Occupational Health Surveillance Program

What is Occupational Health Surveillance?

Occupational health surveillance provides information on where, how and why workers get sick or hurt on the job. This information is used to improve worker health and safety through appropriate prevention activities. Workplace injuries and illnesses can be prevented by control or elimination of hazards.

How Can Surveillance Lead to Prevention?

The New York State Department of Health is committed to the prevention of workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities. Surveillance is conducted for a number of public health programs to identify occupational illnesses and then develop and provide outreach and prevention services.

The Occupational Health Surveillance program has epidemiologists, evaluators and outreach specialists that conduct the following activities:

  • Track patterns of work-related injury, illness and fatalities in order to quantify and describe the occupational disease burden in NYS
  • Investigate and intervene in situations with an ongoing risk of exposure by referring cases to the Industrial Hygiene Consultation program for technical assistance
  • Develop and implement interventions that will reduce the risk of exposures in the future
  • Monitor both the immediate and long-term health effects of occupational exposure
  • Educate the medical community about adverse health effects from occupational exposures
  • Collaborate with partners to identify methods to modify work practices and share this information with companies that have similar exposures

What Occupational Health Surveillance Activities are Conducted in NYS?

The Occupational Health Surveillance program oversees a number of registries and programs.

  • Fundamental Occupational Health Surveillance

    Since 2000, with support from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), seven existing databases are used to describe the occupational health picture in NYS.

  • Work-related Fatalities

    The US Department of Labor sponsored Census for Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program is a data collection program while the NIOSH sponsored Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program (FACE) conducts site visits and makes recommendations for preventing future injuries.

  • Occupational Health Registries

    Part 22 of the State Sanitary Code requires three disease registries which collect information on any NYS resident or employee identified with certain diseases or exposures. Cases reported to the registries are interviewed to determine the source of exposure. Educational information is provided with each interview.

    • Heavy Metals Registry

      Laboratories and health care providers are required to report all blood lead results performed on New York State residents and employees, along with reportable levels of mercury, arsenic and cadmium.

    • Pesticide Poisoning Registry

      Health care providers and clinical laboratories are required to report all pesticide poisonings occurring in New York State.

    • Occupational Lung Disease Registry

      Health care providers are required to report all occupational lung diseases occurring in New York State. Occupational lung diseases include, but are not limited to: asbestosis, silicosis, work-related asthma, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

  • NYS Occupational Health Clinic Network

    This network of occupational health clinics assist workers and employers in NYS by appropriately diagnosing occupational diseases, helping workers return to work quickly and safely, and by providing training and education. The Clinics are also a resource for health care providers treating patients with potential work-related illnesses. The clinics are located through the State and are available to all workers, retirees and residents in NYS. No patient is turned away because of an inability to pay.

  • World Trade Center Responders Fatality Investigation Program

    This program is the data collection center for information on deaths among WTC responders, recovery workers and volunteers, regardless of how or why the death occurred.

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