH is interested in input both from those who are currently using EHRs as well as those who are not.
(1) For providers of primary health care: When do the clinicians in your practice setting currently ask patients about their work?Show citation box
Specifically, what information on patients' work is collected?Show citation box
If you currently use an EHR:Show citation box
Where in the health record (either paper or electronic) is patient work information stored and/or viewed? For example, is the work information entered in the `social history' section of an EMR? Where would you prefer patient work information to be stored and/or viewed in the EHR?Show citation box
Does your EHR maintain a history of the information so that you can identify how long and when a patient was in a given occupation?Show citation box
If you currently do not use an EHR, where do you record this information in the paper record? Is it available to the care provider during the patient encounter? Is there a history of the patient's work information available to the care provider?Show citation box
In your clinical practice, who (which personnel) besides the clinicians collect patients' work information (e.g., registration personnel or nursing assistants)?Show citation box
Have those personnel been trained specifically in how to collect information about patient's work i.e., how to gain an accurate job title etc.?Show citation box
Do you collect work information from teenagers?Show citation box
Do you collect work information from retirees?Show citation box
Are questions about work routine question or triggered based on specific complaints?Show citation box
How is work information used to inform patient care?Show citation box
Please provide an example/description of the usefulness of patient work information in providing care to a patient.Show citation box
Please provide any additional comments you have about collection or use of patient work information in the clinical setting.Show citation box
(2) For providers of occupational (specialty) health care: At your clinical facility, how is the patient's work information collected?Show citation box
Specifically, what information on patients' work is collected?Show citation box
Is the work information entered in the administrative record used for billing purposes?Show citation box
Is patient work information collected on paper or in an EHR? Is it available to the care provider during the patient encounter?Show citation box
Is there a history of the patient's work information available to the care provider?Show citation box
If you use a standardized form to collection information about patients' work, please briefly describe its main elements.Show citation box
In your clinical practice, who (which personnel) besides the clinicians collect (e.g., registration personnel or nursing assistants)?Show citation box
Have those personnel been trained specifically in how to collect information about patient's work i.e., how to gain an accurate job title, etc.?Show citation box
Where in the health record (either paper or electronic) is the information stored? For example, is the work information entered in the `social history' section?Show citation box
What are the most important ways that clinicians can use to inform clinical care of patients?Show citation box
Please provide an example of the usefulness of work information in providing care to a patient.Show citation box
Do you have any other comments about collection or use of patient work information in the clinical setting?Show citation box
(3) For developers and vendors of EHR/software: Does your base/basic EHR product contain pre-ordained fields for Industry, Occupation, Employer or other information about patients' work? If not, have you been asked to provide these fields?Show citation box
Regardless of whether they are in the base system or added on request, how are the values in the fields for Industry, Occupation, or other work information formatted (e.g., narrative text, drop-down menus, other)?Show citation box
Are these values coded and if so, what coding schema are used (e.g., NAICS, SOC, Census codes, user defined)?Show citation box
To the best of your knowledge, how are the data captured in these fields used by end users of your EHR/product?Show citation box
Please share challenges you anticipate in managing a history of employer, industry and occupation (current and usual) for multiple employment situations as both text and coded fields in your system, if your system does not already perform these functions?Show citation box
Could your system access and retrieve information from another web-based system via web services (such as an automated coding system for coding industry and occupation)?Show citation box
Your comments are appreciated. They will be used to improve NIOSH's electronic health records efforts.
Related articles
Friday, June 22, 2012
Health Hazard Alert: Hydraulic Fracking Workers Suffer Silica Expopsure
OSHA and NIOSH issue hazard alert on ensuring workers in hydraulic fracturing operations have appropriate protections from silica exposure
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health today issued a hazard alert on ensuring that employers in hydraulic fracturing operations take appropriate steps to protect workers from silica exposure. Today's action, which is taken after consultation with stakeholders, including industry, meets the Obama administration's focus on ensuring that this important resource continues to be developed safely and responsibly.
The hazard alert follows a cooperative study by NIOSH and industry partners that identified overexposure to silica as a health hazard to workers conducting hydraulic fracturing operations.
As noted in the alert, respirable silica is a hazard common to many industries and industrial processes.
Because large quantities of silica sand are used during hydraulic fracturing, NIOSH began a cooperative effort in January 2010 to collect data regarding silica exposure at hydraulic fracturing operations. NIOSH worked in cooperation with oil and gas industry partners to sample the air at 11 sites in five states where hydraulic fracturing operations were taking place. NIOSH identified seven primary sources of silica dust exposure during fracturing operations and found that workers downwind of sand mover and blender operations, especially during hot loading, had the highest silica exposures.
Because large quantities of silica sand are used during hydraulic fracturing, NIOSH began a cooperative effort in January 2010 to collect data regarding silica exposure at hydraulic fracturing operations. NIOSH worked in cooperation with oil and gas industry partners to sample the air at 11 sites in five states where hydraulic fracturing operations were taking place. NIOSH identified seven primary sources of silica dust exposure during fracturing operations and found that workers downwind of sand mover and blender operations, especially during hot loading, had the highest silica exposures.
Workers who breathe silica day after day are at greater risk of developing silicosis, a disease in which lung tissue reacts to trapped silica particles, causing inflammation and scarring, and reducing the lungs’ ability to take in oxygen. Silica also can cause lung cancer and has been linked to other diseases, such as tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and kidney and autoimmune disease.
Today’s action responds to the NIOSH findings. The alert states that employers must ensure that workers are properly protected from overexposure to silica. The alert describes how a combination of engineering controls, work practices, protective equipment and product substitution, where feasible, along with worker training, can protect workers who are exposed to silica. Engineering controls and work practices provide the best protection for workers. According to the alert, transporting, moving and refilling silica sand into and through sand movers, and along transfer belts and into blender hoppers, can release dust into the air containing up to 99 percent silica that workers breathe.
“Hazardous exposures to silica can and must be prevented. It is important for employers and workers to understand the hazards associated with silica exposure in hydraulic fracturing operations and how to protect workers,” said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. “OSHA and NIOSH are committed to continuing to work with the industry and workers to find effective solutions to address these hazards.”
“Through partnerships, both businesses and safety professionals are able to collaborate on assessing and managing occupational safety and health risks,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. “The recommendations for protecting workers in the hazard alert are practical, evidence-based and effective solutions to help support the safe growth of American-made energy.”
“We applaud the efforts of the NIOSH NORA Council for Oil and Gas Extraction, OSHA and our partners from industry for helping to raise awareness of this hazard,” said Kenny Jordan, executive director of the Association of Energy Service Companies. “We are proud of the development of an industry focus group in cooperation with those agencies which will further explore this issue, share best practices and continue to build upon the many engineering controls currently in place and those under development over the last several years. The safety and health of our workforce is a top priority, and the industry strives to follow and improve best practices for safe operations and works closely with OSHA and NIOSH to help ensure a strong culture of safety. We look forward to sharing improvements not only within our industry, but with others as well.”
AFL-CIO Health and Safety Director Margaret Seminario stated, “The AFL-CIO strongly supports this hazard alert that provides important information to employers and workers involved in hydraulic fracturing operations regarding the serious health threat from silica exposures. It is critical that OSHA and NIOSH disseminate this information, so that immediate action can be taken to protect workers from silicosis and other silica-related diseases.”
The hazard alert can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/dts/hazardalerts/hydraulic_frac_hazard_alert.html.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
....
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.
More about fracking
Related articles
....
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.
More about fracking
May 19, 2012
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed into law on Thursday a bill [H 464 materials] outlawing hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, making Vermont the first US state to ban the controversial technique used to extract natural gas ...
May 24, 2012
While focus has been on environmental concerns with the advent of fracking, a process to release oil and gas, a new concern has emerged over the potential occupational exposure to silica by workers who are involved in the...
Oct 22, 2011
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a schedule to develop standards for wastewater discharges produced by natural gas extraction from underground coalbed and shale formations.
Oct 12, 2011
Related articles. How To Determine If A Substance Causes Cancer at Work (workers-compensation.blogspot.com); 'Fracking' fluid pitch stirs Great Lakes pollution fears (ctv.ca); Doctors Urge N.Y. to Weigh Health Risks of ...
Related articles
Thursday, June 21, 2012
NIOSH Warns of Flavoring-Related Lung Disease
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is now providing information to healthcare providers to assist them to identify and treat flavoring-related lung disease. Workers who breathe flavoring chemicals containing diacetyl, such as butter flavoring, may be at risk of severe obstructive lung disease.
Who is at risk?
Workers who make, use, or work near flavoring chemicals containing diacetyl or 2,3-pentanedione may be at risk. Settings where these exposures may occur include:
About Symptoms
Symptoms are not present in all cases. When present, symptoms can range in severity. The main respiratory symptoms experienced by workers include:
Related Topics
Who is at risk?
Workers who make, use, or work near flavoring chemicals containing diacetyl or 2,3-pentanedione may be at risk. Settings where these exposures may occur include:
- Flavoring plants
- Microwave popcorn plant
- Commercial and retail bakeries
- Snack food and candy plants
- Dairy products and packaged vegetable oil plants (e.g., margarine, cooking oil)
- Other flavored food production plants.Exposures in the flavoring industry and in microwave popcorn production have caused workers to have severe lung disease. The burden of hazardous exposures and risk to workers in other settings remains unclear. However, it is important to consider the possibility of flavoring-related lung disease in workers who have been exposed to diacetyl or similar flavoring chemicals and have respiratory symptoms
About Symptoms
Symptoms are not present in all cases. When present, symptoms can range in severity. The main respiratory symptoms experienced by workers include:
- Cough (usually without phlegm)
- Shortness of breath on exertion
- Wheezing
- Fever, night sweats, or weight loss
- Frequent or persistent eye, nose, throat, or skin irritation
Related Topics
Aug 18, 2011
For public review and comment, the draft document summarizes current scientific knowledge about the occupational safety and health implications of the food flavorings diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione, and recommends ...
Dec 22, 2010
Diacetyl is a substance widely used in food and beverage flavorings. Diacetyl is used in a wide variety of food flavorings, although flavor manufacturers have begun to reduce or eliminate the amount of diacetyl in some kinds ...
California Becomes First State to Set Safety Guidelines for Flavoring
Dec 04, 2010
Cal/OSHA continues to be a national leader in worker safety by implementing a new standard today to protect employees who work with diacetyl, a chemical commonly used to give food flavorings a buttery taste. Cal/OSHA, a...
Dec 04, 2010
Cal/OSHA continues to be a national leader in worker safety by implementing a new standard today to protect employees who work with diacetyl, a chemical commonly used to give food flavorings a buttery taste. Cal/OSHA, a...
Legislation to Protect Food Flavoring ...
Sep 27, 2000The legislation would force the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue rules limiting workers' exposure to diacetyl, a chemical used in artificial food flavoring for microwave popcorn and other foods.
Sep 27, 2000The legislation would force the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue rules limiting workers' exposure to diacetyl, a chemical used in artificial food flavoring for microwave popcorn and other foods.
Candy Makers Found to Have Popcorn Lung - Flavoring Illness
Apr 07, 2009
It has been reported by, Andrew Schneider, investigative reporter, that severe cases of "popcorn lung" caused by exposure to diacetyl butter are now being reported in candy makers as well. Five cases of severe lung disease ...
Apr 07, 2009
It has been reported by, Andrew Schneider, investigative reporter, that severe cases of "popcorn lung" caused by exposure to diacetyl butter are now being reported in candy makers as well. Five cases of severe lung disease ...
Sep 06, 2010
A jury in the Chicago area awarded a local factory worker $30.4 Million for a pulmonary illness resulting from exposure to popcorn flavoring, diacetyl. The verdict is considered to be largest ever in the US for an individual claim ...
Related articles
Monday, June 11, 2012
OSHA fines Clifton, NJ, stucco contractor more than $108,000 for exposing workers to fall hazards
The seal of the United States Department of Labor (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited DD Stucco and Renovation LLC for six safety — including two willful — violations related to fall hazards at a Mountain Lakes work site. OSHA opened an inspection in November 2011 as part of its local emphasis program on falls and proposed a total of $108,240 in penalties.
"This company is risking worker injury and possible death by failing to provide proper fall protection," said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Area Office, which conducted the inspection. "Employers need to know that falls are the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry, and proper precautions must be taken."
