Health Hazard Evaluations

Do you think a health hazard exists in your workplace? Do any of the following stories resemble situations at your workplace?

• A factory worker was feeling numbness and tingling in her fingers. She learned that three coworkers had the same problem, and two had headaches while at work but not over the weekend. Some workers said the air at work smelled bad. Their supervisor noticed the smell but didn’t think it was anything to worry about.
  
  
• A manager noticed that employees in one work area had more skin rashes in the past year than the year before. He wanted to know why, but didn’t know what to do.
  
  
• A work crew was putting cement tiles on a roof. They were working outside, but the air seemed dusty. The saws used to cut the tiles were noisy. Someone told them that this work was dangerous and they should have it checked out.

At no cost to employers or employees, or their representatives, the NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) program may be able to help with problems like these. This site lets you know about the program and how to ask for NIOSH help. It also has links to reports from thousands of HHEs done by NIOSH.

New Health Hazard Evaluations

 

Manufacturing Sector –Evaluation of heat-related illnesses.
NIOSH responded to a confidential employee request at a glass bottle manufacturer concerning heat-related illnesses among employees in the forming department. HHE program researchers performed a survey of the forming department, interviewed department employees, reviewed OSHA 300 logs, and took heat measurements. Researchers found that employees were not exposed to excessive heat at the time of the NIOSH investigation, but may be exposed to higher heat levels during the summer months. HHE program researchers recommended that facility managers develop and implement educational and surveillance programs regarding hot work environments, and allow employees to take unscheduled breaks if they feel ill due to the hot conditions. Researchers also recommended that a preventative maintenance schedule be set up for facility coolers. HHE program researchers recommended that employees alert their supervisors if they begin to feel ill due to the heat, drink plenty of fluids, and create a buddy system to watch for signs of heat-related conditions in coworkers. The final report is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2003-0311-3052.pdf.

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