Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer

NIOSH Reduces Injuries for Alaska's Fishermen, Aviators, Loggers, and More
Since 1991, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) Alaska Pacific Regional Office (APRO) has worked to reduce occupational injuries and fatalities in Alaska. Throughout the 1980s, Alaska's occupational fatality rate was five times higher than the national average. Through targeted research programs and strategic partnerships with local, state, and federal entities focusing on high-risk industries of commercial fishing, aviation and logging, APRO helped to reduce the rate of occupational fatalities in Alaska by 67% by 2005. The success of APRO's intervention programs relies heavily on collecting and analyzing occupational injury and fatality data in a timely fashion. To facilitate this, APRO developed the Alaska Occupational Injury Surveillance System (AOISS).

Managing Island Invaders
Non-native or invasive wildlife often damages agricultural crops, livestock, and property. It also threatens human health and safety, and impacts natural resources, including threatened and endangered species. Island ecosystems, like the Aleutian Islands in Alaska (pictured here), can be especially vulnerable to invasive species because their fauna and flora have evolved in ecological isolation with few natural predators or competitors. Chemical approaches, like rodenticides and other toxicants, are important tools for protecting island biodiversity and reducing damage caused by invasive species. However, these chemicals can pose hazards to non-target animals and the environment. USDA National Wildlife Research Center scientists work to reduce or eliminate these hazards, as well as to develop and register effective, alternative approaches to managing damage caused by invasive species.