Occupational Research Agenda for Northwest Forestlands

FOREWORD

WORK IN LOGGING OR FORESTRY CAN BE A REWARDING WAY OF LIFE, and in many ways a healthy one. Yet each year, thousands of men and women in the United States are injured or made ill by hazards encountered during routine work activities in forestlands. Many logging and forestry tasks are inherently dangerous, but through proper skills training, equipment and process modifications, and greater safety awareness, we have the opportunity to prevent many injuries and illnesses. Well-focused research can produce the scientific knowledge that is essential to such preventive strategies, and to the improvement of our quality of life.

In 1989, the US Congress directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to create new programs designed to prevent illness and injury in agriculture. NIOSH, in turn, created a network of regional centers for research and education in agricultural safety and health. The Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center was established in 1996 as a new resource for the region. The Center’s purpose is to assist employers, workers, health professionals, and government agencies in the identification of hazards, and the implementation of practical solutions that will prevent or reduce workplace injury and illness rates. In our application to NIOSH, we emphasized the need to extend our work beyond farming, to include both forestry and fishing, recognizing the critical importance of these industries for our region. In fact, the Center was the first of the nine regional NIOSH centers to propose a focus on logging and forestry activities.

The Occupational Research Agenda for Northwest Forestlands, described in the following pages, is the result of a process that involved key stakeholders throughout the region. We hope this document will serve as a useful guide for anyone concerned with health and safety in the Northwest. The Agenda can improve the use of existing resources by focusing our efforts in areas that can be effectively addressed by research. We thank all of the participants in our telephone interviews, surveys and Forest Safety Workshop, held in Seattle in early 2000. We look forward to continued collaborations and partnerships aimed at investigating and solving the most pressing health and safety problems in our region’s forestry communities.

Richard Fenske, PhD, MPH, Director

ABOUT THE OCCUPATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA FOR NW FORESTLANDS

What is the Occupational Research Agenda for Northwest Forestlands?
The Occupational Research Agenda for Northwest Forestlands identifies health and safety research priorities for logging and forest work in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The Agenda process elicited the views of land managers, field/contract workers, labor unions, academicians, health care professionals, tribes, government agencies, and others familiar with the region’s forestry health and safety issues. The Agenda focuses on areas where research and training can make a difference in reducing disease and injury.

How can research make a difference in forestry health and safety?
Research is the systematic application of scientific principles to answer well-defined questions. It normally involves developing a study design, and collecting and analyzing data. When there is a lack of basic knowledge about injuries or illness, research efforts are aimed at a new understanding of causes. Why are injury rates higher for one occupation than for another? Why do workers in a particular industry develop serious lower back problems? What are the long-term effects of vibration? When we have a clear understanding of why illnesses and injuries occur, research can also help test solutions. Does a new work practice designed to reduce back stress really reduce injury rates and time lost from work? Do new regulations produce changes that improve health and safety? What are effective training practices? Does new equipment reduce vibration exposure or struck-by injuries? The systematic evaluation of interventions has become an important part of public health research, and is particularly valuable to the forestry industry.

How was the Agenda developed?
The Agenda was initiated by the Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center, one of nine regional centers in the United States charged with improving health and safety among farming, fishing, forestry workers and their families. The agenda process was modeled on the successful National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Our own process was guided by the following goals:

• Gather key stakeholders of the Northwest’s forestry industry
• Identify the range of health and safety concerns in forestry
• Understand the priorities of interested and affected parties
• Discuss research questions and approaches to address priority concerns
• Establish an occupational safety and health research agenda for NW forestry
• Identify individuals who can serve as technical advisors to the Center

The Center elicited the concerns and ideas of Northwest constituents through telephone interviews, the Forest Safety Workshop, and surveys. More than 100 telephone interviews were conducted by Center staff between October 1999 and January 2000. Participants were first asked to name the most significant health and safety hazards in the 2 region; recommend research, training, and other interventions that would identify and reduce the risks; and provide sources of health and safety information. In addition, each respondent was asked to suggest other individuals to interview, and the majority of those people were contacted and interviewed.

