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Alternative Title:Fifty years of protecting worker respiratory health
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Description:2017 is an important year for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Respiratory Health Division (RHD). This is the 50th anniversary of our establishment in 1967 as the Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational Respiratory Disease (ALFORD) within the U.S. Public Health Service. ALFORD subsequently joined NIOSH in 1971, changed into the Division of Respiratory Disease Studies (DRDS) in 1977, and then became the Respiratory Health Division (RHD) in 2015. But one thing is unchanged – the importance of our efforts to prevent work-related respiratory disease and improve workers’ respiratory health.
ALFORD’s mission was to address occupational issues affecting Appalachia. Its first priority was to prevent occupational respiratory disease in coal miners. The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 assigned official responsibilities in this area to ALFORD. These included operating a national health screening program for coal miners and conducting a national study to evaluate respiratory disease in coal miners. Subsequently, responsibilities assigned from the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 expanded the group’s mission to advance prevention of work-related respiratory disease across the spectrum of occupations and industries. Over the years, efforts to identify and address work-related respiratory hazards have had great impact. They have provided a scientific foundation for prevention recommendations and have helped to target prevention efforts where they could do the most good. While our work has had a measurable impact in protecting workers from work-related respiratory hazards, these efforts continue to be greatly needed. Respiratory disease is still a leading cause of illness and death, and work exposures, including new and emerging ones, are significant contributors.
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Resource Number:NIOSH Science Blog
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