NIOSH eNews - September, 2016

NIOSH eNews - September, 2016

In This Issue

Director’s Desk NIOSH Announces Free, Confidential 2016 Screenings for Coal Miners Free Upcoming Webinar on Productive Aging and Work NIOSH and Partners Kick-off Noise Safety Challenge NIOSH, WVU and Monongalia County Schools Bring Work Safety Curriculum to Schools Research Associates Some Pesticides With Respiratory Wheeze in Farmers @NIOSHConstruct Twitter Reaches Over 18,000 Followers

Volume 14 Number 5 September 2016

From the Director’s Desk John Howard, M.D., Director, NIOSH NORA Enters Its Third Decade On October 1, the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) enters its third decade. Unveiled in 1996, NORA is a partnership program to stimulate innovative research and improved workplace practices. Through NORA, diverse parties come together to create a research framework for the nation, including stakeholders from universities, large and small businesses, professional societies, government agencies, and worker organizations. NIOSH is proud to continue its role as steward of NORA. The questions guiding the third decade are two-fold: What research should be done in 2020 and beyond? Can an efficient and effective structure be found to identify and integrate research priorities? To answer these questions, NORA will move forward with an enhanced structure and a continued focus on a national research agenda. Read More... NIOSH Announces Free, Confidential 2016 Screenings for Coal Miners NIOSH is offering a series of free, confidential health screenings to coal miners in western Virginia through September 12. The screenings are intended to provide early detection of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), also known as black lung, a serious but preventable occupational lung disease caused by breathing respirable coal mine dust. All coal miners (current, former, underground, surface, and contract) are encouraged to participate. For specific locations and/or to learn more click here. Free Upcoming Webinar on Productive Aging and Work The NIOSH National Center for Productive Aging and Work (NCPAW) will co-host a free NIOSH Total Worker Health® Webinar: “Productive Aging and Work: Theory, Health Data, and Practical Solutions.” The webinar will examine a model of productive aging, recent data from older workers focusing on a broad range of work-related injuries and health outcomes, and an action-oriented educational program designed to help organizations create workplaces supportive of workers throughout the life span. Join us on Tuesday, September 27 from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM EST for this exciting educational opportunity. Register here. NIOSH and Partners Kick-off Noise Safety Challenge NIOSH, OSHA, and MSHA have partnered to launch the “Hear and Now—Noise Safety Challenge,” a competition to encourage designers, developers, entrepreneurs, inventors, and innovators to submit ideas for technological solutions to hearing protection problems. Ten finalists will be invited to pitch their ideas to a panel of investors, judges, and representatives from government offices. Submissions are due September 30, and a final event will be held on October 27, in Washington, D.C. More information about the challenge is available on the Hear and Now webpage. NIOSH, WVU and Monongalia County Schools Bring Work Safety Curriculum to Schools NIOSH is pleased to announce a collaboration with West Virginia University (WVU) and the Monongalia County (W.Va.) School System to bring Youth@Work: Talking Safety, a curriculum in workplace safety and health, to local eight-grade students. Many young people are unaware of their employment rights and the potential hazards that exist in the workplace. Recent statistics show that 1.6 million U.S. youth age 15–17 are employed. Although work provides many benefits for young people, it can also be dangerous. Every year, nearly 59,800 teens ages 15 to 17 get injured on the job seriously enough to seek emergency room treatment. Recognizing this, NIOSH formed a partnership with WVU and the Monongalia County Middle Schools to implement an educational program directed at teaching foundational workplace safety and health knowledge and skills to young workers before they enter the workforce. Youth@Work: Talking Safety is a fun, free, and engaging curriculum that helps educate young people about the basics of job safety and health. Research Associates Some Pesticides With Respiratory Wheeze in Farmers New research from North Carolina State University connects several pesticides commonly used by farmers with both allergic and non-allergic wheeze, which can be a sensitive marker for early airway problems. For the study, NIOSH and partners from NC State, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Cancer Institute, and Westat used interview data from the 2005—2010 Agricultural Health Study to evaluate the association between allergic and non-allergic wheeze and 78 pesticides. The research and findings are available inEnvironmental Health Perspectives. @NIOSHConstruct Twitter Reaches Over 18,000 Followers NIOSH takes the gold this month with the NIOSH Office of Construction Safety and Health reaching more than 18,000 followers on Twitter, the largest following of any NIOSH-related twitter account, having seen a huge soar since the 16,000 followers only a short time ago in May. In the heat of the summer when protection from the sun is an added variable for construction workers, safety and health on the job really comes to the forefront. Follow @NIOSHConstruct to receive real-time information on construction safety and health research, partnerships, and practice that address the safety and health challenges construction workers face and help prevent work-related illness, injury, and disability during the summer months.