Brochure - Employers

A Safe and Healthy Workplace
is Good for Business
Request a Free Evaluation
Health Hazard Evaluation Program
Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

What is NIOSH?
The National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (NIOSH) is a part of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The
NIOSH mission is to develop new knowledge about
occupational safety and health and see that it is
used to protect workers.
• NIOSH does research
• NIOSH makes recommendations
• NIOSH shares information

Right: An investigator with the Health Hazard Evaluation Program is taking noise
measurements at an aluminum can manufacturing facility.

What is the NIOSH
Health Hazard
Evaluation Program?

The Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) Program provides a free service.
When asked, the HHE Program evaluates health hazards in workplaces
throughout the United States. If you are an employer and want help assessing
and controlling possible work-related health hazards in your workplace, you
can ask for an HHE. The HHE Program does not issue fines or citations.
The HHE Program has expertise in many areas, including health hazard
identification, exposure assessment, symptom surveys, medical testing, and
engineering controls. Health hazards the HHE Program can assess include the following:
• Physical agents such as heat and noise
• Biological agents such as mold
• Infectious diseases such as tuberculosis
and influenza

• Chemicals such as solvents, metals,
and particulates
• Work stressors such as excessive
workload demands

Left: An HHE investigator wiping the bottom of a firearms instructor’s boot to test for lead contamination.

Why Should You
Request an HHE?
A free HHE offers employers several benefits.
You will learn whether exposures or conditions in
the workplace may harm employees. You will
learn how to reduce or eliminate hazards in your
workplace and ways to prevent work-related illnesses
and injuries. Employers who improve workplace
health and safety programs may see an increase in
employee productivity and a decrease in workers’
compensation costs and medical expenses. Being
proactive about the health of your employees is the
right thing to do.

Who Can
Request an HHE?
Employers can request an HHE. A business owner or the head of
an agency or organization can request an HHE. Health and safety
managers, human resource managers, and other managers
can also request an HHE on behalf of their employer. You can
request an HHE whether you are in the private or public sector.
Employees and unions can also request an HHE.
If you have questions about requesting an HHE or if you
would like to discuss issues at your facility, contact
the HHE Program at 1-513-841-4382 or by email at
HHERequestHelp@cdc.gov.

The HHE Program May:

How Does the HHE Process Work?
After you ask for an HHE, a NIOSH health and safety expert will contact you. From the
information you provide, they will decide if an on-site evaluation is needed.

• Observe work processes and practices
• Meet with you and other managers

For common types of hazards, an on-site evaluation is not always needed. If an on-site
visit is not needed, health and safety experts will get information by phone from you and your
employees; and review reports about exposures, illness, and injury. They will suggest ways to
reduce employees’ exposures and prevent work-related health problems. They may also suggest
other resources or places you can go for help.

• Talk with employees
• Review reports of exposure,
injury, and illness
• Measure exposures

If the HHE Program decides an on-site evaluation is needed, health and safety experts will come to
your workplace at a time agreed upon by all involved. The process may require more than one visit. The
team will work with you to minimize disruption of workplace activities.

• Survey employees
about their health

Throughout the process you and your employees will be kept informed about the activities. When exposure
measurements or medical tests are done on employees, the results will be sent to each employee. As an
employer, you will get a summary of the results and guidance for improving health and safety in your workplace.

The Report

The Follow Up

After the evaluation is done, the HHE Program will send you and an
employee representative a report. The report will tell you what the
HHE Program did and what they found. It also will suggest ways to
make your workplace healthier and safer.
The HHE Program shares the reports with other federal agencies
and the reports become part of the public record. The HHE
Program posts all reports on its website where they are available
to everyone for free. This allows other facilities to learn from the
findings. The reports do not include your name or the name
of your business, agency, or organization.

How Do You
Request an HHE?

• Carry out medical
testing

After the report is released the HHE
Program will invite you to ask
questions and share your thoughts about
the process. Later, the HHE Program will
send you surveys by mail to share your
opinions about your experience and to give
you a chance to describe actions taken since
the evaluation. To help improve the HHE Program,
you may be asked about scheduling a follow-up
visit. This will help the HHE Program learn how useful
its recommendations were helpful in improving health
and safety in your workplace.

To request an HHE, find the request form at
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/request.html.
You can fill it out online. Or, you can print the form and send it by mail or fax.
If you have any questions, please contact the HHE Program
Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time:
1-513-841-4382
HHERequestHelp@cdc.gov
NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Program
4676 Columbia Parkway, Mail Stop R-9
Cincinnati, OH 45226-1988
Left: An HHE investigator uses a sound level meter to measure noise
levels at a veterinary clinic.

Delivering on the Nation’s promise:
Safety and health at work for all
people through research
and prevention

To receive documents or other
information about occupational
safety and health topics, contact:
1-800-CDC-INFO
(1-800-232-4636)
1-888-232-6348
cdcinfo@cdc.gov or visit the NIOSH
website http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/.
For a monthly update on news at NIOSH, subscribe to
NIOSH eNews by visiting http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/eNews.

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013–xxx