A dozen workers die almost every day in the U.S. as a result of a traumatic injury on the job. In order to identify the factors that contribute to these fatal injuries, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducts investigations through its Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program.

On October 1, the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) enters its third decade. Unveiled in 1996, NORA is a partnership program to stimulate innovative research and improved workplace practices. Through NORA, diverse parties come together to create a research framework for the nation, including stakeholders from universities, large and small businesses, professional societies, government agencies, and worker organizations. NIOSH is proud to continue its role as steward of NORA.

The “S” in NIOSH could stand for science, super, or spectacular but as we all know (and maybe sometimes forget) it stands for safety. Safety is a critical part of the NIOSH mission: safety and health at work for all people through research and prevention.

A system for improving the safety and efficiency of construction equipment is the aim of a three-year, $650,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to a team of researchers from Penn State and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

There is a lack of existing information regarding the variety and magnitude of chemical exposure risks to oil and gas extraction workers. To determine if risks are present, NIOSH wants to develop partnerships with the oil and gas extrac¬tion industry to identify, characterize and (if needed) control workplace chemical exposures.