The willful violations carry a $92,400 penalty and are due to a lack of fall protection for employees working on a scaffold that was not fully planked. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
Four serious violations, which carry a $15,840 penalty, are for a scaffold that was not secured to the structure or supported on an adequate firm foundation, unstable objects used to support the scaffold and employees climbing across braces to access the scaffold. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
In April, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced a new campaign to provide employers and workers with life-saving information and educational materials about working safely from ladders, scaffolds and roofs in an effort to prevent deadly falls in the construction industry. In 2010, more than 10,000 construction workers were injured as a result of falling while working from heights, and more than 250 workers were killed. OSHA's fall prevention campaign was developed in partnership with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and NIOSH's National Occupational Research Agenda program. More detailed information is available in English and Spanish on fall protection standards at http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls.
"Fall hazards involving these and other safety issues can be avoided when an illness and injury prevention program is developed and implemented, and management and workers proactively identify and eliminate hazardous conditions," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York.
The citations can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/DDStucco_316089713_0521_12.pdf*.
DD Stucco and Renovation is headquartered in Clifton and had three workers at the Mountain Lakes site. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Parsippany office at 973-263-1003.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA's role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach and education. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
Related articles
Friday, February 17, 2012
NIOSH Acts To Prevent Lifting Injuries For Home Healthcare Workers
The National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) has published educational information to prevent musculoskeletal injuries at work. Injuries caused by ergonomic factors have been a major issue of the Federal government for decades and have been the basis for repetitive trauma motion claims for workers' compensation benefits. While the Clinton-Democratic administration had advocated strongly for ergonomic regulations, the Bush-Republican administration took action to reject the reporting of ergonomic injuries to OSHA.
A work-related musculoskeletal disorder is an injury of the muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, joints, cartilage, bones, or blood vessels in the arms, legs, head, neck, or back that is caused or aggravated by work tasks such as lifting, pushing, and pulling. Symptoms include pain, stiffness, swelling, numbness, and tingling.
Lifting and moving clients create a high risk for back injury and other musculoskeletal disorders for home healthcare workers.
Click here to read: How to Prevent Musculoskeletal Disorders (PDF - 802 KB)
.....
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
Related articles
- NIOSH Alerts Home Healthcare Workers About Latex Allergies (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- OSHA Urges An Injury & Illness Prevention Programs (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Claim Permitted Against Employer For Concealment of Chemical Dangers (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- OSHA cites Clara Construction in Jersey City, NJ, for exposing workers to fall hazards (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Monday, February 13, 2012
NIOSH To Review Underreporting of Occupartional Injuries and Illnesses by Workers
Image via Wikipedia
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has proposed a project to review the Underreporting of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses by Workers.
"In 2008, the Congressional Committee on Education and Labor released the report, “Hidden Tragedy: Underreporting of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses,” indicating “that work-related injuries and illnesses in the United States are chronically and even grossly underreported.” Based in part on the report's results, Congress allocated funds for NIOSH to conduct a follow-up study using NIOSH's occupational supplement to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS-Work) to estimate underreporting among individuals who seek care at an emergency department (ED) for an occupational illness, injury, or exposure.
"Objectives for this project are to (1) assess the reporting behavior of workers that are injured, ill, or exposed to a harmful substance at work; (2) characterize the chronic aspects of work-related injuries or illnesses; and (3) estimate the prevalence of work-related chronic injuries and illnesses among United States workers treated in EDs. Particular attention will be paid to self-employed workers, workers with work-related illnesses, and workers with chronic health problems.
"Data collection for the telephone interview survey will be done via a questionnaire containing questions about the respondent's injury, illness, or exposure that sent them to the ED; the characteristics of the job they were working when they were injured, became ill, or were exposed; their experiences reporting their injury, illness, or exposure to the ED and their employer (if applicable); the presence of an underlying chronic condition that was associated with their ED visit; and the nature of any other work-related chronic conditions they have experienced. The questionnaire was designed to take 30 minutes to complete and includes a brief series of questions to screen out individuals who were not seen in the ED for a work-related injury, illness, or exposure; who are younger than age 20 or older than age 64; who do not speak English or Spanish; or who were working as volunteers or day laborers when the injury, illness, or exposure occurred or was made worse.
