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Individuals in the United States and Americans abroad are exposed to inhalation hazards from a variety of sources, and these hazards can have both short- and long-term adverse effects on health. For example, exposure to wildfire smoke, which contains particulate matter and toxic chemicals, can lead to respiratory problems, increased risk for heart attacks, and other adverse health outcomes. Individuals also may be exposed to airborne infectious agents through aerosol or droplet transmission, and as demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the individual and public health consequences of these exposures can be severe. Storms, floods, and hurricanes can increase exposure to moisture-driven hazar...
To address approaches to the respirator approval process in the current landscape for both occupational and non-occupational use of respirators, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Standing Committee on Personal Protective Equipment for Workplace Safety and Health convened a virtual workshop, Current Issues in the Assessment of Respiratory Protective Devices: Nontraditional Workers and Public Use on August 4â€"5, 2020. Additionally, the workshop considered gaps in respiratory protection for outdoor workers and the general public. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.
Protecting the health and safety of health care workers is vital to the health of each of us. Preparing for and responding to a future influenza pandemic or to a sustained outbreak of an airborne transmissible disease requires a high-level commitment to respiratory protection for health care workers across the wide range of settings in which they work and the jobs that they perform. Keeping health care workers healthy is an ethical commitment both in terms of addressing the occupational risks faced by health care workers and of providing for the continuity of patient care and services needed to maintain the health of individuals and communities. During a public health emergency, challenges w...
Any strategy to cope with an influenza pandemic must be based on the knowledge and tools that are available at the time an epidemic may occur. In the near term, when we lack an adequate supply of vaccine and antiviral medication, strategies that rely on social distancing and physical barriers will be relatively more prominent as means to prevent spread of disease. The use of respirators and facemasks is one key part of a larger strategy to establish barriers and increase distance between infected and uninfected individuals. Respirators and facemasks may have a role in both clinical care and community settings. Reusability of Facemasks During an Influenza Pandemic: Facing the Flu answers a sp...
Before effective treatments were introduced in the 1950s, tuberculosis was a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Health care workers were at particular risk. Although the occupational risk of tuberculosis has been declining in recent years, this new book from the Institute of Medicine concludes that vigilance in tuberculosis control is still needed in workplaces and communities. Tuberculosis in the Workplace reviews evidence about the effectiveness of control measuresâ€"such as those recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionâ€"intended to prevent transmission of tuberculosis in health care and other workplaces. It discusses whether proposed regulations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would likely increase or sustain compliance with effective control measures and would allow adequate flexibility to adapt measures to the degree of risk facing workers.
Maintaining the health and safety of workers in the United States and globally is accomplished in part by reducing hazardous exposures through the use of personal protective equipment. Personal protective technologies (PPT) include respirators worn by construction workers and miners; protective clothing, respirators, and gloves worn by firefighters and mine rescue workers; and respirators and protective clothing worn by healthcare workers. An estimated 5 million workers are required to wear respirators in 1.3 million U.S. workplaces. For some occupations, such as firefighting, the worker's protective equipment is the only form of protection against life-threatening hazards; for other workers...
The threat of domestic terrorism today looms larger than ever. Bombings at the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City's Federal Building, as well as nerve gas attacks in Japan, have made it tragically obvious that American civilians must be ready for terrorist attacks. What do we need to know to help emergency and medical personnel prepare for these attacks? Chemical and Biological Terrorism identifies the R&D efforts needed to implement recommendations in key areas: pre-incident intelligence, detection and identification of chemical and biological agents, protective clothing and equipment, early recognition that a population has been covertly exposed to a pathogen, mass casualty decontaminati...
NIOSH and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) share responsibility for overseeing respiratory protection in the workplace and have established regulations for this purpose. Specifically, NIOSH has issued regulations which define respirator testing and certification. OSHA has issued regulations which define conditions under which employers are required to maintain respiratory protection programs in general industry, shipyards, marine terminals, and construction. In 2005, NIOSH contracted with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to study the NIOSH-sponsored Anthrotech study along with its supporting information and reports, and to examine and report on the adequacy and relevan...
Respiratory diseases caused by exposures to dangerous materials in the workplace have tremendous implications for worker health and, by extension, the national economy. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimates that deaths from work-related respiratory diseases and cancers account for about 70% of all occupational disease deaths. NIOSH conducts research in order to detect and reduce work-related hazardous exposures, injuries, and diseases; its Respiratory Disease Research Program (RDRP) focuses on respiratory diseases. This National Research Council book reviews the RDRP to evaluate the 1) relevance of its work to improvements in occupational safety and heal...