NIOSH Science Blog Posts

Workplace Safety Communications Campaigns Should be Driven by Employer, Industry, Workflow, and Culture

Employees who drive for work face significant roadway risks, and motor vehicle crashes can devastate families, communities, and organizations. Crashes are the leading cause of workplace fatalities, with 1,252 deaths of vehicle drivers and passengers on public roads in 2016. In 2013, on-the-job crashes cost employers over $25 billion and led to 155,000 lost work Read More >

Posted on by Jennifer Alexander, Jules Payne, Sydney Webb, Stephanie Pratt, David Fosbroke, and Rebecca Olsavsky1 Comment

Amy Chambers, MS, and Lauren Chubb, DrPH: Advancing Safety and Health for Miners

During Women’s History Month, NIOSH will highlight several female researchers and their contributions to NIOSH and America’s workers.   Amy Chambers, MS Amy Chambers, MS, is a research engineer working in the NIOSH Spokane Mining Research Division. She joined NIOSH in July 2015. Ms. Chambers seeks to ensure underground miners have a stable roof to Read More >

Posted on by Valerie Coughanour, MA, MFA2 Comments

Musculoskeletal Health Research to Benefit Construction Workers

In October 2017 the NIOSH Musculoskeletal Health Cross-Sector program published the first blog in a series to highlight musculoskeletal health research at NIOSH. With spring just around the corner, this blog—the fourth installment in the series—will discuss how best to promote musculoskeletal health and reduce the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among construction workers. Construction Read More >

Posted on by Emily Warner, MA and Jack Lu, PhD, CPELeave a comment

Lee Greenawald, PhD: An up and coming leader in PPE

During Women’s History Month, NIOSH will highlight several female researchers and their contributions to NIOSH and America’s workers. Lee Greenawald, PhD, is a NIOSH career development success story. While working on her B.S. in Forensic Chemistry from Ohio University, Lee began her career at NIOSH’s National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) as a summer student Read More >

Posted on by Jaclyn Krah Cichowicz, MALeave a comment

HeeSun Choi, PhD, and Christina Socias-Morales, DrPh: Creating Safer Workplaces

During Women’s History Month, NIOSH will highlight several female researchers and their contributions to NIOSH and America’s workers.   HeeSun Choi, PhD HeeSun Choi, PhD, is a psychologist working in the Protective Technology Branch in the NIOSH Division of Safety Research. Dr. Choi started with the Institute in 2016. Dr. Choi’s research is helping to Read More >

Posted on by Sydney Webb, PhD2 Comments

Safety Across Cultures

As businesses become more global, safety professionals must develop and carry out work-based safety programs in cross-cultural settings. A recent article in Professional Safety, “Safety Across Cultures: Understanding the Challenges,” discusses the challenges of cross-cultural safety and health and offers suggestions on how to approach these growing responsibilities. Occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals work Read More >

Posted on by Michael Flynn, MA9 Comments

Christine M. Branche, PhD, Protecting America’s Construction Workers

During Women’s History Month, NIOSH will highlight several female researchers and their contributions to NIOSH and America’s workers. Christine M. Branche, Ph.D., is the Director of the NIOSH Office of Construction Safety and Health. Dr. Branche began her career at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1996 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Read More >

Posted on by Jenise Brassell, MS4 Comments

Opportunities to Advance Occupational Health Research by Considering Work as a Social Determinant of Health

The role of work in creating health disparities has not been fully explored in studies in the United States. This might be because of a narrow perception of the relationships between work and health. A recent article by a researcher from the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and NIOSH researchers explores additional avenues for improving health Read More >

Posted on by Kaori Fujishiro, PhD7 Comments

Using Worker Health Charts to Learn About Your Workplace

Jim manages a manufacturing plant that makes office furniture using plywood and other engineered wood products. Their worksite takes worker safety seriously, and is interested to know if the rate of severe injuries they are experiencing is high compared to injuries occurring at other office furniture manufacturing plants. This kind of information may be tricky Read More >

