Safety associations urge Congress to support OSHA, NIOSH
A trio of top occupational safety associations is urging Congress to “champion the safety and health of America’s workers” by supporting funding for OSHA and NIOSH, saving vital programs and blocking what it calls “troubling policy riders.”
However, the ASSE’s Richard Pollock, AIHA’s Allan Fleeger and NSC’s Janet Froetscher requested that funding for two key NIOSH programs which have been threatened with elimination be preserved. NIOSH’s Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (AgFF) sector program and Education and Research Centers (ERC) “play an important role in preventing workplace injuries and deaths,” according to the letter. The agriculture, forestry and fishing industries have the highest fatality rates of any industry, with 580 deaths in 2010 – a 6% increase from 2009.