The Forest Safety Workshop, held February 3–4, 2000 in Seattle, Washington, was attended by 50 participants. Guided by Center staff and professional facilitators, the Workshop combined breakout groups and plenary sessions to identify and prioritize concerns and to develop research questions and approaches.

In order to have greater input from contract loggers and other field workers, the Center generated a survey from the extended list of concerns developed by Workshop participants. This survey was distributed to Northwest contract logging associations. The Center received 59 completed surveys.

What priorities has the Agenda identified for Northwest forestlands?
Upon reviewing the results of the telephone interviews, the Forest Safety Workshop, and surveys, Center staff met with an advisory committee and identified 17 research priorities, which fell within four major categories. The priority areas are not ranked.

CATEGORY	PRIORITY RESEARCH AREAS
Disease & Injury	Hearing Loss Heat & Cold Stress Musculoskeletal Disorders Skin Disorders Traumatic Injuries
Work Environment & Work Force	Environmental Hazards Hazardous Operations Training Workplace Behaviors Work Organization
Economic & Policy Factors	Government Policy Industry Trends Top Level Commitment
Research Tools & Approaches	Hazardous Control Technology Intervention Effectiveness Medical Service Surveillance, Data Collection & Reporting

Why is the Agenda important?
Logging and forest service work places high demands on the men and women whose livelihood depends on the forest resources industry. This industry is affected by many external factors that are beyond the control of the individual employer or worker. These include environmental factors, national and global market changes, technological changes, labor supply, and legislation. Those working in the forest are subject to a variety of workplace hazards that can result in illness and injury, most of which are preventable.

The systematic study of health and safety hazards in forestry communities has emerged as a new and important public health field. The forest industry has high rates of fatal and nonfatal injuries and a high prevalence of certain work-related diseases when compared with other occupations. There is an extraordinary opportunity for well focused research and education programs to improve health and safety while maintaining a productive industry.

How will the Agenda be used?
We hope that the Agenda will serve as a useful guide to anyone concerned with occupational health and safety in the Northwest forest resources industry. This document will be distributed to participants in the telephone interview, Workshop, and survey, and will be made available to the public. The Agenda will be particularly useful for researchers throughout the region, as it focuses attention on issues where research can make a difference in reducing disease and injury, and provides specific suggestions for research activities. We hope that regional policymakers and employers will find the Agenda valuable in their efforts to effectively reduce incidents of injury and illness.

The Center will use the Agenda to direct resources to relevant research and education activities. For example, we sponsor a pilot project program that provides initial funding for new projects in agricultural health and safety. The Agenda will serve as an important tool to guide pilot project applicants and Center investigators to consider research in specific areas of need. We support graduate students who can use the Agenda to develop project ideas. The Agenda will also guide future planning of our continuing education courses and outreach efforts.

How can I be involved in forestry health and safety research and education?
We hope that the distribution of the Agenda marks the beginning of a process that stimulates new thinking and efforts in the area of health and safety in the forestry resources industry. The Center can facilitate these efforts and provide linkages across the region. Please contact us and we will be happy to work with you to find common interests and new resources to prevent disease and injury in our region.

INTRODUCTION

THE NORTHWEST, SPECIFICALLY ALASKA, IDAHO, OREGON, AND WASHINGTON, houses some of the nation’s most beautiful and productive forests. The region’s loggers, foresters, and their families contribute to the health of our forests and to local and national economies. Yet the management and harvesting of timber places these groups at risk for a variety of health and safety hazards.

The forest resources industry is one of the most hazardous industries in the United States. For example, the fatality rate of loggers (including fallers, limbers, buckers, choker setters, truck drivers, general laborers, and machine operators) in 1997 was approximately 27 times the national average for all occupations (128 vs. 5 per 100,000). Nationally, nonfatal injuries in logging between 1992 and 1996 dropped from 4,537 (injuries per year) to 2,136 (injuries per year), however these rates continue to be greater than many occupations.¹

