Articles Tagged with ''NIOSH''

On May 7th, representatives of the organizations listed below heard presentations from the Embassy of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Accord for Fire and Building Safety, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s International Labor Affairs Bureau on ongoing efforts to improve safety and health in the 3,600 cut-and-sew factories that make up Bangladesh’s “ready made garment” industry.

The prevalence of infectious diseases, such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, SARS and avian flu, have raised the concern of hospital personnel over the possibility of acquiring such infections. Healthcare workers (HCWs) in or outside hospitals who have contact with patients, body fluids, or specimens may easily acquire infections from or transmit infections to patients, other personnel, or loved ones.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has a lot of friends. In a recent letter, more than 150 organizations that make up the “Friends of NIOSH” urged congressional leaders to disregard President Obama’s proposed elimination (in his FY 2015 budget) of Education and Research Centers (ERCs) and Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Program and maintain funding for them, as well as for NIOSH’s other programs.

ISHN posted this commentary from Dr. Howard earlier in April. Given Dr. Howard’s long tenure at NIOSH and his visionary perspectives on worker health and safety, we want to “rebroadcast’ it as an ISHN blog.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has released a final rule to lower miners' exposure to respirable coal mine dust in all underground and surface coal mines.

Workers Memorial Day, April 28, reminds us that every death, injury, or illness on the job represents a human tragedy. Behind each statistic is the loss of a loved one’s life, the diminution or loss of a father’s or mother’s ability to provide for family needs, or a medical crisis that can have lifelong consequences.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced her resignation today, after serving in the Cabinet since 2009. President Obama nominated budget director Sylvia Mathews Burwel to replace.

NIOSH’s Alaska Pacific Office has released a new safety video highlighting the use of personal flotation devices as a critical tool in preventing deaths from rapid capsizing and man overboard events in commercial fishing.

The traditional occupational safety and health programs of the twentieth century were designed, by and large, to prevent work-related injury, illness, and death in workplaces where hazards usually were recognizable and predictable. In the twenty-first century, scientists and decision-makers have had to develop additional skills and strategies to address another type of hazard: the risks that emergency responders face in the line of duty from unpredictable, uncontrolled conditions encountered in large-scale disasters.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA), the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the National Safety Council (NSC) are urging Congress to continue funding for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the current budgeting process.