Centers for Disease Cont And Prevention

Este gu a contiene recomendaciones y descripciones de las normas de seguridad y salud obligatorias y de otras regulaciones]. Se trata de una gu a de consulta con contenido informativo, cuya intenci n es ayudar a los empleadores a que proporcionen un lugar de trabajo seguro y saludable. La Ley de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional exige que los empleadores cumplan con normas y regulaciones de salud y seguridad promulgadas por OSHA o por un estado con un plan aprobado por OSHA. Adicionalmente, la Cl usula General del Deber (General Duty Clause) de la ley, en su Secci n 5(a)(1), exige a los empleadores que proporcionen a sus empleados un lugar de trabajo libre de peligros reconocidos que puedan causarles la muerte o graves da os f sicos.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-596) assures, insofar as possible, safe and healthful working conditions for every working man and woman in the Nation. The act charges the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) with recommending occupational safety and health standards and describing exposure concentrations that are safe for various periods of employment, including but not limited to the concentrations at which no worker will suffer diminished health, functional capacity, or life expectancy as a result of his or her work experience. Under that charge and by a 1974 contract, NIOSH and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration jointly undertook the evaluation of sampling and analytical methods for airborne contaminants to determine if current methods met the criterion to produce a result that fell within 25% of the true concentration 95% of the time. In 1995, that protocol was revised. The Components for Evaluation of Direct-Reading Monitors for Gases and Vapors expands the 1995 method development and evaluation experimental testing methods to direct-reading monitors for gases and vapors. It further refines the previous guidelines by applying the most recent research technology and giving additional experimental designs that more fully evaluate monitor performance. This Addendum to the Components document expands the applicability of the Components by presenting methods to be used in evaluating direct-reading monitors for hazard detection in First Responder environments, including those related to incidents involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The Addendum contains a standardized test protocol and performance acceptance criteria for evaluating commercially available, direct-reading monitors in a style similar to the Components document. The Components for Evaluation of Direct-Reading Monitors for Gases and Vapors presents methods to be used in evaluating direct-reading monitors for use in workplace compliance determinations. The Addendum contains a standardized test protocol and performance acceptance criteria for evaluating commercially available, direct-reading monitors in a style similar to the Components document.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the Federal agency responsible for occupational safety and health research. In collaboration with its many partners, NIOSH is committed to the collection, analysis, dissemination, and use of data describing the prevalence of disease and health risk factors among workers in the United States. The National Academies has urged greater use of injury and illness data at the national level to identify priorities, focus resources, and evaluate prevention program effectiveness. The Occupational Research Group at the University of Miami is illustrative of an extramural partnership which complements NIOSH intramural programs of surveillance and research. Using population health data collected through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), they have successfully undertaken a broadly based research program that describes employed worker's disability, disease, health care access, health behaviors and mortality among occupational groups and industry sectors. With the second decade of NORA, NIOSH is developing strategies and programs to better move research to practice within workplaces, using an industry sector-based approach to define high priority needs. The Occupational Research Group at the University of Miami has since completed extensive analyses describing the prevalence of disability, morbidity, mortality, and injury & disease burden among workers employed within the eight NORA sector groups identified in 2006: Agriculture, forestry and Fishing; Mining; Construction; Manufacturing; Wholesale and Retail Trade; Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities; Services; and Healthcare and Social Assistance. This report is one of a series of reports developed to describe the prevalence of disability and morbidity among current workers within these eight sectors. Survey data from the years 1997-2007 were used to describe the five aspects of worker's health, including (1) health status, (2) physical activity limitations or disability, (3) prevalent chronic conditions (cancer, hypertension, heart disease, asthma, diabetes, and severe psychological distress); (4) access to and use of health care services; and (5) health risk factors or behaviors. The report was developed as a descriptive resource to supplement ongoing research, and guide occupational health research and research-to-practice activities within industry. Additionally, the information in this report will facilitate a Total Worker Health(TM) approach to occupational safety and health research. NIOSH increasingly sees the value of integrating occupational safety and health programs that safeguard workers from work-related hazards and programs that promote overall well-being. This report provides data on characteristics of workers health that must be better understood to fulfill the mandate to assure safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources.