NIOSH’s Respiratory Health Division: 50 years of science and service

Abstract

The year 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of NIOSH’s Respiratory Health Division (RHD). RHD began in 1967 as the Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational Respiratory Diseases (ALFORD), with a focus on coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. ALFORD became part of NIOSH in 1971 and added activities to address work-related respiratory disease more generally. Health hazard evaluations played an important role in understanding novel respiratory hazards such as nylon flock, diacetyl, and indium-tin oxide. Epidemiologic and laboratory studies addressed many respiratory hazards, including coal mine dust, silica, asbestos, cotton dust, beryllium, diesel exhaust, and dampness and mold. Surveillance activities tracked the burden of diseases and enhanced the quality of spirometry and chest radiography used to screen workers. RHD’s efforts to improve scientific understanding, inform strategies for prevention, and disseminate knowledge remain important now and for the future.

Keywords:

• Epidemiology
• occupational lung disease
• respiratory diseases
• workers

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the many people who contributed to RHD’s accomplishments over the past 50 years. We thank Kathleen B. Fedan and Dr. Jean M. Cox-Ganser for their thoughtful reviews of the manuscript. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.