| AIHA | American Industrial Hygiene Association |
| ALFORD | Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational Respiratory Diseases |
| ALOSH | Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational Safety and Health |
| AMT | 3-amino-5-mercapto-1,2,4,-triazole |
| AOEC | Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics |
| APR | Air Purifying Respirators |
| ASTM | American Society for Testing and Materials |
| ATS | American Thoracic Society |
| ATSDR | Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry |
| BAPW |
Building Air Protection Workgroup |
| BDS | Biological Detection Systems |
| BLS | Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| BRDPI | Biomedical Research and Development Price Index |
| BRFSS | Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Survey |
| BSC | Board of Scientific Counselors |
| CBR | Chemical, Biological, or Radiological |
| CBRN |
Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear |
| CDC | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
| COPD |
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease |
| CPWR | Center to Protect Workers’ Rights |
| CWP | Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis |
| CSTE | Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists |
| DART | Division of Applied Research and Technology |
| DBBS |
Division of Biological and Behavioral Sciences |
| DHS |
Department of Homeland Security |
| DHHS | Department of Health and Human Services |
| DOD | Department of Defense |
| DOE | Department of Energy |
| DOI | Department of the Interior |
| DPSE | Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering |
| DRDS | Division of Respiratory Disease Studies |
| DSHEFS |
Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies |
| DSR | Division of Safety Research |
| EC | Evaluation Committees |
| ECWHSP |
Enhanced Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program |
| EID | Education and Information Division |
| EPA | Environmental Protection Agency |
| FBI | Federal Bureau of Investigation |
| FC |
Framework Committee |
| FDA | Food and Drug Administration |
| FDNY | Fire Department of New York |
| FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency |
| FEV1 | Forced Expiratory Volume in One Second |
| FTE | Full-Time Equivalent |
| HELD | Health Effects Laboratory Division |
| HEPA | High-Efficiency Particulate Aerosol |
| HETA | HHE and Technical Assistance |
| HHE | Health Hazard Evaluation |
| IARC | International Agency for Research on Cancer |
| ILO | International Labour Office |
| ILSI | International Life Sciences Institute |
| IOM | Institute of Medicine |
| ISO | International Standards Organization |
| JEM | Job-Exposure Matrix |
| MDI |
Methylenebis (phenylisocyancite) |
| MESA | Mine Enforcement and Safety Administration |
| MINER | Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response |
| MMWR | Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report |
| MOU | Memorandum of Understanding |
| MRE |
Mining Research Establishment of the National Coal Board, London, England |
| MSHA | Mine Safety and Health Administration |
| NA | National Academies |
| NACOSH | National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health |
| NCEH | National Center for Environmental Health |
| NCHS | National Center for Health Statistics |
| NCI | National Cancer Institute |
| NCID | National Center for Infectious Diseases |
| NFPA | National Fire Protection Association |
| NHANES | National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey |
| NHIS | National Health Interview Survey |
| NHLBI | National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute |
| NIEHS | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences |
| NIH | National Institutes of Health |
| NIOSH | National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health |
| NMAM | NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods |
| NOHSM | National Occupational Health Survey of Mining |
| NORA | National Occupational Research Agenda |
| NORMS | National Occupational Respiratory Mortality System |
| NPPTL | National Personal Protective Technology Lab |
| NSCWP | National Study of Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis |
| NSSPM | National Surveillance System of Pneumoconiosis Mortality |
| NTP | National Toxicology Program |
| OHC | Office of Health Communications |
| OMB | Office of Management and Budget |
| ORA | Office of Regulatory Analysis |
| ORDS | Occupational Respiratory Disease Surveillance |
| OSHA | Occupational Safety and Health Administration |
| PAPR | Powered Air Purifying Respirator |
| PART | Program Assessment Rating Tool |
| PCR | Polymerase Chain Reaction |
| PEL | Permissible Exposure Limit |
| PHS | Public Health Service |
| PPE | Personal Protective Equipment |
| PRL | Pittsburgh Research Laboratory |
| R2P |
Research to Practice |
| RCF | Refractory Ceramic Fibers |
| RDRP | Respiratory Diseases Research Program |
| REL | Recommended Exposure Limit |
| SARS | Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome |
| SENSOR | Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risks |
| SPIROLA | Spirometry Longitudinal Data Analysis |
| SRL | Spokane Research Laboratory |
| TB | Tuberculosis |
| TC | Total Carbon |
| TDI | Toluene Diisocyanate |
| TIL |
Total inward leakage |
| TNF-a | Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha |
| UMWA | United Mine Workers of America |
| USPS | United States Postal Service |
| UVGI | Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation |
| VA | Veterans’ Administration |
| VOC | Volatile Organic Compound |
| WHO | World Health Organization |
| WoRLD | Work-Related Lung Disease |
| WRA | Work-Related Asthma |
| WTC |
World Trade Center |
Executive Summary | 1.1 Overview 
