NIOSH Issues Full Text of Criteria Documents, Related Publications on CD-ROM Set

Contact: Fred Blosser (202) 260-8519
November 9, 1996

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has issued through the National Technical Information Service a new two-disc CD-ROM set that contains the full text of the 142 criteria documents and related reviews and assessments developed by NIOSH since the institute's inception.

The two-disc set makes it easier and faster for health and safety professionals, employers, workers, students, and other audiences to access and search NIOSH criteria documents, many of which are no longer available from NIOSH. The discs incorporate thousands of pages of printed material and are searchable through a Windows-based software program, Pundit, contained on the CD-ROM. Instructions for installing the program and searching the discs are included.

In its criteria documents, NIOSH recommends criteria or measures for protecting workers from serious health or safety hazards, based on a comprehensive critical review of the scientific and technical information available at the time the document was developed. Although criteria documents are developed primarily for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Mine Safety and Health Administration, they also are widely used by industry, labor, and academia. The recommendations in these documents are subject to change, based on ongoing advancements in scientific knowledge and technology.

"Over the years, criteria documents have been widely recognized as key sources of information and recommendations on significant workplace hazards such as asbestos, benzene, cotton dust, crystalline silica, and lead," said NIOSH Director Linda Rosenstock, M.D., M.P.H. "The new CD-ROM set meets an ongoing demand for these documents in a compact, user-friendly form."

In addition to the criteria documents, the CD-ROM set also contains the texts of NIOSH special occupational hazard reviews and occupational hazard assessments, prepared for OSHA and MSHA as supplements to criteria documents, and NIOSH's joint occupational health documents, developed in collaboration with health and safety agencies in other countries.

The CD-ROM set, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 96-131, and the accompanying Pundit Users Guide, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 96-130, are available for $60 from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va. 22161; tel. (703) 487-4650, fax (703) 321-8547. The NTIS order number is PB97-500375. For further information about criteria documents and other NIOSH subjects, call toll-free 1-800-35-NIOSH.