Occhealth Bulletin
31 March 2009
News Review - March 2009
Category: Reviews
Keep up to date with news from the world of occupational health. Read our news review bulletins from the Examinetics, Inc. website (www.examinetics.com).
NIOSH announces public review on draft Personal Protective Technology (PPT) plan
NIOSH has invited the public to review and comment on its draft PPT Implementation Plan. To access the report and find out how to voice comments, click on the following link from the NIOSH website: www.cdc.gov/niosh/review/public/146/. The report is based on five recommendations (listed in the draft Personal Protective Technology implementation plan) from the National Academies (NA) Evaluation report as NIOSH “contracted the NA to conduct an evaluation of the PPT Program including its research activities and the associated respirator certification program”. The public comment period will last until April 20, 2009, and is in place to ensure that gaps have been identified, any actions or activities that would meet those gaps have been prioritized and plans are developed for transitioning R&D efforts into operational entities.
New approach in detecting asbestos-related diseases;
An announcement has been made (www.karmanos.org/view_news.asp?id=577) by the National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-related Cancers (NCVAC), Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit that may impact on the way that asbestos-related diseases are detected in the future.
A new technological advance in radiotherapy approaches was developed by Carmen Endress, MD, FACR, Associate Professor of Radiology at Wayne State University School of Medicine and radiologist at NCVAC. Using Vitrea(R) imaging software to enhance images obtained from a 64-slice high resolution Computerized Tomography (CT) scan allows the potential for the visualization of “lesions caused by asbestos exposure in three dimensional detail and often much earlier stage than that of the current radiographic techniques” says Michael Harbut, MD MPH, co-director for NCVAC. Earlier detection may therefore help to reduce the death rate from asbestos-related diseases.