NIOSH eNews - November, 2016

NIOSH eNews - November, 2016

In This Issue

Director’s Desk NIOSH Releases Recommendations for Controlling Workplace Exposure to Common Flavoring Compounds New Air Quality Sampler Headed For The International Space Station Learn More: Using the BRFSS To Monitor Workers' Health Drowsy Driving Prevention Week: November 6-13 Washington Post Cites NIOSH Stats and Study National Miner’s Day, December 6 Study Finds Widespread Use of Scavenging Systems to Control Waste Anesthetic Gases During Medical Procedures, but Other Recommended Controls Lacking NIOSH List Adds Thirty-Four Drugs that Pose a Risk to Workers in Healthcare Update on Engineering Controls for Nanotechnology Recent MMWR Features NIOSH Research October Research Rounds Available Recognizing Twenty Years Since Opening New Facility In Morgantown, WV

Volume 14 Number 7 November 2016

From the Director’s Desk John Howard, M.D., Director, NIOSH Engaging the Entrepreneurs Hearing loss induced by loud noise on the job is a serious problem. Whether measured in human or economic terms, the costs to workers, their families, employers, and our economy in general are immense. Because the risk is so pervasive across different industry sectors, no one agency, business, or organization can single-handedly eradicate the problem. At NIOSH, we work with corporations, universities, health departments, unions, and other government entities to set our research agenda, to execute our mission, and to effect positive change for American workers. Traditional channels of government policy, private sector initiative, and worker education continue to serve valuable purposes in preventing occupational hearing loss. However, more and more in this era of 21st century entrepreneurship, we and our stakeholders also see opportunities to devise creative new approaches that build on and broaden existing solutions. Read More... NIOSH Releases Recommendations for Controlling Workplace Exposure to Common Flavoring Compounds NIOSH has released formal recommendations for controlling workplace exposures to diacetyl and 2,3-pentandione, widely used food flavoring compounds that have been associated with decreased lung function in exposed workers. The recommended exposure limits (RELs) were published recently in the NIOSH Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Diacetyl and 2,3-Pentanedione. New Air Quality Sampler Headed For The International Space Station A new portable thermal precipitator particle sampler will soon be put into use by astronauts to help measure and improve air quality on the International Space Station. The sampler was developedby Prof. John Volckens and colleagues at Colorado State University (CSU), withfunding from NIOSH, and designed collaborativelyby CSU and Pittsburgh’s RJ Lee Group, Additional information can be found on the CSU website and in the NIOSH section of the federal agency websiteabout SBIR funding opportunities. Mention of any company or product does not constitute endorsement by NIOSH. Learn More: Using the BRFSS To Monitor Workers' Health A new NIOSH web page provides information on how NIOSH uses CDC population-based health surveys, such as the National Health Interview Survey and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), to collect and analyze public health data to improve worker health. The web page also contains previously unpublished summary tables that present the prevalences of selected health behaviors, health outcomes, and access to care by industry and occupation group. BRFSS is the world's largest health-related survey, which all 50 states, 3 territories, and the District of Columbia use to collect data from more than 400,000 U.S. adults about their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services. Drowsy Driving Prevention Week: November 6-13 The NIOSH Center for Motor Vehicle Safety is observing Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, hosted by the National Sleep Foundation. The campaign is designed to reduce the number of fatigue-related crashes and to save lives. Follow @NIOSH_MVSafety for #Awake2Drive tips throughout the week, and catch up on the Center’s sleep-focused issue of Behind the Wheel at Work. Washington Post Cites NIOSH Stats and Study The Washington Post recently had a feature story about hazards to young people working in tobacco cultivation and harvesting. The article quoted statistics from NIOSH on the number of youth working on farms who were injured on the job. National Miner’s Day, December 6 Did you know that December 6 is National Miner’s Day? This is a day set aside to reflect on mine workers and the difficult and often dangerous job they do. It is both a day to honor miners and to reflect on just how far the industry has come. On December 6, 1907, 362 West Virginia coal miners lost their lives in the worst mining disaster in American history. Not long after, Congress created the Bureau of Mines, the precursor to the NIOSH Mining Program, to research how to make miners’ jobs safer. Whether at surface mining operations or deep underground, miners face unique challenges in their work environments including noise, lighting, dust, uneven walking surfaces, shifting geology, large pieces of moving equipment, and awkward working postures. NIOSH Mining continues to contribute important health and safety improvements to this industry and recognizes there is more work to be done. Study Finds Widespread Use of Scavenging Systems to Control Waste Anesthetic Gases During Medical Procedures, but Other Recommended Controls Lacking A new article from NIOSH found that scavenging systems—equipment used to prevent waste anesthetic gases from escaping into the operating room—are widely used, but other recommended practices to minimize exposure are not always followed. This study was published in the October 2016 issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene and is currently available online. Learn more. NIOSH List Adds Thirty-Four Drugs that Pose a Risk to Workers in Healthcare NIOSH recently released its 2016 list of hazardous drugs in healthcare settings, updating the list to include 34 added drugs. Healthcare workers and support staff who prepare or give hazardous drugs, such as those used for cancer therapy, to patients may face individual health risks when exposed to these drugs. Learn more. Update on Engineering Controls for Nanotechnology A group of NIOSH researchers provided an update on engineering controls for nanotechnology at a recent NIOSH Board of Scientific Counselors meeting. Recent MMWR Features NIOSH Research NIOSH had three articles in the October 14 issue of the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Report: Acute Occupational Pesticide-related Illness and Injury—United States, 2007–2011 Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Employed Adults—United States, 1994–2013 Surveillance for Silicosis—Michigan and New Jersey, 2003–2011 October Research Rounds Available The October issue of NIOSH Research Rounds is now available. Learn which states have the highest rates of work-related deaths in southeastern United States, how the revised NIOSH lifting equation helps to improve worker safety, and if emergency department surveillance data can help assess occupational injury underreporting? Recognizing Twenty Years Since Opening New Facility In Morgantown, WV In October NIOSH celebrated the twenty years anniversary since its new facility was dedicated at our NIOSH Morgantown, West Virginia campus. The new facility provided new opportunities for research in a newly created Health Effects Laboratory Division (HELD) as well as expanding research in the existing Morgantown Divisions. Learn more. Read More...