NIOSH Hosts 5th Annual Meeting on Worker Safety

Contact: Judi Coyne, (412) 386-5224

For the fifth consecutive year, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will host its annual Personal Protective Technology Program Stakeholder meeting in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, March 21 and Wednesday, March 22.

This meeting is an opportunity for users, manufacturers, researchers, and other interested parties to meet, interact and exchange information with NIOSH researchers and discuss current and future research needs. Several industry experts will present on personal protective technology selection, use, and expectations from their perspectives; integrating their research and experience into the discussion. The meetings offer stakeholders the opportunity to provide input to NIOSH and learn about current personal protective technology activities.

Annually, an estimated 20 million workers rely on personal protective equipment on a regular basis to protect them from various work place hazards. Proper use of this equipment and related technologies protects workers from these threats.

“It is the mission of NIOSH to prevent work-related injuries and deaths by advancing the knowledge and application of occupational safety and health,” says Maryann D’Alessandro, Ph.D., the newly appointed Director of NIOSH’s National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, who is leading the meeting. “One way we meet this goal is through cutting edge research in the development and testing of personal protective equipment to meet the needs of the 21st century workforce.”

Attendees of the program will have the opportunity to take part in eight breakout sessions where they can learn about and provide input on the four industry sectors emphasized in current program activities, which are healthcare workers, mine workers, pesticide handlers, and public safety workers. Day two of the program will offer five two hour workshops on: heat stress, hearing protection, respirator fit testing, pesticide PPT best training techniques, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) respiratory protection programs.

The event’s keynote speaker, Gordan Graham, JD, will discuss personal protective technology selection, use, and expectations. Mr. Graham is a 33-year veteran of California law enforcement and was awarded the California Governor's award for excellence in law enforcement training for his revolutionary law enforcement training program.

The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Pittsburgh International Airport and will be co-sponsored by the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the International Safety Equipment Association.

The mission of the NIOSH Personal Protective Technology (PPT) Program and the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) is to prevent work-related injury, illness, and death by advancing the state of knowledge and application of PPT.

NIOSH is the federal agency that conducts research and makes recommendations for preventing work-related injuries and illnesses. It was established under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. For further information, visit http://www.cdc.gov/niosh.