National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Agency overview
Formed	April 28, 1971; 54 years ago (1971-04-28)
Preceding agency	Division of Industrial Hygiene
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Employees	~1,200
Agency executive	Kelley A. Durst, Acting Director
Parent department	Department of Health and Human Services
Parent agency	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Website	cdc.gov/niosh/

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, /ˈnaɪɒʃ/) is the United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury, illness, disability, and death. Its functions include gathering information, conducting scientific research both in the laboratory and in the field, and translating the knowledge gained into products and services.^[1] Among NIOSH's programs are determination of recommended exposure limits for toxic chemicals and other hazards, field research such as the Health Hazard Evaluation Program, epidemiology and health surveillance programs such as the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer, regulatory approval of respirators according to the NIOSH air filtration rating system, and compensation and support programs such as the World Trade Center Health Program.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon on December 29, 1970, created NIOSH out of the preexisting Division of Industrial Hygiene founded in 1914. NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Despite the similarities in names, it is not part of the National Institutes of Health or OSHA, which have distinct and separate responsibilities.^[2]

NIOSH is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with research laboratories and offices in Cincinnati, Morgantown, Pittsburgh, Denver, Anchorage, Spokane, and Atlanta.^[3] NIOSH is a professionally diverse organization with a staff of 1,200 people representing a wide range of disciplines including occupational epidemiology, occupational toxicology, medicine, industrial hygiene, safety, research psychology, engineering, chemistry, and statistics.

As part of the announced 2025 HHS reorganization, a small piece of NIOSH is planned to be integrated into the new Administration for a Healthy America.^[4] On April 1, 93% of NIOSH's staff was told they were being fired, including its longtime director John Howard.^[5][6] This most strongly impacted its mining safety research and respirator approval programs,^[7] with its laboratory in Spokane, Washington^[8] and the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory in Pittsburgh expected to close completely,^[7] as well as the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer.^[9][10] Operations at the Morgantown, West Virginia, campus also ceased on April 1 as staff were placed on leave and instructed to leave the building, ending its research into emerging threats to workers.^[11][12] The cuts included all staff of the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program^[13] which offered free health care for coal workers, including a mobile x-ray van that screened workers for signs of black lung disease.