NIOSH Construction Safety Program and asbestos in the workplace

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Program takes input and contributions from construction sector customers and stakeholder groups who have knowledge and concern about the safety and health of workers. Partners add expertise or specialized experience to the research team, which benefits the research, analysis, interpretation, and communication of the results. In recent years, there has been an increase in multiple partner projects that bring together various key players involved with a given construction issue. Although asbestos is not yet banned, this can only be good for reducing the incidence of asbestos-related diseases in the future.

The National Research Agenda (NORA), a partnership program to stimulate innovative research and improved workplace practices, became a framework for occupational safety and health research in the nation in 1996. The NORA seeks to facilitate the most important research, understand the most effective intervention strategies, and learn how to implement those strategies to identify the most critical issues in workplace safety and health and to achieve sustained improvements in workplace practice through diverse parties' collaboration. Representing all stakeholders, the councils use an open process to set goals, develop strategies, encourage partnerships, and promote improved workplace practices. Eight NORA Sector Programs represent industrial sectors, and twenty-four Cross-sector Programs organized around adverse health outcomes, statutory programs and global efforts.

The NIOSH and its partners have completed numerous research projects to address construction safety and health issues. The NIOSH Research Projects are:

Harness Design and Sizing
Electrical Injury Prevention System
Lab Testing of Adjustable Roof Bracket-Safety Rail Assembly
Sensory-Enhanced Balance Control at Elevated Workplaces
Evaluating Roadway Construction Work Zone Interventions
Tag-based Proximity Warning System for Construction Equipment
A Performance Evaluation of Power Line Proximity Warning Systems
Preventing Deaths and Injuries in Excavation and Trench Work
Control Technology Assistance for the Construction Industry
Hearing Loss Intervention for Carpenters
Evaluation of Safety Training for Spanish-Speaking Roadway Workers
Parkinson's Disease: Welders & Workers Exposed to Manganese
Molecular mechanisms and chemoprevention of Ultraviolet (UV)-induced carcinogenesis
Global Silica Information Dissemination
Toolbox Lessons for Small Business Construction Supervisors
Evaluation of Trenching/Evacuation Safety Awareness Training
Development of Workplace Solutions and Other Publications
Health Effects of Asphalt Exposure: Development of a REL
Evaluating Toolbox Training in Construction and Mining

and many more.

The review and evaluation of the NIOSH Construction Program are done by the national academies. The National Academies were asked to evaluate what NIOSH research programs are producing and to determine the extent to which NIOSH research is responsible for changes in the workplace that reduce the risk of occupational injuries, illnesses, and deaths. This evaluation is being undertaken by the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine in the National Academies.

In the past few years, the rate of workplace fatalities has declined. The declines were driven by changes among specialty trades contractors (NAICS 238), whose total recordable case incidence rate declined from 7.3 to 6.8 cases per 100 full-time workers. The number of cases and the incidence rate remained relatively unchanged in 2004 for the two remaining three-digit NAICS industries within Construction-NAICS 236 (Construction of Buildings) and NAICS 237 (Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction).

The construction program has developed and evolved over time. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has a continuous vision for the future of construction to produce highly effective prevention practices and products which are adopted in the workplace.

The NIOSH Construction Program is developing strategic goals to guide the construction program research and partnership efforts over the next decade. This planning forces NIOSH staff to focus where think they can make an impact rather than covering everything they have authority for. The planning should also result in better performance measures for workplace safety programs.

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