Att F - Brochure

Attachment F: HHE local health department brochure evaluation, Brochure

Note: This is not the final version.

What Local Health Departments
Should Know about the NIOSH
Health Hazard

Evaluation Program

Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Note: This is not the final version.

What Local Health Departments Should Know about
Note: This
not the
final
version.
theisNIOSH
Health
Hazard
Evaluation Program
The Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) Program provides a free service
to workplaces throughout the United States. This document describes
the HHE Program and how you can use its services to help meet your
public health mission.
Workplace Safety and Health is Public Health
In serving their communities, local health departments may be asked
to address workplace
health concerns. Some
The HHE Program can:
departments have staff
●● Provide consultation for your
with occupational
investigation
safety and health
●● Do its own investigation and
expertise, others do
report the findings to you
not. Whichever group
you are in, the HHE
●● Work collaboratively with you
Program may offer
on an investigation
workplace evaluation
services and information
that can help.
If you are aware of concerns that exposures or conditions in a
workplace may be making employees sick, contact the HHE Program
for assistance. You also can recommend that the employer or
employees contact the HHE Program.
Consider the HHE Program when any of these situations arise:
●● Exposures to unregulated agents are occurring
●● Conditions and exposures are causing health effects among
employees
●● The situation represents an emerging hazard with exposures and
health effects that are not well understood
●● New sampling methods need to be developed to accurately
assess the work environment
●● The effectiveness of exposure control strategies needs to be
evaluated

What Local Health Departments Should Know about
Note: This
is not
theHazard
final version.
the NIOSH
Health
Evaluation Program
What is the Health Hazard Evaluation Program?
The HHE Program is part of the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. It is federally mandated to serve workplaces throughout
the United States. The HHE Program provides free evaluations
to every industry including healthcare, manufacturing, services,
transportation, agriculture, and construction. From hospitals, schools,
restaurants, and railway stations to metal foundries, shooting ranges,
laboratories, and automotive centers the HHE Program helps ensure
that employees have safe and healthy work environments. The HHE
Program is not an enforcement or rule-making program and does not
issue fines or citations to workplaces.
The HHE Program has experience in many areas, including hazard
identification, exposure assessments, health surveys, medical tests, and
engineering controls.
The HHE Program
staff of about 40
Hazards that can be evaluated include:
experts includes
●● Physical agents, such as heat and noise
occupational
health physicians,
●● Biological agents, such as mold
epidemiologists,
●● Infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis
industrial
and influenza
hygienists,
psychologists,
●● Chemical substances, such as solvents,
and a health
metals, and particulates
communicator who
●● Workplace conditions, such as
work together in a
ergonomics and work stress from
team customized
excessive workload demands or bullying
to respond to each
request. Some of
our staff are fluent
in Spanish and the program has the capacity to work with employees who
speak or read in other languages. We can translate documents into many
languages to allow all employees to participate in evaluations and learn
from our materials.

What Local Health Departments Should Know about
Note: This
not the
final
version.
theisNIOSH
Health
Hazard
Evaluation Program
What happens when you request an HHE or make a referral?
Investigators assess background information and decide if an
on-site evaluation is needed. In some cases, the HHE Program is able
to provide assistance without visiting the workplace. This is often the
case with common hazards or health conditions that we have studied
extensively, such as mold in schools or office buildings, diesel exhaust
in fire stations, or cancer in nonindustrial settings. Investigators
gather information by phone from the employer and employees,
and review reports about exposures, illness, and injury. The HHE
Program issues a letter with the conclusions from its evaluation and
recommendations
on ways to make
When the HHE Program gets a request
the workplace
directly from a local health department,
healthier and safer.
it does not have the authority to
The HHE Program
investigate the workplace without the
may also suggest
consent of the employer. Sometimes,
other agencies or
however, an investigation can be done
organizations that
using the public health authority of
may help.
your agency.

If an on-site
evaluation is needed,
health and safety experts go to the workplace at a time agreed upon
by all involved. The HHE Program may:
●● Observe work processes and practices
●● Meet with managers and talk with employees
●● Interview or survey employees about their health
●● Carry out medical tests
●● Review reports of exposure, injury, and illness
●● Measure exposures in the work environment
●● Evaluate existing exposure controls

What Local Health Departments Should Know about
Note: This
is not
theHazard
final version.
the NIOSH
Health
Evaluation Program
When individual exposure measurements or medical tests are done
on employees, the HHE Program sends the results directly to each
participant. Summary results also are shared with employer and
employee representatives without revealing employees’ identities.
At the conclusion of the evaluation, investigators prepare a report
containing recommendations on ways to reduce or eliminate any
identified hazards.
In these reports,
you may find
If you want to discuss a particular
information you can
situation, please contact us.
use in your work,
●● Phone: 513-841-4382
especially when
encountering an
Ask for the Branch Chief
unfamiliar issue.
●● Email: [email protected]
These reports are
public documents
that are available for
free on the HHE Program’s website. The report does not identify the
workplace by name. Search the database of HHE reports at
http://www2a.cdc.gov/hhe/search.asp.
Although the HHE Program has no enforcement authority,
evidence shows that our recommendations are often acted on
to help create healthier workplaces. Improving workplaces can
improve employee productivity and reduce workers’ compensation
costs and medical expenses.
The HHE Program operates a bit differently than the CDC Epi-Aid
program, with which you may be familiar. If you contact us, we can
discuss the best way to meet your needs.
For more information about the HHE Program visit
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe.

Note: This is not the final version.

Note: This is not the final version.
Delivering on the Nation’s promise:
Safety and health at work for all people through research
and prevention

To receive NIOSH documents or more information about
occupational safety and health topics, please contact NIOSH:
Telephone: 1–800–CDC–INFO (1–800–232–4636)
TTY: 1–888–232–6348
CDC INFO: www.cdc.gov/info
or visit the NIOSH Web site at www.cdc.gov/niosh
For a monthly update on news at NIOSH, subscribe to
NIOSH eNews by visiting www.cdc.gov/niosh/eNews.