77 FR 6803 2/9/2012
Related articles
- Workers Compensation Fails to Cover Most Occupational Disease Claims (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- US Announces Effort to Prevent Emergency Responders From Occupational Illness (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Changing the Fundamental Rules of Workers Compensation (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- "I want those workers to be as safe as those shrimp" - What we still don't know about Deepwater Horizon response health impacts [The Pump Handle] (scienceblogs.com)
- NFL Players Tackling Heart Disease (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Trench Safety a Focus of NIOSH
Working in a trench is a dangerous occupation, especially when working with old structures. NIOSH has refocussed on this concern this week and published Preventing Worker Death From Trench Cave-ins.
I was in New York City this week and watched two workers as they attempted to excavate on the street near Lincoln Center (see photo). One worker was digging shovel-by-shovel below ground as the worker above ground kept pounding the tops of large boards into the earth with the end of his shovel to act as walls to restrain the side from falling in. Pipes in NYC under the ground are old and many contain asbestos fiber. There were absolutely no pulmonary precautions being observed.
Recently NJ Courts have held that trench accidents were not a mere fact of industrial life and were beyond intent of Act's immunity provision. A claim was permitted directly against the employer in addition to the workers' compensation action. Van Dunk v. Reckson Associates Realty Corp., 415 N.J.Super. 490 (N.J.Super.A.D. Aug 30, 2010), Certification Granted by 205 N.J. 81 (N.J. Jan 27, 2011).
"Workers who dig or excavate trenches are at risk of death if they enter an unprotected trench and the walls collapse. However, hazards associated with trench work and excavation are well defined and preventable. The OSHA standard for excavation and trenching, known as 29 CFR* 1926 Subpart P, describes the precautions needed for safe excavation work."
Related articles
- The Need to Incorporate Occupational Histories Into Electronic Medical Records (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- The Culture of Workers Compensation Needs to Change (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Employer Co-Op Pays OSHA Fines after 26 Industry Employee Deaths (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Friday, September 30, 2011
How To Determine If A Substance Causes Cancer at Work
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is seeking public input to determine what substances cause cancer and at what level of occupational exposure.
"The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) intends to review its approach to classifying carcinogens and establishing recommended exposure limits (RELs) for occupational exposures to hazards associated with cancer. As part of this effort, NIOSH is requesting initial input on these issues (including answers to the 5 questions in the following section), to be submitted to the NIOSH Docket number 240, for a comment period lasting through September 22, 2011. This information will be taken under consideration and used to inform NIOSH efforts to assess and document its carcinogen policy and REL policy regarding occupational hazards associated with cancer. NIOSH has also created a new NIOSH Cancer and REL Policy Web Topic Page [see http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/cancer/policy.html] to provide additional details about this effort and progress updates."
"NIOSH is announcing a Request for Information on key issues identified and associated with the NIOSH Carcinogen and REL policies. Special emphasis will be placed on consideration of technical and scientific issues with the current NIOSH Cancer and REL Policies that require further examination including the following:Show citation box
(1) Should there explicitly be a carcinogen policy as opposed to a broader policy on toxicant identification and classification (e.g.carcinogens, reproductive hazards, neurotoxic agents)?Show citation box
(2) What evidence should form the basis for determining that substances are carcinogens? How should these criteria correspond to nomenclature and categorizations (e.g., known, reasonably anticipated,etc.)?Show citation box
(3) Should 1 in 1,000 working lifetime risk (for persons occupationally exposed) be the target level for a recommended exposure limit (REL) for carcinogens or should lower targets be considered?Show citation box
(4) In establishing NIOSH RELs, how should the phrase “to the extent feasible” (defined in the 1995 NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit Policy) be interpreted and applied?Show citation box
(5) In the absence of data, what uncertainties or assumptions areappropriate for use in the development of RELs? What is the utility of a standard ”action level” (i.e., an exposure limit set below the REL typically used to trigger risk management actions) and how should it be set? How should NIOSH address worker exposure to complex mixtures?
Public Comment Period: Comments must be received by September 22, 2011.