Posted on by Rebecca Tsai, PhD, and Amy Mobley, MEn1 Comment

Young Mechanical Engineer Learns the Ropes on Fishing Boats

This week is National Engineers Week which is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employs over 200 engineers and engineering technicians who identify, evaluate, develop, and implement engineering control technology to Read More >

Posted on by Theodore D. Teske, MA6 Comments

The Engineers behind the Respirator Approval Process

This week is National Engineers Week which is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employs over 200 engineers and engineering technicians who identify, evaluate, develop, and implement engineering control technology to Read More >

Posted on by Jaclyn Krah Cichowicz, MA1 Comment

Coming Soon to a Workplace Near You: Field-based respirable crystalline silica monitoring

This week is National Engineers Week which is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employs over 200 engineers and engineering technicians who identify, evaluate, develop, and implement engineering control technology to Read More >

Posted on by Emanuele Cauda, PhD; Lauren Chubb, DrPH; and Valerie Coughanour, MA, MFA 1 CommentTags

Young NIOSH Engineer Helps Solve Invisible Problems

This week is National Engineers Week which is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employs over 200 engineers and engineering technicians who identify, evaluate, develop, and implement engineering control technology to Read More >

Posted on by Trudi McCleery, MPH1 Comment

Engineering in the Division of Safety Research

This week is National Engineers Week which is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employs over 200 engineers and engineering technicians who identify, evaluate, develop, and implement engineering control technology to Read More >

Posted on by Sydney Webb, PhD2 Comments

I Will Survive! Air-Purifying Respirator Cartridge/Canister

We need to talk. Every year we use Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to talk about our love for respirators and personal protective equipment (PPE). We’ve had some good times frolicking through the standards and maintenance requirements. But today we need to address what happens when it’s just not working anymore. We have to discuss Read More >

Posted on by Jaclyn Krah Cichowicz, MA, and Thomas Pouchot, MS 1 Comment

Medical Mystery Solved: What Sent a Pregnant Prison Worker to the Hospital?

  Jasmine worked at a prison in Central California. She became sick with flu like symptoms when she was 8 months pregnant. Read her work history here. She was hospitalized with fever, cough, shortness of breath, and severe muscle pain and diagnosed with pneumonia. After a blood test, Jasmine’s doctors diagnosed her with Valley Fever or Coccidioidomycosis. Read More >

Posted on by Julie Tisdale-Pardi, MA 1 Comment

Medical Mystery: What Sent a Pregnant Prison Worker to the Hospital?

Jasmine worked at a prison in central California that provided long-term housing and services for minimum, medium, and maximum custody inmates. She was 34 years old and had worked at the prison for six years.  Jasmine was a correctional officer, and her job duties included security checks, patrolling the facility, and occasionally grid searches and digging for Read More >

Posted on by Julie Tisdale-Pardi, MA 22 Comments

Healthcare Personnel Working with Flu-like Illness

Most of the United States is experiencing widespread and intense influenza activity. Indicators used to track influenza-like-activity are higher than what was seen during the peak of the 2014-2015 season, the most recent season characterized as being of “high” severity. A NIOSH study recently published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that more Read More >

Posted on by Sophia Chiu, MD, MPH4 Comments

Help Us Redesign the NIOSH Pocket Guide

The NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (NPG) celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2018. The guide continues to be the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) most popular document. It provides descriptive information such as recommendations for exposure limits, protective clothing, and first aid measures for 677 chemicals commonly found in the work Read More >

Posted on by Naomi Hudson, Dr.P.H, and Donna Van Bogaert, Ph.D. 77 Comments

Frequent Exertion and Frequent Standing Among US Workers

  Have you ever wondered if your job involves more standing, bending, or lifting than other jobs? Or if there are ways you could avoid injuries from these movements while on the job? Last week, NIOSH published an article on frequent exertion and frequent standing among US workers by industry and occupation group. Using data from Read More >

Posted on by Taylor M. Shockey, MPH 3 Comments