In the Northwest, fatality and injury data confirm the dangers prevalent in this industry. Washington state workers’ compensation claims data indicate that agricultural and forestry workers are at greater risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries, systemic poisoning, and dermatitis than are nonagricultural workers. A study of logging fatalities in Washington state indicated that employees of smaller logging firms were at higher risk for mortality.² Based on Washington state workers’ compensation claims data, the rate of nonfatal lost time injuries for loggers (13.5 per 100 full time equivalents [FTE]) is more than 3.5 times that of all industries combined (3.8 per 100 FTE).³

Between 1993 and 1997 agriculture, forestry and fishing occupations in Oregon were among those industries with the highest fatality rates (19.0 per 100,000, second only to construction at 19.⁴ per 100,000).⁴ According to the Characteristics of Work Injuries and Illnesses for Logging Camps and Logging Contractors, Oregon reported an injury rate of 20.6 (for every 100 workers) in 1997. The average costs per claim for logging occupations in 1997 included $10,612 in medical expenses, $7,257 in time loss, and $3,188 in permanent partial disability amounting to $21,057 per claim. Average time lost was 104 days.⁵

The Occupational Injury and Illness Report, published by the Alaska Department of Labor, reported that in 1994, loggers represented almost half of the injury and illness cases in the manufacturing of wood products and lumber industry (170 cases out of 273) and 23 percent of logging cases involved more than 11 days away from work. The median days away from work were six.⁶ In a review of the Alaska Trauma Registry for 1991 through 1995, logging had the highest average annual injury rate (2.5 for every 100 workers) of all occupations in Alaska.⁷

Efforts to decrease the number of health and safety hazards for loggers and foresters at the federal, state, and local levels are complicated by the lack of a skilled workforce, a fluctuating timber supply, and geographical demands inherent to the region. Overall, many industries are struggling to develop a qualified workforce in this period of low unemployment rates. The challenge is heightened in logging by low wages, occupational hazards, influx of young workers not committed to the profession, reduction of older, more skilled labor, and high turnover.⁸ In addition, a significant decline in available timber over the past 20 years has closed operations and displaced workers. In the near future, many industrial and nonindustrial stands will reach maturity and be available for thinning, and selective or final harvest.⁹ This increase in activity may be a boon to the industry if contractors can develop and retain skilled crews.

The Northwest forest resources industry also faces unique geographical demands with high mountain elevations, steep slopes, and dramatic climate changes. These environmental demands have prompted innovations within the industry such as skyline yarding, feller-bunchers, and helicopter logging. Yet even these adaptations generate new and, perhaps, unforeseen occupational hazards, which place loggers and foresters at continued risk for injury.

Setting priorities for health and safety research and education in the Northwest’s forest industry is a challenging task. However, many of the occupational diseases, injuries, and hazardous working conditions in this region’s forest industry are similar to those identified in other regions, nationally and worldwide. In our efforts to develop priorities, we turned to a process recently implemented on the national level.

THE NORA PROCESS

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is a federal agency within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and serves as the nation’s primary research organization for occupational health and safety. NIOSH created a new process in 1996, the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA), to better identify and prioritize significant health and safety hazards for research and public policy purposes. This Agenda process encompasses input from representatives of scientific, corporate, labor, and health care organizations. In the first phase, NIOSH compiled the results of committee meetings, public gatherings, and written comments to develop and refine the 21 research priorities (Table 1).

The criteria employed to guide the evaluation and selection of possible NIOSH NORA topics included some or all of the following:

• Seriousness of the hazard based on death, injury, disease, disability, and economic impact
• Number of workers exposed or magnitude of risk.
• Potential for risk reduction
• Expected trend in importance of the research area.
• Sufficiency of existing research
• Probability that research will make a difference

The NORA process has proven very successful, and serves as a model of broad stakeholder influence in priority setting. Most recently the process has encouraged the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies to join NIOSH in sponsoring a number of focused research programs directly relevant to workplace health and safety.

