The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) entered into a new Ambassador status agreement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Service, Transmission, Exploration, and Production Safety (STEPS) Network to prevent illnesses, injuries, and fatalities among workers in the oil and gas extraction industry. 

NIOSH, OSHA, and the National STEPS Network have worked together collaboratively through OSHA’s Alliance Program to protect oil and gas workers since 2014. Workers in the oil and gas extraction industry face numerous hazards including motor vehicle crashes, falls, fatigue, and exposure to silica, hydrocarbon gases and vapors, or noise.

“We are extremely proud to be continuing our relationship with OSHA and the National STEPS Network,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. “While elevation to Ambassador status within OSHA’s Alliance Program is a testament to the alliance participants’ accomplishments, our collective work is not done until every worker in the oil and gas extraction industry returns home safe and healthy.”

Over the past seven years, alliance participants have enhanced the NIOSH Fatalities in Oil and Gas Extraction (FOG) database, which has helped guide the alliance’s activities, including the development of educational products. To date, the alliance has produced eight hazard alerts on activities such as tank gauging, hot work, and fluid transfer.

As an Alliance Program Ambassador, NIOSH will continue to work with OSHA and the National STEPS Network to conduct outreach and communication activities, develop educational materials, and raise awareness of OSHA’s rulemaking and enforcement activities. The Ambassador participants will also work closely with the National Occupational Research Agenda Oil and Gas Extraction Council, coordinated by NIOSH.

The NIOSH Oil and Gas Extraction Safety and Health Program works with partners in industry, trade associations, professional organizations, academia, and labor. The program focuses on reducing worker fatalities, with an emphasis on motor vehicle crashes, characterizing physical and chemical exposure hazards, and developing and evaluating engineering controls to improve worker safety and health.

NIOSH is the federal institute that conducts research and makes recommendations for preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. For more information about NIOSH visit www.cdc.gov/niosh.