NIOSH eNews - December, 2012

NIOSH eNews - December, 2012

In This Issue

From the Director’s Desk Patient Safety and Worker Safety in Healthcare Attention Electronic Waste Recyclers—We Need Your Assistance! Study Reveals Risks for Low-wage Workers Let Your Voice be Heard News From Our Partners

NIOSH eNews
The Monthly Newsletter of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Volume 10 Number 8 December 2012

From the Director’s Desk John Howard, M.D., Director, NIOSH Roughnecks, Roustabouts, and Researchers: NIOSH’s Oil and Gas Extraction Safety and Health Program Protects Workers The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in oil and natural gas production in the United States. Since 2003, the number of rigs actively drilling in the U.S. (a measure of industry activity) has increased by 92%. This increase in drilling activity has provided employment for many, but it is also correlated with more than 800 worker fatalities and an elevated fatality rate (27.1 per 100,000 workers during 2003-2010). In 2008, NIOSH released a study that characterized fatalities in the oil and gas extraction industry and found a direct relationship between the number of drilling rigs and the industry’s fatality rate. Since that time NIOSH has developed a research program for the upstream oil and gas industry that addresses the major causes of injury and illness among this population of workers. This month, representatives from dozens of oil and gas extraction companies will gather in Dallas, TX to attend the 3rd OSHA Oil and Gas Safety Conference. This bi-annual event is the largest oil and gas safety conference in the U.S. and will feature multiple concurrent sessions on occupational safety and health in the oilfield. NIOSH’s Oil and Gas Extraction Sector Program will be well represented by three researchers presenting on the major research areas of the program including motor vehicle safety, chemical hazard assessment and control, and Hispanic oil and gas workers. I will also be there, giving a keynote presentation with Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. David Michaels. Read More... Patient Safety and Worker Safety in Healthcare The Joint Commission, which accredits and certifies more than 19,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the United States, announced a new monograph exploring opportunities for synergy, collaboration, and innovation in improving worker and patient safety. The original idea for the monograph came out of discussions among NIOSH and its diverse partners in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Healthcare and Social Assistance Sector Council. NIOSH participated in a subsequent Joint Commission workshop to identify examples of integrated approaches to patient safety and worker safety and health. Attention Electronic Waste Recyclers—We Need Your Assistance! The Health Hazard Evaluation Program is evaluating occupational health and safety in the electronic waste recycling industry. This project has two components. The first component is a pilot study to survey a random sample of up to 100 e-waste recycling facilities across the United States to learn more about e-waste processes, medical monitoring, engineering and other controls, and personal protective equipment used by employees. If you are called by our contractor, we hope you will participate in the telephone survey. The results will be used to direct future research efforts with the goal of minimizing occupational hazards in this industry. The second component of this project is to conduct health hazard evaluations (HHE) at three e-waste recycling facilities to observe work processes and practices, review safety and health programs, and perform environmental sampling and biological monitoring. Contact us if you want to be considered for an evaluation. At the conclusion of the HHEs, reports will be prepared that will include recommendations to address any identified hazards. For more information, contact Diana Ceballos at dceballos@cdc.gov. Study Reveals Risks for Low-wage Workers A new obesity study uncovers risks for low-wage workers. Rather than focusing on sedentary lifestyles, a New England community partnership study, funded by NIOSH and the National Institutes of Health, on obesity/overweight and the role of working conditions looks at low-wage workers toiling in heavy labor and how their work conditions contribute to weight gain and obesity. Read the full report. Let Your Voice be Heard Comments are now being accepted on a draft of Stage 3 of Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records from the HHS Health IT Policy Committee. One issue under consideration that NIOSH supports is the inclusion of industry and occupation data in Stage 3. The deadline to submit comments is January 13, 2013. View the Federal Register or for more details click here. Read More... News from Our Partners Michigan Behavioral Risk Factory Survey on Work-related Skin Disease Results from the 2011 Michigan BRFSS survey of skin diseases in Michigan, reported last month by Michigan State University and the Michigan Department of Community Health, found that the proportion of work-related skin conditions was 1.8 times larger than the proportion estimated by NIOSH from an occupational health supplement to the 2010 National Health Interview Survey. The Michigan results support the NIOSH conclusion that the Bureau of Labor Statistics employer based survey misses about 90% of work-related dermatitis, the authors found. The findings support the use of a survey question which asks whether the respondent personally believes that a given condition is work-related, in addition to a question which asks whether the respondent was told by a doctor or health professional that the condition was work-related, the researchers stated in a Letter to the Editor published online by the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. Read More...