jueves, 2 de octubre de 2014

NIOSH eNews - October, 2014

NIOSH eNews - October, 2014

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From the Director’s Desk

John Howard, M.D., Director, NIOSH

NIOSH Announces National Occupational Injury Research Symposium (NOIRS) 2015

I am pleased to announce that NIOSH will hold the sixth National Occupational Injury Research Symposium (NOIRS 2015) on May 19 to 21, 2015, at the Camp Dawson Training Center in Kingwood, West Virginia. Joining NIOSH as symposium co-sponsors are the American Society of Safety Engineers, Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, the National Safety Council, and the Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research.

NOIRS is the only national forum focused on the presentation of occupational injury research findings, data, and methods. The theme for NOIRS 2015 is “Advancing Occupational Injury Research through Integration and Partnership.” The symposium will provide opportunities to:

  • share findings and experiences aimed at preventing traumatic occupational injury through research and prevention,
  • foster collaboration among intramural and extramural researchers and others from a wide variety of scientific disciplines and prevention perspectives,
  • showcase innovative and state-of-the-art approaches to occupational injury research and prevention,
  • demonstrate the effectiveness of transferring research results to the workplace for prevention, and
  • advance the goals of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Traumatic Injury Program.

NIOSH Releases Updated Hazardous Drug List

A new document, NIOSH List of Antineoplastic and other Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings, 2014, has been released. This is the latest version of the hazardous drug list first published by NIOSH in 2004 as an appendix to the document, NIOSH Alert: Preventing Occupational Exposure to Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Health Care Settings. Hazardous drugs on the list include those used for cancer chemotherapy, antiviral drugs, hormones, some bioengineered drugs, and other miscellaneous drugs. Learn more athttp://www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-9-8-14.html or view the document athttp://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2014-138/.

Upcoming Respirator Manufacturers Meeting

The NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) will hold a meeting for all respirator manufacturers on October 22, addressing updates to standard application procedures. The draft agenda will be available on the NPPTL website. The meeting will be held at the NIOSH NPPTL facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and remote participation will be available. Pre-registration is required for on-site as well as remote participation. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/resources/pressrel/letters/Manufacturers/lttr-09082014.html

NIOSH Releases Updated Emergency Preparedness Web Page!

In recognition of September’s Emergency Preparedness Month, NIOSH would like to introduce its new Emergency Preparedness and Response Directory web page. The web page offers improved access to NIOSH topics and publications pertaining to responder safety and health, natural disasters and hazards, and NIOSH disaster response efforts, as well as links to related NIOSH programs. Visit the Emergency Preparedness and Response web page and be better prepared!http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/emres/?s_cid=3ni7d2eml09102014 

GAO Releases Report on World Trade Center Health Program

On August 22, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a review of the approach the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) used to determine whether to add cancers to the list of conditions covered for medical monitoring and treatment. The report by the GAO states, “The Administrator of the WTCHP—a program of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—used a hazard-based, multiple-method approach to determine whether to add cancers to the WTCHP list of covered conditions for which treatment may be provided at no cost to an enrollee. Experts who participated in a meeting held by GAO indicated that the Administrator's approach was reasonable but could be improved.” The GAO report is available online at http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-606.

Website Promotes Public Access to State Surveillance and Occupational Health Outputs

Check out the NIOSH State-based Occupational Health Surveillance Clearinghouse interactive website. This application is a centralized repository and interactive website that promotes public access to surveillance and related occupational health outputs produced by the states. State publications can be searched by state, NORA industry sector, NIOSH cross-sector program, and document type. Through the use of RSS feeds, states control which publications are displayed and accessible via direct links from state websites through the Clearinghouse. Twenty-six states participate in the Clearinghouse, with over 3,600 documents available. http://wwwn.cdc.gov/niosh-survapps/statedocs/ 

NIOSH Study Examines Potential for Flight Attendant Radiation Exposure from Solar Storms

During a solar storm, a pregnant flight attendant could be exposed to levels of solar radiation exceeding recommended dose limits for pregnant women, although statistically such exposures are relatively infrequent, according to results of a study by NIOSH scientists published in the August 2014 issue of the journal Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine. The study, which was part of ongoing NIOSH research to assess potential reproductive risks for flight crews, included steps that can be taken to reduce exposure where the potential may exist. http://ingentaconnect.com/content/asma/asem/2014/00000085/00000008/art00008  

NIOSH Responds To Respiratory Protective Devices Used in Healthcare

On March 14, NIOSH published a request for information (RFI) and comment [Docket Number CDC–2014–0005, NIOSH–272] in the Federal Register [79 FR 14514]. In the RFI, “Respiratory Protective Devices Used in Healthcare,” comments were requested for four topics. The comments were summarized, NIOSH prepared a response, and this information has been posted onregulations.gov.

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