NIOSH eNews - June, 2015

NIOSH eNews - June, 2015

Volume 13 Number 2 June 2015 In This Issue Director’s Desk NIOSH and ASSE Release New Report on Safety of Young Immigrant Workers in Small Construction Firms NIOSH Releases New Shift Work Training for Nurses NIOSH MSD Cross-sector Program Seeks Partners NIOSH/OSHA Releases Hospital Respiratory Protection Toolkit Query Site Released for Nonfatal Occupational Injuries NIOSH Awards Two Cooperative Agreements for Workers’ Compensation Surveillance Partners Wanted: Assessment of Occupational Exposure to Flame Retardants

From the Director’s Desk John Howard, M.D., Director, NIOSH National Occupational Injury Research Symposium 2015: Advancing Occupational Injury Research through Integration and Partnership In May, I had the pleasure of serving on an opening plenary panel for the 2015 National Occupational Injury Research Symposium (NOIRS). This was the sixth in a symposia series that was initiated in 1997. NOIRS yet again proved to be a valuable forum for those focused on and committed to worker safety. More than 230 researchers and key stakeholders came together for 2-1/2 days to learn from each other and build partnerships to advance research and prevention. Read More... NIOSH and ASSE Release New Report on Safety of Young Immigrant Workers in Small Construction Firms In May, NIOSH and the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) released a joint report entitled Overlapping Vulnerabilities: the Occupational Safety and Health of Young Immigrant Workers in Small Construction Firms. The report explores how the combination of risk factors may result in overlapping vulnerabilities for workers such as young immigrants in small construction firms and discusses the implications for occupational safety and health professionals. The release of the report coincided with North American Occupational Safety and Health Week, and the story was picked up by several Spanish and English media outlets. For more information go to www.asse.org/workersatrisk orhttp://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2015-178/default.html. NIOSH Releases New Shift Work Training for Nurses NIOSH has launched a new online training program, NIOSH Training for Nurses on Shift Work and Long Work Hours. The purpose of the online training is to provide nurses with information about the risks associated with shift work and long work hours and strategies to reduce these risks. Continuing education is also available for completion of the course. For more information go tohttp://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2015-115/. For more information about NIOSH research related to healthcare go to http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/healthcare/. NIOSH MSD Cross-sector Program Seeks Partners The leadership of the Musculoskeletal Disorders Health and Safety Cross-sector Program would appreciate receiving responses from individuals willing to partner with or provide input to the program as it develops strategies and research plans in the coming weeks. Individuals may contact the Dr. Stephen Hudock, manager, atshudock@cdc.gov. NIOSH/OSHA Releases Hospital Respiratory Protection Toolkit NIOSH and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently released a toolkit for employers to use to protect hospital staff. This toolkit can assist hospitals in developing and implementing effective respiratory protection programs, with an emphasis on preventing the transmission of aerosol transmissible diseases to healthcare personnel. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2015-117/ Query Site Released for Nonfatal Occupational Injuries NIOSH has released the Work-Related Injury Statistics Query System (Work-RISQS). This query system allows users to produce national estimates of occupational injuries treated in emergency departments. Queries can produce reports by demographics, natures of injury, and injury incident characteristics. Queries can be performed for any year from 1998 to 2012. To access the query site, go to http://wwwn.cdc.gov/wisards/workrisqs. Contact Audrey Reichard (AReichard@cdc.gov) for more information. NIOSH Awards Two Cooperative Agreements for Workers’ Compensation Surveillance NIOSH announced new funding for cooperative agreements with California and Massachusetts for workers' compensation surveillance. The awards total nearly $400,000 per year for 3 years. Read more at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-05-27-15.html. Partners Wanted: Assessment of Occupational Exposure to Flame Retardants NIOSH is currently conducting a study on worker exposure to flame retardants to better understand potential health concerns of these chemicals. Flame retardants are used in a broad range of industries and are found in multiple items including building materials and consumer products. NIOSH is actively searching for spray polyurethane companies that are willing to participate in a study. Companies that have workers who apply spray polyurethane foam are asked to participate. If your company is interested in this study and would like more information, please contact CAPT Cherie Estill at CLF4@cdc.gov or 513-841-4476.