 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | April 28, 1971; 54 years ago (1971-04-28) |
| Preceding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Employees | ~1,200 |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent department | Department of Health and Human Services |
| Parent agency | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
| Website | cdc |
TheNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH,/ˈnaɪɒʃ/) is theUnited States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-relatedinjury,illness, disability, anddeath. Its functions include gathering information, conducting scientific research both in the laboratory and in the field, and translating the knowledge gained into products and services.[1] Among NIOSH's programs are determination ofrecommended exposure limits for toxic chemicals and other hazards, field research such as theHealth Hazard Evaluation Program, epidemiology and health surveillance programs such as theNational Firefighter Registry for Cancer, regulatory approval of respirators according to theNIOSH air filtration rating system, and compensation and support programs such as theWorld Trade Center Health Program.
TheOccupational Safety and Health Act, signed byPresidentRichard M. Nixon on December 29, 1970, created NIOSH out of the preexistingDivision of Industrial Hygiene founded in 1914. NIOSH is part of theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention within theDepartment of Health and Human Services (HHS). Despite the similarities in names, it is not part of theNational Institutes of Health orOSHA, which have distinct and separate responsibilities.[2]
NIOSH is headquartered inWashington, D.C., with research laboratories and offices inCincinnati,Morgantown,Pittsburgh,Denver,Anchorage,Spokane, andAtlanta.[3] NIOSH is a professionally diverse organization with a staff of 1,200 people representing a wide range of disciplines includingoccupational epidemiology,occupational toxicology,medicine,industrial hygiene,safety,research psychology, engineering, chemistry, and statistics.
As part of the announced2025 HHS reorganization, a small piece of NIOSH is planned to be integrated into the newAdministration for a Healthy America.[4] On April 1, 93% of NIOSH's staff was told they were being fired.[5][6] This most strongly impacted itsmining safety research andrespirator approval programs,[7] with its laboratory inSpokane, Washington,[8] and theNational Personal Protective Technology Laboratory in Pittsburgh expected to close completely,[7] as well as theNational Firefighter Registry for Cancer.[9][10] Operations at the Morgantown, West Virginia, campus also ceased on April 1 as staff were placed on leave and instructed to leave the building, ending its research into emerging threats to workers.[11][12] The cuts included all staff of the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program which offered free health care for coal workers, including a mobile x-ray van that screened workers for signs of black lung disease.[13]
Unlike its counterpart, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, NIOSH's authority under theOccupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. § 671) is to "develop recommendations for health and safety standards", to "develop information on safe levels of exposure to toxic materials and harmful physical agents and substances", and to "conduct research on new safety and health problems". NIOSH may also "conduct on-site investigations (Health Hazard Evaluations) to determine the toxicity of materials used in workplaces" and "fund research by other agencies or private organizations through grants, contracts, and other arrangements".[1]
Also, pursuant to its authority granted to it by theMine Safety and Health Act of 1977, NIOSH may "develop recommendations for mine health standards for theMine Safety and Health Administration", "administer a medical surveillance program for miners, including chest X‑rays to detectpneumoconiosis (black lung disease) in coal miners", "conduct on-site investigations in mines similar to those authorized for general industry under the Occupational Safety and Health Act; and "test and certifypersonal protective equipment and hazard-measurement instruments".[1]
Under42 CFR84, NIOSH has the right to issue and revoke certifications forrespirators, such as theN95.[14] Currently, NIOSH is the only body authorized to regulate respirators, and hastrademark rights to theNIOSH air filtration ratings.[15]
NIOSH determinesrecommended exposure limits andimmediately dangerous to life or health levels for toxic chemicals and other hazards, which are published in various types of publications.
Criteria Documents contain recommendations for the prevention of occupational diseases and injuries. These documents are submitted to theOccupational Safety and Health Administration or theMine Safety and Health Administration for consideration in their formulation of legally binding safety and health standards.
