Authoritative Recommendations and Development

NIOSH is looked upon as an unbiased, highly-credible government agency and, as such, many NIOSH products are perceived to be authoritative in nature. The Authoritative Recommendations Program of the NIOSH Program Portfolio includes those activities involving NIOSH documents and communication products that contain policy statements such that they require NIOSH policy review and projects whose primary aim is to develop, distribute and evaluate the impact of such documents. The most recognized products in this activity include Recommended Exposure Limits (RELs), Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health values (IDLH), respirator certifications, and quantitative risk assessments. Additional products and activities include: CIBs; Alerts; Hazard Reviews; Workplace Solutions; Webpages; Recommended Practices – engineering controls, safe work practices, PPE, exposure monitoring, medical monitoring; Site specific reports; all NIOSH numbered publications; written comments to other national or international governmental agencies or non-governmental organizations; written testimony from NIOSH in response to rule-making by other government agencies; and testimony presented by NIOSH at regulatory hearings.