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The '''Division of Industrial Hygiene''' was a division of the [[United States Public Health Service|U.S. Public Health Service]] (PHS) with responsibility for [[occupational safety and health]] programs. It existed from 1914 until 1971, when it became the [[National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health]] (NIOSH). It had several names during its existence, most notably the '''Office of Industrial Hygiene and Sanitation''' in its earlier years and the '''Division of Occupational Health''' during its later years.
The '''Division of Industrial Hygiene''' was a division of the [[United States Public Health Service|U.S. Public Health Service]] (PHS) with responsibility for [[occupational safety and health]] programs. It existed from 1914 until 1971, when it became the [[National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health]] (NIOSH). It had several names during its existence, most notably the '''Office of Industrial Hygiene and Sanitation''' in its earlier years and the '''Division of Occupational Health''' during its later years.


It was established as a result of [[Progressive Era]] concerns for the conditions of workers, with the goal of providing scientific responses to [[Hazard|hazards]] faced in the [[workplace]]. It was headquartered for its first few years in the [[United States Marine Hospital (Pittsburgh)|Pittsburgh U.S. Marine Hospital]], and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1918. Its responsibilities expanded during [[World War I]], and during the 1920s its functions grew to include broad field studies integrating environmental analyses of hazards in workplaces with medical analyses of workers' health.
It was established as a result of [[Progressive Era]] concerns for the conditions of workers, with the goal of providing scientific responses to [[Hazard|hazards]] faced in the [[workplace]]. It was headquartered for its first few years in the [[United States Marine Hospital (Pittsburgh)|Pittsburgh U.S. Marine Hospital]], and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1918. Its responsibilities expanded during World War I, and during the 1920s its functions grew to include broad field studies integrating environmental analyses of hazards in workplaces with medical analyses of workers' health.


In 1937, it became a division of the [[National Institutes of Health|National Institute of Health]]. The following year the Industrial Hygiene Laboratory, the first building built solely for the study of industrial hygiene in the U.S., opened as one of the first three buildings of [[National Institutes of Health campus|the new NIH campus]]. The outbreak of [[World War II]] caused a shift away from field investigations to direct services to the [[United States Army Ordnance Corps|U.S. Army Ordnance Department]] and state agencies to keep workers safe for war production, as well as an increase in [[laboratory]] research and development of analytical instrumentation.
In 1937, it became a division of the [[National Institutes of Health|National Institute of Health]]. The following year the Industrial Hygiene Laboratory, the first building built solely for the study of industrial hygiene in the U.S., opened as one of the first three buildings of [[National Institutes of Health campus|the new NIH campus]]. The outbreak of [[World War II]] caused a shift away from field investigations to direct services to the [[United States Army Ordnance Corps|U.S. Army Ordnance Department]] and state agencies to keep workers safe for war production, as well as an increase in [[laboratory]] research and development of analytical instrumentation.
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In 1915, the [[United States Marine Hospital (Pittsburgh)|Pittsburgh U.S. Marine Hospital]] became its first home.  Laboratories for chemistry, physiology, and bacteriology were constructed on the building's second floor, and a physical laboratory on the ground floor, all in the northwest wing of the building.<ref>{{cite news|date=1915-07-26|title=Aim is to study occupational diseases|page=10|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72689266 |access-date=2021-03-06 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=1915-11-12|title=Hospital to open four laboratories|page=7|work=Pittsburgh Daily Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72689342 |access-date=2021-03-06 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> It was the first laboratory for scientific investigation of [[Occupational safety and health|occupational health]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|date=1915-11-21|title=The danger of having a job|page=12|newspaper=Pittsburgh Daily Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72766749/pittsburgh-daily-post/ |access-date=2021-03-06 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>  Its location was likely due to proximity to the recently established [[Experimental Mine, U.S. Bureau of Mines|Bruceton Research Center]] of USBM, enhancing cooperation on [[Mine safety|miners' health]].<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8">{{cite web|last=Breslin|first=John A.|date=2010-02-01|title=One Hundred Years of Federal Mining Safety and Health Research|url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/works/coversheet1143.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110130158/http://www.cdc.gov:80/niosh/mining/works/coversheet1143.html |archive-date=2012-11-10 |access-date=2019-12-30|website=U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health|pages=32, 41–42|language=en}}</ref> In addition, there were no suitable laboratory facilities in [[Washington, D.C.]], as the Hygienic Laboratory at the time only conducted biological and not environmental investigations.<ref name=":7" />
In 1915, the [[United States Marine Hospital (Pittsburgh)|Pittsburgh U.S. Marine Hospital]] became its first home.  Laboratories for chemistry, physiology, and bacteriology were constructed on the building's second floor, and a physical laboratory on the ground floor, all in the northwest wing of the building.<ref>{{cite news|date=1915-07-26|title=Aim is to study occupational diseases|page=10|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72689266 |access-date=2021-03-06 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=1915-11-12|title=Hospital to open four laboratories|page=7|work=Pittsburgh Daily Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72689342 |access-date=2021-03-06 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> It was the first laboratory for scientific investigation of [[Occupational safety and health|occupational health]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|date=1915-11-21|title=The danger of having a job|page=12|newspaper=Pittsburgh Daily Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/72766749/pittsburgh-daily-post/ |access-date=2021-03-06 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>  Its location was likely due to proximity to the recently established [[Experimental Mine, U.S. Bureau of Mines|Bruceton Research Center]] of USBM, enhancing cooperation on [[Mine safety|miners' health]].<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8">{{cite web|last=Breslin|first=John A.|date=2010-02-01|title=One Hundred Years of Federal Mining Safety and Health Research|url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/works/coversheet1143.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110130158/http://www.cdc.gov:80/niosh/mining/works/coversheet1143.html |archive-date=2012-11-10 |access-date=2019-12-30|website=U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health|pages=32, 41–42|language=en}}</ref> In addition, there were no suitable laboratory facilities in [[Washington, D.C.]], as the Hygienic Laboratory at the time only conducted biological and not environmental investigations.<ref name=":7" />