Table 1. NIOSH NORA Priority Research Areas

CATEGORY	PRIORITY RESEARCH AREAS
Disease & Injury	Allergic and Irritant Dermatitis Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Fertility and Pregnancy Abnormalities Hearing Loss Infectious Diseases Low Back Disorders Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Upper Extremities Traumatic Injuries
Work Environment & Work Force	Emerging Technologies Indoor Environment Mixed Exposures Organization of Work Special Populations at Risk
Research Tools & Approaches	Cancer Research Methods Control Technology and Personal Protective Equipment Exposure Assessment Methods Health Services Research Intervention Effectiveness Research Risk Assessment Methods Social and Economic Consequences of Workplace Illness and Injury Surveillance Research Methods

PACIFIC NW AGRICULTURAL SAFETY & HEALTH CENTER

An early aim of the Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (PNASH) was to identify and prioritize health and safety hazards in the region. Starting with farming, we turned to the NORA process for guidance. Our process, like NORA, was designed to elicit the perspectives of employers, labor, health care professionals, academicians, public agency officials, and others familiar with the region’s farming health and safety issues. A similar process was then applied to the forestry resources industry. We hoped, as in our experiences with Northwest farming, to find common ground among these groups in the identification of significant hazards workers face in the forest, for which new research could make a difference at a regional level. The following discussion summarizes the process used to create an occupational research agenda relevant to Northwest forestlands.

SETTING A RESEARCH AGENDA FOR NORTHWEST FORESTLANDS

The development of the Occupational Research Agenda for Northwest Forestlands encompassed several stages. Center staff began planning the Agenda process in March 1999. The aims included:

• Obtain information on health and safety concerns in regional logging and forestry, including technical, social, and economic dimensions
• Involve stakeholders in identifying issues that could be addressed by occupational safety and health research
• Establish a priority list, or agenda, of occupational safety and health research topics relevant to Northwest forestlands
• Assemble a technical advisory panel for the Center

Center staff provided individuals working in forest operations in the four-state region with a forum to identify the most significant safety and health topics and contribute ideas for prevention and intervention research. These views were elicited from land managers, field/contract workers, labor union representatives, academic researchers, health care professionals, tribes, government agency workers, and others through telephone interviews, the Forest Safety Workshop, and field worker surveys.

Center staff conducted telephone interviews with 109 constituents between October 1999 and January 2000. The interview consisted of six questions. Respondents were asked to name the most significant agricultural health and safety hazards in the region. The interview also included questions about types of research, training and other interventions that would identify and help reduce the risks, and sources of health and safety information. In addition, each respondent was asked for suggestions for other individuals to question; the majority of those people were contacted and interviewed.

The Center was assisted in planning by an external planning committee, which met on November 5, 1999 in Seattle, Washington. The committee made important revisions to the project’s scope (subsequently limited to logging and forestry work) and the design of the Forest Safety Workshop.

The selection of participants for the Forest Safety Workshop was shaped by the Center’s aim to have an equal representation of constituent groups from the Northwest. An invitation list was compiled from individuals recommended during the telephone interviews and suggestions for Center researchers and staff. Invitations were sent to 121 individuals throughout the Northwest and included representatives from timber companies, labor organizations, health care, academia, land management agencies, safety and health agencies, and contract logger associations.

The Forest Safety Workshop, February 3-4, 2000 in Seattle, attracted 50 participants. They were assigned to breakout groups of about 10 people where they were asked to prioritize key agricultural health and safety problems. Facilitators helped combine the small-group lists into the top 10 priority items. Participants then selected two of the ten breakout sessions to discuss the topics in-depth and formulate research questions and approaches.

Although the telephone interviews and Workshop captured the views of a variety of people throughout the region, Center staff identified a need for greater representation from contract loggers and other field workers. To reach them, the Center distributed a survey generated from the extended list of concerns developed by Workshop participants at regional logging association meetings to obtain field worker input. The survey asked participants to identify the top five issues and any additional concerns that may not have been presented on the survey. Currently, the Center has received 59 survey responses from people who attended the Washington Contract Logging Association, Association of Oregon Loggers, Associated Logging Contractors of Idaho, Intermountain Logging Association, and Alaska Forestry Association meetings.

The information gathered in the telephone interviews, Forest Safety Workshop, and surveys was analyzed by Center staff. The information was then summarized as forestry safety and health research priority areas for the region. A second external planning committee met on April 1, 2000, in Seattle to review this information and developed the final list of priorities described in the following section.

