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About NIOSH |
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The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the Department of Health and Human Services. NIOSH Origins and MissionThe Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 created both NIOSH and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA is in the U.S. Department of Labor and is responsible for developing and enforcing workplace safety and health regulations. NIOSH is in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is an agency established to help assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by providing research, information, education, and training in the field of occupational safety and health. NIOSH provides national and world leadership to prevent work-related illness, injury, disability, and death by gathering information, conducting scientific research, and translating the knowledge gained into products and services. NIOSH's mission is critical to the health and safety of every American worker. Each day, an average of 9,000 U.S. workers sustain disabling injuries on the job, 16 workers die from an injury suffered at work, and 137 workers die from work-related diseases. The Liberty Mutual 2002 Workplace Safety Index estimates that direct costs for occupational injuries in 1999 rose to $40.1 billion, with indirect costs reaching over $200 billion. Strategic GoalsNIOSH objectives include:
NIOSH LocationsNIOSH is headquartered in Washington, DC, with research laboratories and offices in Cincinnati, OH, Morgantown, WV, Pittsburgh, PA, Spokane, WA and Atlanta, GA. NIOSH is a professionally diverse organization with a staff of over 1,400 people representing a wide range of disciplines including epidemiology, medicine, industrial hygiene, safety, psychology, engineering, chemistry, and statistics. Contacts and Organization Chart
NIOSH ResearchNIOSH scientists work in multidisciplinary teams and carry out a focused program of intramural and extramural research to prevent or reduce work-related injury and illness. In 1996, NIOSH and over 500 partners established the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) , a framework to guide the efforts of the occupational safety and health community in 21 priority research areas. NORA encompasses research areas such as traumatic injury, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hearing loss, and control technologies. These priority areas were identified through extensive input from NIOSH’s federal and non-federal partners. Since 1996, NIOSH has aligned its intramural and extramural research to increase its investment in NORA priority areas. Other Research Links:
Recent Research AccomplishmentsNIOSH research has brought about important progress in occupational safety and health. NIOSH has:
To find out more about recent NIOSH research go to NIOSH Programs in Brief NIOSH Prevention, Surveillance, and Training and Communication Programs
NIOSH Services
State ActivitiesAs part of its mission, NIOSH operates programs in every state to improve the health and safety of workers. As part of these State Activities, NIOSH:
NIOSH and OSHANIOSH was established by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 which also established the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Although NIOSH and OSHA were created by the same Act of Congress, they are two distinct agencies with separate responsibilities. NIOSH is in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is a research agency. OSHA is in the U.S. Department of Labor and is responsible for creating and enforcing workplace safety and health regulations. NIOSH and OSHA often work together toward the common goal of protecting worker safety and health. NIOSH is committed to a workplace where all people are respected as individuals and are valued for their contributions to accomplishing its mission. The NIOSH vision for diversity is to enhance the organization’s ability to attract, recruit, hire, mentor, develop, retain, and serve a diverse population by fostering an inclusive environment that embraces, values and respects all individuals. Data Sharing and PrivacyThe CDC/ATSDR Policy on Releasing and Sharing Data ensures that NIOSH routinely provides data to its partners for appropriate public health purposes and that all data are released and/or shared as soon as feasible without compromising privacy concerns, federal and state confidentiality concerns, proprietary interests, national security interests, or law enforcement activities. CDC Privacy Rules - NIOSH complies with the CDC Privacy Rule. These regulations provide protection for the privacy of certain individually identifiable health data.
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