Happy New Year. As we start afresh in 2017 I wanted to share my recent editorial in the British journal, Occupational Medicine, “Occupational health issues in the USA”. The article highlights some of the occupational safety and health issues identified as needing attention by the industry sector groups of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA). Each area is highlighted below. We welcome input on how to best protect workers in these areas in the comment section below.
The development of the technique of hydraulic fracturing has both increased the energy production quotient in the USA and has increased the size of the workforce involved in drilling, completing, servicing and equipping wells, and performing other activities in preparing oil and gas up to the point of shipment from the producing property. The list of worker risks is long. NIOSH scientists are conducting research to characterize and eliminate the risks faced by workers to respirable crystalline silica, volatile organic compounds, including naphthalene, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene, and other hazards. See our related blog.