CDC/NIOSH
The mission of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is to generate new knowledge in the field of occupational safety and health and to transfer that knowledge into practice for the betterment of workers. To accomplish this mission, NIOSH conducts scientific research, develops guidance and authoritative recommendations, disseminates information, and responds to requests for workplace health hazard evaluations. NIOSH makes recommendations to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Many of those recommendations become OSHA regulations.
NIOSH Resources
NIOSH - Young Worker
NIOSH has a webpage entitled Young Worker Safety and Health. It contains a number of good resoures for young workers.
Youth@Work: Talking Safety Texas
NIOSH has a webpage entitled Youth@Work: Talking Safety, a foundation curriculum in occupational safety and health. This curriculum is the culmination of many years’ work by a consortium of partners dedicated to reducing occupational injuries and illnesses among youth.
NIOSH Recommendation for Job Placement Coordinators
Recommendations based on WBL student injured at Work Station
The complete NIOSH report can be viewed at this link #1.
In December of 2009, NIOSH made a recommendation based on an accident suffered by an 11th grade student in a high school Massachusetts Coop (Career Prep) student. The student was enrolled in a Mill/Carpentry program. He was lawfully employed in a Mill/Carpentry company. The student was injured and untimely had a portion of finger amputated. NIOSH made several recommendations shown below. Pay particular attention to the recommendations for Job Placement Coordinators. Do you follow those recommendations?
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health concluded that to prevent similar occurrences in the future, employers and schools with mill/carpentry shops should:
- Ensure that gloves are never worn while operating woodworking machinery;
- Develop, implement, and enforce standard operating procedures for operating machinery;
- Provide adequate supervision for young workers, new employees and other inexperienced workers; and
- Develop procedures, including calling 911, to be followed during emergency medical situations to ensure appropriate and prompt treatment.
Employers andJob Placement Coordinators should:
- Ensure that Cooperative Education Agreements always include the knowledge and skills to be acquired by the students while at their cooperative work placements.
School Cooperative Education or Job Placement Coordinators should:
- Routinely visit companies and work sites to which students have been assigned; and
- Routinely meet with students to discuss their work experience including tasks they have been performing during their Cooperative Work Experience project.
Recommendations based on WBL student FATALITY at Work Station
The complete NIOSH report for this incident and be viewed at this link #2.
On December 26, 2003, a 17-year-old warehouse worker was fatally injured when the sit-down type forklift he was operating outside the warehouse tipped over on its side and crushed him. The victim had begun work on September 21, 2003, and was employed under a work-based learning program. The program agreement was signed by the victim, his mother, the high school principal, the work-based learning program’s coordinator, and the employing company’s local manager. According to the signed agreement, the victim was to work from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. six days per week as a warehouse laborer. Specific duties were not written into the agreement.
NIOSH investigators concluded:
On December 26, 2003, a 17-year-old warehouse worker was fatally injured when the sit-down type forklift he was operating outside the warehouse tipped over on its side and crushed him. The victim had begun work on September 21, 2003, and was employed under a work-based learning program. The program agreement was signed by the victim, his mother, the high school principal, the work-based learning program’s coordinator, and the employing company’s local manager. According to the signed agreement, the victim was to work from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. six days per week as a warehouse laborer. Specific duties were not written into the agreement.
NIOSH investigators concluded:
- establish work policies that comply with child labor laws prohibiting youths less than 18 years of age from performing hazardous work, including operating power-driven hoisting equipment such as forklifts
- school officials and employers participating in work-based learning programs for youth should ensure that work assigned to youth is allowed by law, the work environment is safe and free of recognized hazards, and that youth receive appropriate safety and health training.
Additional reports of school age students injured or killed on the job
- Grocery store clerk falls to death
- Cardboard baler crushes teenager
- Sporting goods retail worker falls to death
- Building Supply retail worker dies changing light bulb
- Golf course golf cart accident kills teenager
- Restaurant worker killed during robbery
- Secretary killed by forklift (not a teenager)
School Checklists
NIOSH provides an excellent set of school checklists for most Career and Technical Education programs. Teachers of Career Preparation and Practicum courses would be well advised to review the checklists. Each checklist will provide an instructor with items to review with students. The same items can be reviewed with employers. The checklist can be accessed at this school check list link. The Career Clusters that are covered are
- Agriculture Education
- Business Education,
- Career - Technical Home Economics (Institutional Occupations such as hotels and Food Service)
- Communications Technology
- Construction Trades
- Engineering Related Technologies
- Health Occupations Education
- Home Economics-Related Occupations Education (Child Care and Fashion)
- Marketing Education
- Mechanics (all Transportation programs)
- Personal Services (Food Services)
- Precision Production
- Trade and Industrial Educaiton
- Transportation and Materials Moving Worker (Warehousing)
- Visual and Preforming Arts (all Arts, AV, Media programs)