The concept of a compensable industrial disease has developed only recently and its acceptance has lagged far behind that of industrial accidents. The original Workers' Compensation Acts, as promulgated from the year 1911 forward by many of the states, did not provide for the recognition of occupational illness and disease as compensable events. As demands have been placed upon the medical system to treat and to prevent occupational illness, the legal system, under social, economic, and political pressure, has sought to provide a remedy for the thousands of injured workers who have suffered and who are continuing to suffer from occupational illness and disease.
"The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) intends to review its approach to classifying carcinogens and establishing recommended exposure limits (RELs) for occupational exposures to hazards associated with cancer. As part of this effort, NIOSH is requesting initial input on these issues (including answers to the 5 questions in the following section), to be submitted to the NIOSH Docket number 240, for a comment period lasting through September 22, 2011. This information will be taken under consideration and used to inform NIOSH efforts to assess and document its carcinogen policy and REL policy regarding occupational hazards associated with cancer. NIOSH has also created a new NIOSH Cancer and REL Policy Web Topic Page [see http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/cancer/policy.html] to provide additional details about this effort and progress updates."
"NIOSH is announcing a Request for Information on key issues identified and associated with the NIOSH Carcinogen and REL policies. Special emphasis will be placed on consideration of technical and scientific issues with the current NIOSH Cancer and REL Policies that require further examination including the following:Show citation box
(1) Should there explicitly be a carcinogen policy as opposed to a broader policy on toxicant identification and classification (e.g.carcinogens, reproductive hazards, neurotoxic agents)?Show citation box
(2) What evidence should form the basis for determining that substances are carcinogens? How should these criteria correspond to nomenclature and categorizations (e.g., known, reasonably anticipated,etc.)?Show citation box
(3) Should 1 in 1,000 working lifetime risk (for persons occupationally exposed) be the target level for a recommended exposure limit (REL) for carcinogens or should lower targets be considered?Show citation box
(4) In establishing NIOSH RELs, how should the phrase “to the extent feasible” (defined in the 1995 NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit Policy) be interpreted and applied?Show citation box
(5) In the absence of data, what uncertainties or assumptions areappropriate for use in the development of RELs? What is the utility of a standard ”action level” (i.e., an exposure limit set below the REL typically used to trigger risk management actions) and how should it be set? How should NIOSH address worker exposure to complex mixtures?
Public Comment Period: Comments must be received by September 22, 2011.
The concept of a compensable industrial disease has developed only recently and its acceptance has lagged far behind that of industrial accidents. The original Workers' Compensation Acts, as promulgated from the year 1911 forward by many of the states, did not provide for the recognition of occupational illness and disease as compensable events. As demands have been placed upon the medical system to treat and to prevent occupational illness, the legal system, under social, economic, and political pressure, has sought to provide a remedy for the thousands of injured workers who have suffered and who are continuing to suffer from occupational illness and disease.
For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
Related articles
- NIOSH Fails to Link Cancer as Zadroga Fund Compensable (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- OSHA Cites Manufacturers and Distributors of Formaldehyde Hair Products (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Cell Phones and Cancer: The Static in the Debate (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Industrial Disease: The Quest for Recognition - The Need for Adequate Benefits (gelmans.com)
Sunday, April 24, 2011
NIOSH Correction: Asbestos is A Know Carcinogen
NIOSH has corrected it originally released report last month and has now inserted the text:
"NIOSH has determined that exposure to asbestos fibers causes cancer and asbestosis in humans and recommends that exposures be reduced to the lowest feasible concentration."
For more about this correction see The Pump Handle article.
Related articles
"NIOSH has determined that exposure to asbestos fibers causes cancer and asbestosis in humans and recommends that exposures be reduced to the lowest feasible concentration."
For more about this correction see The Pump Handle article.
Related articles
- Asbestos Contaminates 772 New York City Schools (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- NIOSH Seeks Information About World Trade Center Cancer Claims (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- Zadroga Fund Cancer Claims Info Sought by NIOSH (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- NIOSH Proposes Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia As Compensable (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- WR Grace Asbestos Bankruptcy Plan Receives Initial Approval (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
- CDC's NIOSH says WHAT about asbestos??? (scienceblogs.com)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)