[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 214 (Monday, November 6, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56060-56061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-27400]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Meeting

    The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
following meeting:

    Name: Setting a National Occupational Research Agenda.
    Time and Date: 9:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., November 30, 1995.
    Place: Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Room 800, 200 Independence 
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201.
    Status: Open to the public, limited only by the space available. 
The room accommodates approximately 100 people.
    Purpose: NIOSH seeks input into the development of a national 
agenda for occupational safety and health research for the next 
decade. The agenda will assist NIOSH and other organizations and 
individual scientists in the public and private sectors to 
coordinate research activities and target the highest scientific 
priorities for preventing work injuries and illnesses in the United 
States.
    The tentative agenda of the meeting includes: (1) An initial 
discussion list of possible items for the national research agenda; 
(2) proposed criteria for establishing research priorities; and, (3) 
the proposed public process for developing the research agenda. The 
remainder of the meeting will provide interested parties with the 
opportunity to comment and make recommendations on research 
priorities, criteria, and the process. Research priorities for 
consideration include health effects, hazardous exposures, work 
environments, industries, occupations, and populations associated 
with significant occupational disease, injury, disability, 
fatalities, or topics of growing importance in the future.
    Persons interested in presenting oral comments during the 
meeting will be limited to five minutes to allow a maximum number of 
presentations. Presenters are encouraged to provide written comments 
to accompany their oral presentations. Participants as well as 
persons who cannot attend are encouraged to send written comments as 
indicated below.
    Matters to be Discussed: As the lead federal health agency for 
research into the causes and prevention of work injuries and 
diseases, NIOSH has a responsibility to continually assess the state 
of existing knowledge and define future research needs and 
priorities. The development of a national research agenda will 
assist NIOSH and the occupational safety and health research 
community in establishing priorities and targeting some of the 
scientific needs of the next decade that offer the greatest 
potential for advancing the safety and health of workers. 
Establishing these priorities is especially important in light of 
increasing fiscal constraints on occupational safety and health 
research in both the public and private sectors. The agenda is 
intended to serve decision-makers and scientists working throughout 
the field, employed in government, corporate, labor, university, and 
private research programs.
    NIOSH has developed a discussion list of possible items for the 
national research agenda. A small group of scientists reviewed a 
wide array of information ranging from the scope of occupational 
safety and health problems to future employment projections. The 
results of a scientific agenda-setting process recently completed in 
the United Kingdom were also considered. In addition, the group 
agreed on the scope of agenda items it would propose. For example, 
it decided that a category such as ``occupational lung diseases'' 
would be too inclusive to serve as a research priority, that items 
of this breadth would result in an agenda encompassing the field 
rather than providing decision-makers and scientists with focussed 
direction to meet some of the greatest needs and opportunities for 
prevention. The group ultimately listed approximately 50 items:

                                                                        

