For Immediate Release
Thursday, January 18, 2001
NAS Ergonomics Study Confirms Need for OSHA Standard
$50 Billion Lost Every Year from Poor Workplace Design
WASHINGTON —A new finding by the prestigious National Academy of Sciences that work-related, repetitive-strain injuries result in huge losses to the economy was hailed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, as proving the need for OSHA's new Ergonomics Standard.
A team of respected scientists and other investigators from the non-partisan National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine estimated the cost of lost wages and productivity and compensation costs from lower back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) to be $50 billion annually. This is the second NAS report in three years ordered by Congress to identify major costs for workers and businesses resulting from MSDs.
"The NAS study confirms what millions of American workers have learned the hard way: repetitive motion causes workplace injuries," said President Gerald W. McEntee. "I am sure that the anti-worker members of Congress who ordered this report are not happy with the findings by one of the world's most esteemed scientific organizations."
The report concluded 1 million workers in many industries must take time off because of MSDs but that problems could be corrected by the type of "properly implemented strategies" mandated under the new Ergonomics Standard. The new OSHA rules were issued following a promise one decade ago to develop a standard by then-Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole, thousands of scientific studies that reached similar conclusions, and two months of public input.
The resulting OSHA ergonomics standard is a reasonable and balanced approach that reflects the best practices being followed in industry today, Mr. McEntee said. OSHA has given employers covered by the standard until October 16, 2001 to provide information to their employees about MSDs, how to report injuries, and the requirements of the new rules.
Mr. McEntee called on President-elect Bush, Republicans in Congress, and business groups to stop threatening to block the OSHA standard from going into effect. "This latest NAS Report just adds muscle to the overwhelming body of scientific evidence. It's time for the new president to fulfill his pledge to heal wounds by working with us to create a safer work environment for all employees," said the AFSCME president.
