NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Program [2017]

Details

• Journal Article:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  This document has been superseded and the new version can be found here. What are our priorities? The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) Program evaluates potential workplace hazards through field visits and phone consultations in response to requests from workers, unions, and employers. On the basis of investigation findings, the program provides recommendations to improve the health and safety of the U.S. workforce. The HHE Program focuses on these areas: 1. Reducing or eliminating hazards and preventing work-related illnesses. 2. Identifying new and emerging hazards. What do we do? 1. Complete timely, high quality investigations that meet stakeholder needs. 2. Make and promote relevant, feasible, and effective recommendations to prevent adverse effects of workplace health hazards. 3. Raise awareness about hazards, emerging issues, and recommended controls through HHE reports, trade publications and meetings, social media, and scientific publications and meetings. 4. Encourage HHE Program requests: a) From underserved populations, small businesses, labor unions, and local health departments. b) That address emerging occupational health problems. c) That are likely to have findings that can apply to many workplaces. 5. Encourage research on emerging hazards identified by HHE investigations. What have we accomplished? 1. Responded to 247 HHE requests, including making 39 visits for new field investigations and issuing 159 final reports in 2016. 2. Published a peer-reviewed journal article and completed medical and environmental data collection at 10 coffee processing facilities to characterize exposures to diacetyl and other flavoring chemicals, assess health outcomes, and recommend ways to prevent lung disease. 3. Completed a series of three HHE promotional videos to inform employers and employees about the work of the HHE Program and what to expect if we do an evaluation in their workplace. 4. Won the 2016 CDC Technology Challenge with a proposal to get useful personal exposure and medical results to HHE participants in a secure and easy-to-use manner. 5. Released report on law enforcement agent exposures to synthetic drugs during a raid of a clandestine lab. Found markers of exposure in agents' urine after the raid and recommended work practice and environmental changes to reduce exposure. What's next? 1. Respond to at least 220 HHE requests, including at least 32 initial site visits and 146 final reports in 2017. 2. Issue reports and other dissemination products on emerging workplace hazards including flame etardants, electronic cigarettes, and nail salon products. 3. Carry out evaluations of coffee processing facilities and issue final reports. 4. Finalize prototype of new design for HHE Program reports. 5. Survey local health departments' knowledge of the HHE Program and communication preferences. 6. Release web portal for providing HHE participants with their personal exposure and health test results. 7. Develop educational materials on musculoskeletal risks in the food service industry. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Hazardous Substances Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Risk Assessment Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Health hazard evaluations; Workplace studies; Occupational exposure; Occupational hazards; Hazard controls
• Source:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2017-148, 2017 Jun; :1
• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications
• Subseries:
  Program Performance One-Pagers (PPOP)
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Fact Sheet
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OPPE - Office of Program Planning and Evaluation ; OD - Office of the Director ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1 pdf page
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20049953
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3b2acfa1b37b5d26cc01dc1ad73385fbdf37583d20d553d0dfd9f3565a825e81c4497602874bb941cb4b5596f7fd5a5faf714b8094389e51ef1cba5bf99c721e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/46239/cdc_46239_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 236.94 KB ]