[[Page 56061]]
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                              Health response                                                                  Exposure                                 
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Traumatic Injury                                                             Chemical Mixtures (Including Hazardous Waste).                             
  Eye Injury                                                                 Pesticides.                                                                
  Electrocutions                                                             Solvents.                                                                  
  Falls                                                                      Oils and related derivatives (e.g., Cutting Fluids, Diesel).               
Neck, Shoulder and Other Upper Extremity Disorders                           Indoor Environment.                                                        
Low Back Disorders                                                           Thermal stresses.                                                          
Fertility and Pregnancy Outcomes                                             Mineral and Synthetic Fibers.                                              
Occupational Asthma                                                          Metals and Related Compounds.                                              
Pneumoconioses                                                               Hormonally Active Substances.                                              
Inhalation Injury                                                            Violence/Assaults.                                                         
Hypersensitivity lung disease                                                Motor Vehicles.                                                            
Occupational Chronic Diseases (Selected)                                     Heavy Machinery.                                                           
  Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease                                           Hand Tools.                                                                
  Chronic Renal Disease                                                      Mechanical Stressors.                                                      
  Ischemic Heart Disease                                                     Noise.                                                                     
  Neurodegenerative Disease (Cognitive and Movement Disorders)               Electric and Magnetic Fields.                                              
Occupational Infectious Diseases                                             Behavioral Risk Factors.                                                   
Depression and Anxiety                                                                                                                                  
Immune Dysfunction                                                                                                                                      
Neuroimmune Function                                                                                                                                    
Hearing Loss                                                                                                                                            
Contact Dermatitis                                                                                                                                      
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                    Sector--work environment--workforce                                                    Research process                             
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Construction                                                                 Intervention and Prevention.                                               
Agriculture                                                                  Effectiveness Research.                                                    
Small Businesses                                                             Engineering and Technologic Solutions.                                     
Work Organization (Changing Economy and Workforce)                           Exposure Assessment Methods Development.                                   
Emerging Technologies                                                        Hazard Surveillance.                                                       
Vulnerable Populations                                                       Disease Surveillance.                                                      
Service Workers                                                              Injury Surveillance.                                                       
                                                                             Risk Assessment Methodology.                                               
                                                                             Identification of Molecular Correlates of Cancer and other Chronic         
                                                                              Diseases.                                                                 
                                                                             Occupational Health Services Research (e.g., Manpower Needs; Clinical      
                                                                              Outcomes Research).                                                       
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    From this list and additional items that are recommended, NIOSH 
anticipates producing a final agenda of 15-25 of the highest 
scientific priorities for advancing safety and health. The following 
criteria were used in developing this initial discussion list and 
are proposed for the development of the research agenda:
    (1) the seriousness of the hazard in terms of death, injury, 
disease, disability, and economic impact;
    (2) the number of workers exposed or the magnitude of the risk;
    (3) the potential for risk reduction;
    (4) the expected trend in the importance of the subject; and,
    (5) the need for research (the sufficiency of existing research) 
for improving worker protection.
    NIOSH will be seeking input over the next five months to assure 
that the final agenda includes input from the broadest base of 
occupational safety and health expertise. The process will include 
the following elements:
    (1) Corporate and worker liaison committees and a broader-based 
stakeholders outreach committee will assist NIOSH in obtaining 
involvement and input from employers, employees, health officials, 
health professionals, scientists, and public health, advocacy, 
scientific, industry and labor organizations;
    (2) The November 30 public meeting, described in this notice, to 
obtain early input on the research priorities, criteria for 
selection of priorities, and the process for developing the agenda;
    (3) Three work groups comprising researchers, health 
professionals, and representatives of stakeholder organizations will 
meet in public sessions in December and January to provide 
individual input and recommendations based on the communities they 
represent; time will be reserved to allow observers the opportunity 
to comment;
    (4) Regional public meetings will be held in increase the 
opportunities for input from employers, employees, scientists, and 
other public stakeholders across the United States;
    (5) A final public meeting in March 1996 to present a 
preliminary research agenda and provide the opportunity for public 
review and comment; and
    (6) Public input throughout the process; the public is 
encouraged to provide oral comments at the public meetings and 
written comments through March 6, 1996.
    (7) The final agenda will be presented at a scientific symposium 
commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act on April 29, 1996.
    NIOSH encourages the public to provide recommendations on 
research priorities, criteria for determining priorities, and the 
process of developing the research agenda as early in the process as 
possible. To register to attend, to register to speak, or to receive 
additional information on the November 30 meeting, please contact 
Ms. Sandy Lange as indicated below. On-site registration will be 
available; however, to assist in planning for the meeting, advance 
registration is requested.
    Addresses: Comments should be mailed to Ms. Diane Manning, 
NIOSH, CDC, Robert A. Taft Laboratories, NIOSH, CDC, M/S C34, 4676 
Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226.
    Contact Person for Additional Information: Ms. Sandy Lange, 
NIOSH, CDC, 200 Independence Avenue, Room 317B, Washington, DC 
20201, telephone 202/401-0721.

    Dated: October 31, 1995.
John C. Burckhardt,
Acting Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 95-27400 Filed 11-3-95; 8:45 am]
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