Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals | Bruce Greenstein, Secretary

Occupational Health Surveillance

Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology • Louisiana Occupational Health Surveillance • Links • Reports / Publications

The goal of the Occupational Health Surveillance Program is to promote the health, safety and quality of life of people working in Louisiana. Program activities include the following:

• Collect, analyze, interpret and disseminate information about work-related injuries, illnesses, and hazards in Louisiana.
• Educate workers, employers, and health care providers about occupational health and safety issues.
• Use surveillance information to guide the development of prevention and outreach activities.

Occupational Health Activities:

Tracking occupational health indicators

Through a CDC/NIOSH Cooperative Agreement, the program routinely tracks 20 occupational health indicators. The indicators define a specific measure of health or risk status (i.e., the occurrence of a health event or factors associated with that event) among a specified population. These surveillance indicators allow a state to compare its health or risk status with that of other states and evaluate trends over time within the state, and guide priorities for prevention and intervention efforts.

The indicators include:

• Employment demographics
• Non-fatal and fatal work-related injuries and illnesses
• Work-related hospitalizations, including burns and low back pain
• Pneumoconiosis and asbestosis hospitalizations and deaths
• Mesothelioma
• Elevated blood lead levels among adults
• Acute work-related pesticide poisonings
• Occupations and industries at high risk for occupational mortality and morbidity.

Click here for a report summarizing Louisiana's occupational health indicators

Pesticide Poisoning

Pesticide poisoning is a reportable condition in Louisiana. Reports of pesticide poisoning are investigated and tracked.

Click here to report a case of pesticide poisoning or to visit the Pesticide Surveillance Program's webpage.

Heavy Metal & Carbon Monoxide Exposure

Arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury and carbon monoxide are reportable conditions in Louisiana.

Click here to report a case of heavy metal or carbon monoxide exposure or to visit the Heavy Metal & Carbon Monoxide Surveillance webpage. Included on the webpage are links to guidance documents on heavy metal exposure that discuss occupational and non-occupational exposure sources, toxicity and susceptible populations, OSHA medical monitoring guidelines and test result standards (OSHA, ACGIH and CDC).

If you have an occupational issue to report or want more information about the program, send an email to oph.seetweb@la.gov.