Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and Surveillance

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) requested comments on the draft guidance document, Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and Surveillance, NIOSH Docket Number: NIOSH 223. Upon completion of the public comment period, NIOSH responded to all comments and have now utilized these comments to produce a newly revised ERHMS document which is currently available on the NIOSH docket.

Following the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, concerns were raised regarding the ability of the emergency response community to ensure the safety and health of all workers involved in a large scale, complex emergency response. More recent disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, continue to reveal the gaps which exist in the safety and health programs utilized during large scale emergency events.

This draft document proposes a new framework for ensuring responder safety and health by monitoring and conducting surveillance of their health and safety during the entire cycle of emergency response, including the pre-deployment, deployment, and post-deployment phases of a response. The proposed system is referred to as the “Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and Surveillance (ERHMS)” system, and includes a guidance section describing the principles involved in ensuring optimal responder safety and health, as well as tools which can be utilized to help facilitate the execution of these principles during an actual response.

Material Under Consideration

Notice; 76 FR 6475; draft publication available for public comment; Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and Surveillance; 2/4/11 [PDF - 1,199 KB]

Draft publication 1.2 Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and Surveillance; 2/1/11 [PDF - 150,924 KB]

Revised Document in Response to Comments

Revised document Draft 2.0 – Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and Surveillance; 8/1/11 [PDF - 9,759 KB]

NIOSH Responses to Comments/Submissions

Charge to the peer reviewers; 2/4/11 [PDF - 1,946 KB]

List of peer reviewers and affiliations; posted 2/4/11 [PDF - 462 KB]

NIOSH responses to peer reviewer comments; posted 5/17/11 [PDF - 17,213 KB]

NIOSH responses to submissions; posted 5/17/11 [PDF - 36,698 KB]

Submissions in Order of Receipt

Submission to the docket from Steven Kipp (Tip Top Search and Rescue); 2/15/11 [PDF - 409 KB]

Submission to the docket from Carol Cunningham (Ohio Department of Public Safety); 2/16/11 [PDF - 527 KB]

Submission to the docket from Antonio Hernandez (Arizona Department of Health Services); 2/24/11 [PDF - 495 KB]

Submission to the docket from Earl Hall (Avon Fire Department); 2/25/11 [PDF - 387 KB]

Submission to the docket from Penny Wolf-McCormick (Oregon/OSHA); 2/28/11 [PDF - 491 KB]

Submission to the docket from Steve Williamson (American Ambulance Association); 3/4/11 [PDF - 1,490 KB]

Submission to the docket from Connie Meyer (National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians); 3/11/11 [PDF - 980 KB]

Submission to the docket from Dario Gonzalez (FDNY/Office of Medical Affairs); 3/11/11 [PDF - 1,939 KB]

Submission to the docket from Leslee Stein-Spencer (National Association of State EMS Officials (NASAMSO));3/15/11 [PDF - 563 KB]

Submission to the docket from Dave Newman (New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health (NYCOSH); 3/28/11 [PDF - 11,507 KB]

Submission to the docket from Carol Rice (University of Cincinnati, ERC); 3/31/11 [PDF - 1,006 KB]

Submission to the docket from Thomas Zink (Saint Louis University Institute for Biosecurity); 3/31/11 [PDF - 1,633 KB]

Submission to the docket from Alice Freund (Mt.Sinai Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine); 4/4/11 [PDF - 1,936 KB]

Submission to the docket from Eileen Senn (Private person); 4/4/11 [PDF - 7,660 KB]

Submission to the docket from Private person; 4/5/11 [PDF - 599 KB]

Submission to the docket from Barry Wante (Brigham and Women’s Hospital); 4/5/11 [PDF - 916 KB]

Submission to the docket from Deborah Weinstock (National Clearinghouse for Worker Safety and Health Training); 4/5/11 [PDF - 8,066 KB]

Submission to the docket from Maggie Elestwani (Collaborative for People with Disabilities); 4/5/11 [PDF - 1,227 KB]

Submission to the docket from Stella Guarna (New York City Office of Emergency); 4/5/11 [PDF - 1,411 KB]

Submission to the docket from Thomas Merrill (New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene); 4/5/11 [PDF - 2,203 KB]

Submission to the docket from Laura Cerminara (NJ Department of Law and Public Safety); 4/5/11 [PDF - 590 KB]

Submission to the docket from William Lenczuk (Tutor-Perini Civil); 4/6/11 [PDF - 499 KB]