NIOSH Launches New Mobile App for Pocket Guide on Chemical Hazards

Contact: Jenise Brassell (513) 533-8360

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announces the availability of a new mobile application (app) version of its longstanding Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards. The app was developed as part of the Worker Health History Small National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Project Award and can be used on any device with a Web browser.

The NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards has informed workers, employers, and occupational health professionals about workplace chemicals and their hazards for over forty years. The Pocket Guide gives general industrial hygiene information for hundreds of chemicals/classes and helps users recognize and control workplace chemical hazards. The new app will provide this information at the fingertips.

“The mobile app pocket guide to chemical hazards provides even easier access to information on over 600 chemicals,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. “The development of this app takes us into the 21^st century world of knowledge dissemination and allows quicker access to information that can keep workers safer on the job.”  

The new app contains all of the content from the Pocket Guide publication allowing for quick searches by chemical name, trade name or synonym, DOT number and CAS number. A user can also store chemical records as “favorites” for later use, and control which data about a given chemical are displayed for clarity in the field. No data is sent between the user device and NIOSH other than the initial download and updates so no privacy concerns are present.

Background
In 1974, NIOSH joined the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in developing a series of occupational health standards for substances with existing “permissible exposure limits,” or PELs. This joint effort resulted in the development of several hundred substance-specific draft standards that contained technical information and recommendations needed to help communicate occupational health regulations. The Pocket Guide was developed to make the technical information in those draft standards more conveniently available to workers, employers, and occupational health professionals. The Pocket Guide is updated periodically to reflect new data regarding the toxicity of various substances and any changes in exposure standards or recommendations.

To install the mobile NIOSH Pocket Guide, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/mobilepocketguide.html?s_cid=3ni7d2NiUpdatemNPG07142016 and click or tap the “DOWNLOAD the mNPG” link. The app will require about 5 Mb of storage space on the device, and can be bookmarked like a standard web site, or optionally a shortcut to the app can be saved to your device home screen.  

To visit the existing NIOSH Pocket Guide for Chemical Hazards topic page, see: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/default.html?s_cid=3ni7d2NiUpdateNPGmain07142016

NIOSH is the federal agency that conducts research and makes recommendations for preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. For more information about NIOSH visit www.cdc.gov/niosh/