The American Industrial Hygiene Association announced on April 9 it is taking action to restore staff and funding to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the face of federal cuts.
Created by the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act, NIOSH is the agency within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that is responsible for conducting research and making recommendations to prevent work-related illnesses and injuries. Reductions to NIOSH personnel planned by the Trump administration will leave “only a fraction of its original workforce to manage select programs,” said AIHA CEO Lawrence Sloan. “The proposed reductions effectively end the institute's ability to conduct essential research and provide guidance.”
The scope of the cuts is “unprecedented, affecting not just the staff and programmatic activities of NIOSH, but also the entire OEHS profession,” according to one industrial hygienist remaining at NIOSH, who did not have permission to speak on the record and therefore asked to remain anonymous. “The scientific resources, expertise, and funding that NIOSH provides cannot be recreated elsewhere.”
AIHA’s campaign to restore NIOSH, announced via email to its membership and a post by the association’s LinkedIn account, encourages professionals in OEHS and allied fields to contact their elected representatives about the importance of maintaining NIOSH staffing and programs.
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