Prior to [[World War I]], the Office's staff consisted of about 12 [[United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps|commissioned medical officers]] plus additional clerical assistants. The Office's initial studies were in the New York garment industry, the [[Youngstown, Ohio]] steel industry, various industries of [[Cincinnati]], and mining in [[Joplin, Missouri]].<ref name=":7" /> [[Epidemiology|Epidemiological]] studies of miners in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri were seminal in the scientific study and control of occupational diseases.<ref name=":19">{{cite journal|date=March 1964|title=A Half Century of Service in Occupational Health|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00028896409342563|journal=American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal|language=en|volume=25|issue=2|pages=104–107|doi=10.1080/00028896409342563|issn=0002-8894|pmid=14125859|author1=INADA T|author2=KITAYAMA T|author3=YOSHIDA O|author4=KIRIYAMA T|author5=SOHMA T|author6=HIROKAWA E}}</ref> Additionally, the Office assisted the [[U.S. Bureau of Standards]] in creating a National Gas Safety Code by performing laboratory studies to determine a "toxic limit" for [[carbon monoxide]].<ref name=":3" />
Prior to World War I, the Office's staff consisted of about 12 [[United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps|commissioned medical officers]] plus additional clerical assistants. The Office's initial studies were in the New York garment industry, the [[Youngstown, Ohio]] steel industry, various industries of [[Cincinnati]], and mining in [[Joplin, Missouri]].<ref name=":7" /> [[Epidemiology|Epidemiological]] studies of miners in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri were seminal in the scientific study and control of occupational diseases.<ref name=":19">{{cite journal|date=March 1964|title=A Half Century of Service in Occupational Health|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00028896409342563|journal=American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal|language=en|volume=25|issue=2|pages=104–107|doi=10.1080/00028896409342563|issn=0002-8894|pmid=14125859|author1=INADA T|author2=KITAYAMA T|author3=YOSHIDA O|author4=KIRIYAMA T|author5=SOHMA T|author6=HIROKAWA E}}</ref> Additionally, the Office assisted the [[U.S. Bureau of Standards]] in creating a National Gas Safety Code by performing laboratory studies to determine a "toxic limit" for [[carbon monoxide]].<ref name=":3" />


The responsibilities of the Office expanded during World War I. Its new activities included sanitation and surgical services for the U.S. Explosive Plant at [[Nitro, West Virginia]], and studies of medical facilities and worker healthcare in 170 war manufacturing plants for [[TNT]], [[tetryl]], [[picric acid]], war gases, and other materials, as well as in shell loading plants. Other studies during the war covered lead poisoning in the pottery industry, health hazards in the glass and chemical industries, industrial fatigue, plant illumination, and the physiological effects of high temperature and humidity.<ref name=":7" /> During the war, the Office often performed field studies to provide individualized recommendations for a particular workplace, though it did not issue general recommendations.<ref name=":3" />
The responsibilities of the Office expanded during World War I. Its new activities included sanitation and surgical services for the U.S. Explosive Plant at [[Nitro, West Virginia]], and studies of medical facilities and worker healthcare in 170 war manufacturing plants for [[TNT]], [[tetryl]], [[picric acid]], war gases, and other materials, as well as in shell loading plants. Other studies during the war covered lead poisoning in the pottery industry, health hazards in the glass and chemical industries, industrial fatigue, plant illumination, and the physiological effects of high temperature and humidity.<ref name=":7" /> During the war, the Office often performed field studies to provide individualized recommendations for a particular workplace, though it did not issue general recommendations.<ref name=":3" />
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