Document xnLqY85aZ0eaRpmzZ52pK2Yg

,*-JZ October, I960 Volume XXIV No. 10 spi Industrial Hygiene Foundation 4400 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh 13, Pennsylvania INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE DIGEST Literature and News NEWS ITEMS 927 A New Division of Occupational Health. The strengthening of the Public Health Service's nation-wide program to protect the health of American workers through the creation of a new Division of Occupational Health was announced recently by the Surgeon General. The new Division, which replaces the Occu pational Health Program, follows the recommendation of the Study Group on Mission and Or ganization of the Public Health Service', designed to place greater emphasis on all types of environmental health hazards. It provides for "long-needed increased efforts" in the occu pational health field as recommended to the Surgeon General by the Study Group. Dr. Harold J. Magnuson has been named chief of the new Division. The Division will carry out an ex panded research program directed at developing better techniques, materials, and equipment for use in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of occupational disease. Major research efforts will be intensified in toxicology and in related fields of clinical medicine, engineering, chemistry, and physics. In addition, the physiological and psychological factors in the work environment will come under more penetrating study. Greater emphasis will also be focused on the training of personnel in occupational medicine and nursing and in industrial hygiene to meet the needs of this rapidly growing field. The Division will work with academic institutions and other groups to help develop the necessary professional resources. Research and technical services, as well as training activities, will be carried out at Cincinnati, Ohio. State aid acti vities, occupational health nursing consultation, and studies and consultation relating to em ployee health programs will be centered at the Division's administrative headquarters in Wash ington, D. C. C<a oo C=3 928 Health Statistics Center. A National Center for Health Statistics has been established in the Public Health Service. Initially, the center will have two Divisions: the U.S. National Health Survey, which was transferred to it on August IS; and the National Office of Vital Statistics, which will be come part of the center on October 1. The Center's work will supplement but not supplant the statistical work associated with particular Public Health Service programs. Forrest E. Linder, who has been director of the National Health Survey since its inception in 1958, is acting director of the Center pending formal establishment of the position of director. -- Science 929 Radiological Health Data. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare has announced the issuance of a new monthly technical publication giving levels of radioactivity in air, water, milk, and other elements of our daily environment. This publication is an outgrowth of President Eisen hower' s directive to the Department to "intensify its radiological health efforts and have pri mary responsibility within the executive branch for the collation, analysis and interpretation of data on environmental radiation levels. " Entitled Radiological Health Data, this publication is compiled from a number of sources by the Public Health Service's Division of Radiological Health with the assistance qfja board of editorial advisers representing the Department of 03120622 1.