Photo: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Washington — A number of NIOSH programs are no longer accepting applications “due to a reduction in force” at the agency.
The websites of at least three NIOSH programs feature a notice about how agency staffing cuts are affecting certain services. Among them: the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program, which studies respiratory disease and provides black lung screenings to coal miners.
“Due to the reduction in force across NIOSH, the NIOSH Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP) is not providing any new medical screenings to coal miners or accepting any new requests for review of medical information to determine coal miners’ rights for transfer to low-dust jobs,” a notice on the program’s website states.
Likewise, NIOSH’s National Firefighter Registry for Cancer website states, “Due to the reduction in force across NIOSH, firefighters can no longer enroll in the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer.”
The NIOSH Respirator Approval Program website features a similar notice, stating that new applications for approval won’t be accepted.
A May 3 report from CBS News states that “nearly all of the remaining staff at the National Institute [for] Occupational Safety and Health were laid off Friday, multiple officials and laid-off employees told CBS News, gutting programs ranging from approvals of new safety equipment to firefighter health.”
Also on May 3, Cincinnati radio station WVXU reported that just about all of NIOSH’s staff in the city’s office were placed on “immediate administrative leave” and will be officially laid off on July 2.
The Department of Health and Human Services responded on its X account that the reports were inaccurate.
“No CDC employee was terminated on Friday,” the department wrote on May 3. “A required notice was sent to NIOSH employees, following the agreed-upon standard process with the union. Firefighter health and safety programs remain a top priority for HHS. … As the agency continues to streamline operations, the essential services provided by NIOSH will remain fully intact and uninterrupted.”
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) has lobbied HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restore NIOSH’s offices and programs that focus on coal miner safety and health. Capito posted April 29 on her X account that “some NIOSH functions for coal miner and firefighter safety are slated to resume with some select staff returning to work this week.
“But my understanding is that this is temporary, so my focus will continue to be on working with @HHSGov on permanently restoring these functions and personnel in the most efficient and effective manner.”
NIOSH is slated to merge with other agencies to form the Administration for a Healthy America. Among those agencies are the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
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Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication