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September 8, 2017

NIOSH Engineering Controls Program Protects Workers from Emerging Hazards

Lynn L. Bergeson Carla N. Hutton

On September 6, 2017, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Program Performance One-Pager entitled NIOSH Engineering Controls Program.  The Program’s activities include providing engineering control recommendations to protect workers from emerging hazards in nanotechnology and advanced materials used in additive manufacturing/three-dimensional (3D) printing.  The Program is currently working to:

  • Complete laboratory evaluations of ultrafine particle emissions and engineering controls for 3D printing of materials that include carbon nanotubes and graphene in filaments;
  • Complete evaluations at advanced manufacturing workplaces and publish engineering control recommendations to reduce worker exposure to ultrafine particles; and
  • Publish three NIOSH engineering control workplace design solution documents to highlight effective engineering control approaches for the most common nano-manufacturing workplaces.