In This Issue |
Monthly Features |
From the Director’s Desk
John Howard, M.D., Director, NIOSH
NIOSH Emergency Preparedness and Response
September is National Preparedness Month, reminding us that we need to plan wisely to minimize death, injury, and devastation from large-scale disasters. We have seen this in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; the flooding of New Orleans and other destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina 10 years ago; and other calamities of the past 15 years. Every disaster or novel disease can put workers at higher risk of injury, illness, or death. An effective response ensures the health and safety of people who work in or near a disaster area, workers who respond to the emergency, and those who work in recovery.Closed-Circuit Escape Respirators: Extension of Transition Period Final Rule
The Closed-Circuit Escape Respirators: Extension of Transition Period Final Rule, effective August 12, 2015, amends 42 C.F.R. § 84.301 to allow NIOSH to extend the original 3-year period for continued manufacturing, labeling, and sale of closed-circuit escape respirators (CCERs). Approved under Subpart H the amendment allows NIOSH to extend the original transition period to grant eligible manufacturers additional time to obtain NIOSH approval, establish production capacity, and to modify existing CCER designs—if necessary—or develop new designs that comply with the new testing and certification requirements under Subpart O. The entire rule can be viewed in the Federal Register Notice, dated August 12.
In Memoriam
- Mike Flemmer, NIOSH Computer Engineer
NIOSH was saddened by the death of Michael M. (Mike) Flemmer, a computer engineer in NIOSH’s Health Effects Laboratory Division (HELD). Mike came to the HELD in 1997 as a computer engineer who designed equipment supporting research in HELD and other divisions. He designed a cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) system which has been used extensively to characterize surface chemistry and most recently was developing a new field portable CRDS system for field studies. He was a co-inventor on two US patents, one for the NIOSH Local Positioning System, the other a NIOSH Physiologic Sampling Pump. Mike authored or co-author multiple journal articles, one of which was nominated for a 2010 Charles C. Shepard Science Award and another which received Honorable Mention in this year’s Alice Hamilton Awards. - Dr. J. Donald Millar, Former NIOSH Director
NIOSH was saddened by the death of J. Donald Millar, M.D., retired rear admiral and assistant surgeon general in the U.S. Public Health Service, and the fourth director of NIOSH (1981 to 1993). In addition to his two-term leadership of NIOSH, Dr. Millar also was known internationally for other accomplishments in a long career with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including a prominent role in the global campaign that eradicated smallpox in 1980. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/04/health/dr-j-donald- millar-who-led-cdc-mission- that-helped-eradicate- smallpox-dies-at-81.html?_r=0
NIOSH Awards Funding for Study on Police Officer Health
NIOSH recently awarded a $2.5 million grant to the University of Buffalo to study the impact of stress on police officers’ health. The study will address the question, “How do the rigors of police work—from traumatic sights and sounds, to long work shifts and high demand levels—affect officers?” Read more athttp://www.buffalo.edu/news/
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