Reflections on NIOSH

Fifty-five years ago, a Democratic Congress and a Republication Administration enacted a piece of landmark legislation to assure that “every man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources.”

The new law enjoyed enormous support. The vote in the Senate was 83-3 and the vote was 310-58 in the House.

Signed by President Richard M. Nixon, the Occupational Safety and Health Act created two agencies to help ensure achievement of that lofty goal – the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) within the Department of Health and Human Services.

But this Administration is no fan of working people, nor of the federal agencies that help protect and support them. The DOGE team plans to close 11 OSHA offices (here, here), and this week we learned that they will lay off about two-thirds of the staff at NIOSH, effectively destroying the agency.

Without so much as a handshake or a thank you for your service. Just a quick kick out the door.

So much for research, information, training, and certification of personal protective equipment. The Trump Administration’s message to our nation’s workers is clear: Tough luck, suckers; you’re on your own.

Some Memories

NIOSH holds a special place in my heart. I was fortunate enough to work there, including some time as the agency’s  Acting Director.  Then and to this day, you could not ask for a more honorable, dedicated, competent, and caring cadre of worker health and safety professionals. Serving alongside them was the highlight of my professional career.

As the NIOSH Director, I was in Anchorage, Alaska on September 11, 2001 – visiting the local NIOSH field station.  Early that morning, I was awakened by a call from my DC-based NIOSH Deputy Director. “Get up”, he said…” Turn on the TV.”

This Administration is no fan of working people, nor of the federal agencies that help protect and support them.

Planes had just hit the twin towers at World Trade Center (WTC). All passengers aboard were instantly killed, and employees of the WTC were trapped above the 91^st floor, some, ultimately jumping to their deaths to avoid the fire.  Shortly thereafter, another hijacked flight crashed into the Pentagon, killing all 64 people on the plane and 125 people in the Pentagon.

All air traffic in the U.S. was grounded that day.  I caught the first plane out of Anchorage the next day – back to DC.  We immediately deployed a team of NIOSH experts to the WTC site to help protect first responders and rescue and recovery workers with respirators and other personal protective equipment. They remained there on the ground – on the pile — for weeks, as we worked with NIOSH and CDC leadership to further coordinate response.

Several weeks later, we found ourselves in post offices and in Capitol Hill offices sampling for anthrax. (See here, here).  I remember sleeping with my beeper, and taking calls from  Senators who wanted their offices sampled — pronto.

So many memories…. This is just a snapshot of some of the more memorable.  But as I think back, what stands out is really the day-to-day engagement in a critical mission with a stalwart and tireless staff of committed colleagues.  It was a joy and honor to have had that time with them.

Some Highlights

NIOSH is the world’s premier worker health and safety research institute, but it’s far from a research think tank. Its research is specifically designed to help keep workers safe and healthy — with a focus on relevance, quality, and impact. It is practical, translatable, and directly relevant to informing the establishment of occupational safety and health standards by OSHA and MSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration. It is sector and cross-sector based, with core programs in safety, hearing loss, respiratory health, injury prevention, and disease and injury surveillance.

But there’s more than research in this small, mighty, and chronically underfunded agency. For example,

• The National Personal Protective Technology Lab and Personal Protective Technology (PPT) Program, which focuses on preventing work-related injury, illness, and death by advancing the state of knowledge and application of PPT.  Thus, supporting the millions of U.S. workers who rely on this equipment (e.g., respirators, coveralls, gowns, gloves, eye protection, etc.) to protect them from workplace hazards.
• The Engineering Controls Program , which develops and tests engineering controls for their effectiveness at reducing exposures to chemical, biological, and physical hazards.
• The National Firefighter Registry (NFR) for Cancer , which is the largest effort ever undertaken to understand and reduce risk of cancer among U.S. firefighters.
• The Health Hazard Evaluations (HHEs) Program, which provides a no-cost service for employers, unions, and workers to help them learn whether health hazards are present at their workplace and recommends ways to reduce hazards and prevent work-related illness.
• Surveillance programs, e.g., Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES); work-related asthma surveillance,
• The creation and support of Education and Research Centers (ERCs)
• The Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program, which investigates fatalities, identifies hazards, and shares findings with employers, safety professionals, and workers to prevent similar fatalities.
• Funding 20 years of research on construction workers safety and health, and partnering with the Center for Construction Research and Training  (CPWR)
• The Safety, Skills, and Ready Workforce Program, which designs, implements, and evaluates foundational occupational safety and health (OSH) training programs for young workers (ages 15–24), contingent workers (those with a job they do not expect to last, such as temporary agency, contract, and on-demand workers), and workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• And what will happen to the World Trade Center Health Program without the leadership of Dr. John Howard, NIOSH director – a casualty of the cuts? ( See more here, here)

Bottom Line and Some Good News

Gutting NIOSH will have a real and impact on health, safety, and wellbeing of our nation’s workers. Collectively, we will lose a critical evidence base for health and safety standards and other protections.

Do the young DOGE Bros know that the vast majority of workplace illnesses, injuries, and deaths are entirely preventable? If so, why would this administration decimate this nation’s only federal agency conducting research, surveillance, and prevention programs needed to stem the tide?

Losing NIOSH is an assault on workers. The administration may think that it’s doing its corporate cheerleaders a favor, but it’s actually a blow to employers who rely on the agency for knowledge, information, and advice on keeping their workers safe and healthy.

“This wasn’t just a job for us.  It was and remains a calling.”

Talk about waste, fraud, and abuse.

But here’s the good news.  Friends of NIOSH and our nation’s workers are energized and speaking out. (See here, here, here, here.)  Mr. Musk may hold the headlines right now, but he can’t shut us up.  He will never erase the NIOSH mission from the current and former NIOSH staff.

This wasn’t just a job for us.  It was and remains a calling.