We recently met with Board members and staff at the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) in Washington, DC. One of the issues that arose in the conversation was ASSE’s recent comment on CSB’s 5-year plan with regard to staffing. We encouraged them to encourage staff to be involved in the safety and health profession to help them find and keep good people. In response, they also expressed interest in reaching out to ASSE’s members about positions they are seeking to fill with CSB. Here are a few opportunities that might be of interest.
A reminder that the next Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Council meeting will be held on Friday, March 2nd. Here is the link to recent activities and the meeting schedule for 2007.
In his January message to members, American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) President Donald S. Jones Sr. stated that although workplace fatalities are down, more than 5,700 people died from on-the-job injuries and millions more suffered from on-the-job illnesses in 2005. Transportation-related crashes, the number one cause of on-the-job fatalities, are a major source of concern. Other key issues for ASSE and its members include the aging workforce, nanotechnology, a possible flu pandemic, disaster preparedness and response, and doctoral programs in safety.
For more information, visit http://www.asse.org/press591.htm.
The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is a federal R&D program established to coordinate the federal government’s mult-iagency efforts in nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. Under the NNI, the National Science and Technology Council, Committee on Technology Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology (NSET) held a meeting January 4 on EHS research needs for nano. More information on NSET can be found here.
The following is a report on the meeting attended by a representative for ASSE --
On January 4, 2007, Jennifer Griffith of the Law Office represented ASSE at the Public Meeting on Research Needs Related to the Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanoscale Materials. The purpose of this meeting was to receive feedback from the public regarding the research areas that were published on September 16, 2006 in the Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Needs for Engineered Nanoscale materials and how to prioritize these areas.
Dr. Norris Alderson from the Food and Drug Administration and the Chairman of the NSET Working Group opened the meeting. He stated that NIH has requested $44 million in funding for 2007, but this funding does not include research on fundamental interactions of nano-engineered materials. It also does not include research to develop new instrumentations or metrology for measuring exposure to and for characterize engineered nanomaterials.
Dr. Alderson also stated that the importance of EHS research is to understand benefits and risks of nanomaterials when released to the public. NSET’s next steps are to prioritize research needs, evaluate the current EHS portfolio of NNI, hold a public meeting on needs and prioritization, perform “gap analysis”, and to coordinate and facilitate research programs.
Dr. Dianne Poster from the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology discussed the research needs for the Instrumentation, Metrology & Analytical methods. She stated that there were 5 research needs in this area:
Dr. Phil Sayre from the Environmental Protection Agency discussed Nanomaterials and the Environment. He reviewed ecological receptors and identified 5 research areas:
Dr. Sally Tinkle from the Office of the Deputy Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences discussed the research needs for nanomaterial and Human Health. She identified 2 research needs:
Dr. Vladimir Murashov from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health discussed Health and Environmental Surveillance. He focused on the hazard and exposure that may occur from Nanomaterials.
The focus of most comments were on the need for funding and management in the nano research area.
Following labor’s recent suit against OSHA to force action on requiring employer payment for PPE, the Washington Post took a look at the issue.
For almost eight years, unions have been waiting for the Labor Department to finish writing rules that would make it clear that employers are supposed to pick up the tab for safety equipment for millions of workers.
Many companies already foot the bill for goggles, hard hats, ear plugs, mesh gloves, safety harnesses and other gear that they have been required to provide since 1994. But some industry sectors, including home building, poultry processing and construction, say a mandate requiring them to pay would be too open-ended.
Labor officials say the complicated nature of the issue, both legal and practical, has caused the delay. The unions claim the Bush administration has stalled because it is looking out for corporate interests.
So on Jan. 3, the AFL-CIO and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District to force the government to complete the long-postponed proposal.
"This is an uncomplicated rulemaking on a straightforward, but significant, issue of importance to worker safety and health," the suit says. It asks that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration be directed to complete the regulation within two months of a court order….
Avian Flu QuickCards (English and Spanish) (Nov. 2006)
Fact Sheets
Safety and Health Information Bulletins
Other Publications and Guidance Documents
eTools
Safety and Health Topics Pages
Success Stories and Case Studies
The Institute of Medicine convened a December 13-14, 2006, meeting of an expert committee and NIOSH to examine research directions and certification and testing issues regarding the use of personal protective equipment during an influenza pandemic. The study will focus on face masks and respirators for healthcare professionals. A workshop is scheduled to take place in February 2007. A report will be issued that includes the committee's recommendations on next steps for research on personal protective equipment for use in an influenza pandemic. Information about the committee membership, committee charge, and the first meeting can be found here.
An updated NIOSH study of asbestos-related diseases among vermiculite miners, millers, and processors in Libby, Montana, was published on-line by Environmental Health Perspectives, a peer-reviewed research journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, on January 3. The study followed the Libby workers through 2001 and found that they had significantly higher than expected incidences of fatal asbestosis, lung cancer, and cancer of the pleura. The findings were consistent with previous mortality studies of workers from this cohort, which were published by NIOSH researchers in the 1980s. The article is available online. NIOSH information and recommendations for minimizing the generation and inhalation of dust during the handling of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from Libby are on the NIOSH topic Web page.
First-year doctors-in-training reported that working five extra-long shifts, of 24 hours or more at a time without rest, per month led to a 300 percent increase in their chances of making a fatigue-related preventable adverse event that contributed to the death of a patient, according to a new study funded by NIOSH and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Preventable adverse events are defined as medical errors that cause harm to a patient. "In conjunction with earlier research showing that medical interns also have an increased risk for car crashes after leaving work at the end of an extra-long shift, this new study adds further evidence that issues of occupational safety, health, and quality of patient care in the health-care setting are closely linked," said NIOSH Director John Howard M.D. The study was published December 12, 2006, in the on-line, peer-reviewed journal PLoS Medicine http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0030487. More information about the earlier study on medical interns' risk for car crashes linked with extra-long shifts can be found in the February 2005 NIOSH eNews.
Revisions made for the 2007 edition of the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Standard 1981 require that self-contained breathing apparatus presented for NFPA approval under the standard for use in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) incidents must also have certification by NIOSH for such use. For more information, see the December 8, 2006 letter to all manufacturers or contact Heinz Ahlers at hahlers@cdc.gov.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has recently approved a new breath tube alcohol screening device (ASD) which will qualify for use in DOT Agency regulated testing once it appears on NHTSA's conforming products list (CPL). This interim final rule provides procedures for use of the new device. It will be effective January 11, 2007. Comments to this interim final rule are due February 12, 2007.
OSHA has issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to begin Phase III of its Standards Improvement Project (SIPs III), a series of rulemaking actions intended to improve and streamline OSHA standards by removing or revising individual requirements within rules that are confusing, outdated, duplicative, or inconsistent. The ANPR identifies some provisions that are potential candidates for inclusion in SIPs III, including recommendations received from the public in other rulemakings. The purpose of this notice is to invite comment on these recommendations and provide an opportunity for commenters to suggest other candidates that might be appropriate for inclusion in this rulemaking. OSHA will use the information received in response to this notice to help determine the scope of SIPs III. Comments are due February 20, 2007.
For more information about the ASSE Northwest Chapter, please contact:
Chapter President
William R. "Bill" Stuart
Phone: 612-671-8431
Website Editor
Richard "Rick" Johnson
Phone: 763-551-1022