Current Intelligence Bulletins analyze new information about occupational health and safety hazards.
TheNIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods contains recommendedstandard methods for collection, sampling and analysis of contaminants in the workplace and industrial hygiene samples, including air filters, biological fluids, wipes and bulks for occupationally relevant analytes.[16]
TheNIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards informs workers, employers, and occupational health professionals about workplace chemicals and their hazards.[17]
NIOSH conductsfield research through a number of programs:
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The National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) is a research center within NIOSH located inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, devoted to research onpersonal protective equipment (PPE). NPPTL was created in 2001 at the request of the U.S.Congress, in response to a recognized need for improved research in PPE technologies.[20][21] It focuses on experimentation and recommendations forrespirator masks, by ensuring a level of standard filter efficiency, and develops criteria for testing and developing PPE.[20][21][22]
The laboratory conducts research and provides recommendations for other types of PPE, including protective clothing, gloves, eye protection, headwear, hearing protection, chemical sensors, and communication devices for safe deployment of emergency workers. It also maintains certification forN95 respirators,[20] and hosts an annual education day for N95 education.[23] Its emergency response research is part of a collaboration with theNational Fire Protection Association.[21]
In the 2010s, the NPPTL has focused onpandemic influenza preparedness,CBRNE incidents, miner PPE, andnanotechnology.[24]
NPPTL is the designated publisher of the NIOSH Certified Equipment List, or CEL. The CEL is a public domain database that details the respirators currently approved by NIOSH, and is ordered separated based on type of respirator, which is designated with a schedule (e.g. TC-84A).[25] The CEL was initially released in paper form on September 30, 1993. However, due to low usage of the paper CEL, as well as the increasing number of respirators approved by NIOSH, aMicrosoft Access-based version of the CEL was released.[26] Initial releases of the CEL had hose and pressure information forair-line respirators. This information had been eliminated due to concerns over users prioritizing the CEL over respirator documentation.[26]
NIOSH's twomining safety research divisions are devoted towards the elimination of mining fatalities, injuries, and illnesses through research and prevention.[27] Mining research done by NIOSH is primarily focused in two locations:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania andSpokane, Washington. The Pittsburgh site focuses on a larger scope of mine safety and health issues, includingdust monitoring and control,mine ventilation,hearing loss prevention and engineering noise controls,diesel particulate monitoring and control, emergency response and rescue, firefighting and prevention, training research, ergonomics and machine safety, mine ground control, electrical safety, explosives safety, surveillance, and technology transfer.[28] The Spokane site primarily focuses on metal and nonmetal mining.[28]
This was originally conducted by theU.S. Bureau of Mines, which was founded in 1910. Following the dissolution of the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1995–1996, its Safety and Health Program was transferred to theDepartment of Energy on an interim basis. In 1997, it was permanently transferred to NIOSH as the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research.[29] In 2015, it was administratively divided into two divisions by location, the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division and the Spokane Mining Research Division.[30]
NIOSH administers the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides medical benefits to specific groups of individuals who were affected by theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001 against theUnited States.[31] The WTC Health Program was established by Title I of theJames Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act in 2011.[32]
Separately, for some claims for cancers that may have been caused by occupational radiation exposure filed under theEnergy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, NIOSH's Division of Compensation Analysis and Support[33] performs aradiation dose reconstruction. NIOSH requests the energy employee's individual exposure records, and interviews the claimant or survivors, and collects all relevant data regarding the individual's work site.[34]
NIOSH certifies physicians, known as B readers, qualified to readradiographic images of various occupational diseases, such as diseases caused bysilica,asbestos, andcoal dust. A list of B Readers can be found on the NIOSH website for the program.[35] B Reader testimony has been used extensively inmesotheliomapersonal injury lawsuits.[36]
NIOSH has several programs inoccupational epidemiology andworkplace health surveillance, including:
NIOSH Education and Research Centers are multidisciplinary centers supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for education and research in the field of occupational health. Through the centers, NIOSH supports academic degree programs and research opportunities, as well as continuing education for OSH professionals.[38] The ERCs, distributed in regions across the United States, establish academic, labor, and industry research partnerships.[39] The research conducted at the centers is related to theNational Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) established by NIOSH.[40]
Founded in 1977, NIOSH ERCs are responsible for nearly half of post-baccalaureate graduates entering occupational health and safety fields. The ERCs focus on industrial hygiene, occupational health nursing, occupational medicine, occupational safety, and other areas of specialization.[41] At many ERCs, students in specific disciplines have their tuition paid in full and receive additional stipend money. ERCs provide a benefit to local businesses by offering reduced price assessments to local businesses.
The Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health (CASH) are a set of 12 NIOSH-funded agencies focused on occupational health in industry involving food or plant products, such asfishing,forestry, andagriculture. The agencies were established in 1990 under the Agricultural Health and Safety Initiative.[42]
TheNational Agricultural Safety Database, which contains citations and summaries ofscholarly journal articles and reports about agricultural health and safety, was developed through the CASH program.
NIOSH has 12 divisions, distributed among eight locations across the United States.[43]
NIOSH's largest location isCincinnati, which has two facilities. The first is the Robert A. Taft Laboratory in theColumbia-Tusculum neighborhood, which hosts the Division of Compensation Analysis and Support and Division of Science Integration.[43] It was named for the then-recently deceased SenatorRobert A. Taft, opened in 1954, and was initially used by for the PHSEnvironmental Health Divisions and their successor theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA).[44][45][46]
The second Cincinnati facility is the Alice Hamilton Laboratory at 5555 Ridge Avenue in thePleasant Ridge neighborhood, which hosts the Division of Field Studies and Engineering.[43] 5555 Ridge Avenue was constructed during 1952–1954 and was initially the headquarters and manufacturing plant ofDisabled American Veterans;[47] PHS leased space in it beginning in 1962,[48] and by 1973 the entire building was leased by the federal government.[47]
NIOSH occupied both buildings in 1976, after EPA moved to the newAndrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center.[49] In 1982, 5555 Ridge Avenue was purchased outright by PHS, and in 1987 it was renamed the Alice Hamilton Laboratory for Occupational Safety and Health, after occupational health pioneerAlice Hamilton.[47]
NIOSH's headquarters are inWashington, D.C., with a branch inAtlanta. The Office of the Director and theWorld Trade Center Health Program are centered at these locations.[43] NIOSH andits direct predecessor has had a presence in the Washington, D.C. area going back to 1918.[50] NIOSH's presence in Atlanta began when the headquarters moved there in 1981,[51] and offices were retained there when the headquarters returned to the Washington area in 1994.[52]
TheMorgantown, West Virginia location hosts the Division of Safety Research, Health Effects Laboratory Division, and Respiratory Health Division.[43] It dates from the Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational Respiratory Diseases created in 1967, and the building opened in 1971.[53] In 1996, a second building adjoining the first opened.[53]
The facilities in thePittsburgh suburb ofBruceton, Pennsylvania host the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division and National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, and theSpokane, Washington location hosts the Spokane Mining Research Division and Western States Division.[43] The locations were inherited from theU.S. Bureau of Mines after it was closed in 1996 and its research activities were transferred to NIOSH. The Pittsburgh campus dated from the beginning of the Bureau of Mines in 1910, and contained the historicExperimental Mine andMine Roof Simulator. The Spokane facility dates from 1951.[54]
The Western States Division also has branch locations inDenver andAnchorage, Alaska.[43] The Denver location was established in the 1970s as a regional office,[55] and the Alaska location was established in 1991.[56][57]
NIOSH's earliest predecessor was theU.S. Public Health Service Office of Industrial Hygiene and Sanitation, established in 1914. It went through several name changes, most notably becoming the Division of Industrial Hygiene and later the Division of Occupational Health.[54][50] Its headquarters were established inWashington, D.C. in 1918, and field stations inSalt Lake City in 1949, and inCincinnati in 1950.[50][51]