RESEARCH PRIORITY AREAS FOR NORTHWEST FORESTLANDS

Seventeen research priorities for the Occupational Research Agenda for Northwest Forestlands were selected, based on the telephone interview, Forest Safety Workshop, and surveys. The three major NIOSH NORA categories, Disease and Injury, Work Environment and Work Force, and Research Tools and Approaches, were retained as a framework for organizing the priorities, and a new category, Economic and Policy Factors, was employed to capture three areas that were identified as distinct priorities. Each category included research priority areas, as presented in Table 2.

The first category, Disease and Injury, included hearing loss, heat and cold stress, musculoskeletal disorders, skin disorders, and traumatic injuries as research priority areas. The second category, Work Environment and Workforce, included environmental hazards, hazardous operations, training, workplace behaviors, and work organization. The third category, Economic and Policy Factors, included government policy, industry trends, and top-level commitment. The fourth category, Research Tools and Approaches, included hazard control technology, intervention effectiveness, medical service, and surveillance, data collection and reporting.

These priorities are not ranked. However, certain topics surfaced more frequently in the telephone interviews and Forestry Workshop discussions. These included musculoskeletal disorders, traumatic injuries, hazardous operations, training, workplace behaviors, industry trends, and top-level commitment. The remainder of this document provides a brief overview of the 17 research priorities. Each overview describes the importance of the priority to the Northwest, and presents examples of research ideas provided by telephone interview and survey respondents, and Forest Safety Workshop attendees. We have also included a limited list of resources for additional information.

Table 2. Occupational Research Agenda for NW Forestlands: Priority Research Areas

CATEGORY	PRIORITY RESEARCH AREAS
Disease & Injury	Hearing Loss Heat & Cold Stress Musculoskeletal Disorders Skin Disorders Traumatic Injuries
Work Environment & Work Force	Environmental Hazards Hazardous Operations Training Workplace Behaviors Work Organization
Economic & Policy Factors	Government Policy Industry Trends Top Level Commitment
Research Tools & Approaches	Hazard Control Technology Intervention Effectiveness Medical Service Surveillance, Data Collection & Reporting

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Jenkins EL, Kisner SM, Fosbroke DE, Layne LA, Stout NA, Castillo DN, et al. Fatal Injuries to Workers in the United States, 1980-1989: A Decade of Surveillance. DHHS 93-108. Cincinnati, OH: NIOSH, 1993.

Leigh PJ, Markowitz SB, Fahs M, Shin C, Landrigan PJ. Occupational injury and illness in the United States: estimates of costs, morbidity, and mortality. Arch Intern Med 157:1557-68 (1997).

Linn HI, Amendola AA. Occupational Safety Research: An Overview. Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety, 4th Edition. Geneva: International Labour Organization, May 1998.

National Safety Council. Accident Facts. 1998 edition. Itaca, IL: National Safety Council, 1998.

Rosenstock L, Olenec C, Wagner G. The national occupational research agenda: A model of broad stakeholder input into priority setting. Am J Public Health 88:353-356 (1998).

Slappendel D, Larid I, Kawachi I, Marshall S, Cryer C. Factors affecting work-related injury among forestry workers: a review. Journal of Safety Research 21(1): 19-32 (1993).

Sygnatur EF. Logging is perilous work. Compensation and Working Conditions. Winter: 3– 9 (1998).

US NIOSH. National Occupational Research Agenda Update. DHHS 97-138 Cincinnati, OH: NIOSH, 1997.

US NIOSH. National Occupational Research Agenda. DHHS 96-115 Cincinnati, OH: NIOSH, 1996.

Forest Resources Association, Inc. homepage: http://www.apulpa.org.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 1998-99 Occupational Outlook Handbook: Forestry and Logging Occupations. Online: http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos178.htm.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health National Occupational Research Agenda homepage: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora/

Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center homepage: http://depts.washington.edu/pnash.

US OSHA. Logging Advisor. Online: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/logging/userguide/scope_application/scope_application.html.

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