NIOSH Releases Plan for Addressing Native American Workplace Risks
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has developed a strategic plan for addressing occupational safety and health risks faced by Native Americans and Alaska Natives, NIOSH Director John Howard, MD, announced April 4.
There are nearly 3 million AI/AN workers in the United States, the institute reported in its April eNews, but little information exists on the occupational safety and health risks American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) workers face.
The highest number of AI/AN workers are employed in office and administrative support, sales, management, transportation and material moving, and food preparation and serving, according to NIOSH. Many also are employed by tribal enterprises in food production, housing, livestock, manufacturing products, medical care, and tourism.
Few published studies have specifically looked at occupational safety and health risks among AI/AN workers, so NIOSH developed the strategic plan, in collaboration with tribes, tribal-serving organizations, academia, state and local health departments, and U.S. government agencies, to address the knowledge gap.
The strategic plan has four areas of focus—research, practice, policy, and capacity-building—to help prevent occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities among AI/AN workers.
Initiatives under the strategic plan include the following:
- Developing partnerships,
- Establishing research priorities,
- Guiding grant writing,
- Enhancing internal capacity, and
- Implementing local worker safety and health activities.
NIOSH research, reports
NIOSH also announced the results of recently concluded occupational health research. Institute researchers looked at skin disorders—irritation and rashes—caused by cleaning and disinfecting products containing alcohol, bleach, and chemicals known as quaternary ammonium compounds among workers in a Midwest healthcare facility. Researchers found the odds of having skin disorders were about three times greater among workers using alcohol-containing products and about two times greater for those using bleach or quaternary ammonium compounds compared with workers who don’t use cleaning and disinfecting products.
Glove use was about 9 times higher for workers using bleach compared with workers using alcohol and 13 times higher for workers using quaternary ammonium compounds compared with workers using alcohol.
Researchers concluded that healthcare worker training should include ways to minimize the risks of exposure to cleaning and disinfecting products—methods that would include wearing proper personal protective equipment (PPE) like gloves.
Another study looked at occupational heat exposures for crop and construction workers in Washington state. Researchers looked at patterns of days at or above maximum daily temperature thresholds of 80 degrees Fahrenheit (F), 85ºF, 89ºF, 90ºF, and 95ºF for agricultural and construction workers.
Researchers found that Central Washington, which has a large number of crop workers, had the highest number of days at or above heat thresholds of ≥90°F and ≥95°F. Days when heat thresholds were exceeded overlapped with summer peaks in outdoor employment. NIOSH researchers therefore stressed the importance of understanding occupational heat exposure in different geographical areas over time.
NIOSH also announced the availability of several Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) reports, including reports on a Washington state cannabis store worker who was shot in an armed robbery, a farm laborer who died when struck by a tomato harvester, a dairy farmworker who died when a tractor rolled down an embankment, and a freight clerk who was crushed by a trailer at a store loading dock.