NIOSH was created by theOccupational Safety and Health Act of 1970[58] and began operating in May 1971.[50] It was originally part of theHealth Services and Mental Health Administration, and was transferred into what was then called theCenter for Disease Control (CDC) in 1973.[58] NIOSH's initial headquarters were located inRockville, Maryland.[51]
Prior to 1976, NIOSH's Cincinnati operations occupied space at three locations inDowntown Cincinnati, and rented space at 5555 Ridge Avenue in thePleasant Ridge neighborhood.[49] In 1976, staff at the Downtown locations were relocated to the Robert A. Taft Center in theColumbia-Tusculum neighborhood, which theEnvironmental Protection Agency was vacating to occupy the newAndrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center elsewhere in Cincinnati.[49][59]
The Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational Respiratory Diseases, which had been created within the PHS in 1967 to focus onblack lung disease research, was incorporated into NIOSH, and its building inMorgantown, West Virginia was opened in 1971.[53] As of 1976,[update] NIOSH also continued to operate its Salt Lake City facility.[49]
In 1981, the headquarters was moved from Rockville toAtlanta to co-locate with CDC headquarters.[51][60] The headquarters moved back to Washington, D.C. in 1994, though offices were maintained in Atlanta.[52]
When theU.S. Bureau of Mines was closed in 1996, its research activities were transferred to NIOSH along with two facilities in thePittsburgh suburbs and inSpokane, Washington. NIOSH preserved the administrative independence of these activities by placing them in the new Office of Mine Safety and Health Research.[54]
In 1977, NIOSH had ten regional offices throughout the country.[55] These were closed over time, and by 1989 there were regional offices only in Denver and Boston.[61] The Alaska Field Station inAnchorage, Alaska was established in 1991 in response to the state having the highest work-related fatality rate, with SenatorTed Stevens playing a role in its establishment. It later become known as the Alaska Pacific Regional Office, and in 2015, the Denver, Anchorage, and non-mining Spokane staff joined into the Western States Division.[56][57]
In 1996, a large addition was built to the Morgantown facility containing safety engineering and bench laboratories.[53] In 2015, funding was approved for a new facility in Cincinnati to replace the Taft and Hamilton buildings, which were considered to be obsolete.[62] A location for the new facility in theAvondale neighborhood was announced in 2017,[63][64] and proposals from architectural and engineering firms were solicited in 2019.[65]
In 2001, NIOSH was called upon to help clean up Capitol Hill buildings after the2001 anthrax attacks.[66]
In 2025, most NIOSH staff were fired and most of its departments were closed following orders by HHS secretaryRobert F. Kennedy Jr.[67]
The following people were Director of NIOSH:[68]
| No. | Image | Director | Term start | Term end | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Marcus Key | 1971 | 1975 | |
| 2 | John Finklea | 1975 | 1978 | ||
| 3 | Anthony Robbins | 1978 | 1981 | ||
| 4 |  | J. Donald Millar | 1981 | 1993 | |
| acting | Richard Lemen | 1993 | 1994 | ||
| 5 |  | Linda Rosenstock | 1994 | October 31, 2000 | |
| acting | Lawrence J. Fine | November 1, 2000 | June 2001 | [69] | |
| acting | Kathleen Rest | June 2001 | July 14, 2002 | ||
| 6a[a] |  | John Howard | July 15, 2002 | July 14, 2008 | [70] |
| acting | Christine Branche | July 15, 2008 | September 2, 2009 | [71] | |
| 6b[a] | | John Howard | September 3, 2009 | April 1, 2025 | [72][73] |
| acting | Kelley Durst | April 1, 2025 | May 13, 2025 | [74] | |
| 6c[a] | | John Howard | May 13, 2025 | present | [75] |
Table notes
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