Construction Research at NIOSH: Reviews of Research Programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BICE)

Released 11.06.08

The diverse and distributed nature of the construction industry presents special challenges for occupational health and safety protection.  Among other things, the work environment and the workers change daily and exposure to hazardous environments are difficult to track.  For the same reasons, it is difficult to conduct research designed to improve worker health and safety.  Nevertheless, construction-related fatalities and injuries have declined significantly in recent years in part due to the research programs of the NIOSH Construction Research Program.  To evaluate the effectiveness of its activities, NIOSH asked the National Academies to review 15 specific NIOSH programs including its Construction Research Program.  This report provides the context and analysis of the program, an evaluation of its relevance and impact, and recommendations for future research and for program improvement.

Assessment of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Security Program (BICE)

Released 08.19.08

The failure of any of the nation’s major hydroelectric and flood control dams as a result of terrorist attacks would likely cause substantial harm.  The attacks on the World Trade Center significantly increased the attention of owners and operators of these dams to their vulnerabilities, and caused them to look for ways to identify threats, manage risk, and implement protection measures.  To help gauge how these efforts have been progressing, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) asked the NRC to assess the Bureau’s security program and its level of preparedness to deter, respond to, and recover from potential attacks on its facilities.  This report presents a review of the context in which this program operates; a description of the BOR security program; an assessment of the BOR security-related processes; observations and findings about the Bureau’s future plans for a sustainable security program; and findings, conclusions, and recommendations to improve the security program.