National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

What National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health does

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. Established in 1970 and operating under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention within the Department of Health and Human Services, NIOSH serves a broad horizontal base of U.S. worker populations across industries including construction, oil and gas extraction, commercial fishing, healthcare, stone fabrication, and motor vehicle operations. Its primary technical product is the NIOSH Industry and Occupation Computerized Coding System (NIOCCS), a free web-based application that uses machine learning to automatically code industry and occupation text for public health professionals, replacing manual coding processes that were slow, costly, and difficult to scale. The agency also operates specialized research centers such as the Center for Occupational Robotics Research (established 2017) and the Center for Motor Vehicle Safety.

NIOSH operates under a government funding model with no commercial revenue generation. It is funded through Congressional appropriations and provides all research outputs, guidelines, training programs, and tools free of charge. Distribution occurs through the CDC/NIOSH website, scientific publications, webinars, conferences, and partnerships with industry organizations and universities such as the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA), University of Florida, and CPWR. Documented outcomes attributed to NIOSH programs include an over 80 percent reduction in commercial fishing fatalities since prevention programs began, and the agency has documented that work-related motor vehicle crashes cost employers $39 billion in 2019 and accounted for 35 percent of all work-related deaths from 2011 to 2022.

In April 2024, NIOSH experienced a reduction-in-force affecting approximately 1,000 of its roughly 1,200 employees, with only about 300 initially reinstated. The Department of Health and Human Services subsequently reversed all layoffs, reinstating the full workforce by January 2026 following organizing by the American Federation of Government Employees. The agency simultaneously faced a 2025 proposal from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to cut approximately 80 percent of NIOSH's funding, with the larger HHS reorganization stalled by a pending court case.

Name

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Legal name

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Website

https://cdc.gov

Company type

Public

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the U.S. federal agency under the CDC that conducts research and develops recommendations to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths across industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Occupational Health and Safety Research

NAICS

Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (926150), Public Administration (92)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Occupational Health & Safety (EHS) Programs & Training (OSHA-style) (EDAEAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Hazard Communication (GHS/SDS) & Chemical Safety (EDABAEAB)

Keywords

• Occupational safety research
• Workplace health guidelines
• Industrial hygiene standards
• Worker injury prevention
• Federal safety agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: NIOSH is a federal government agency funded through congressional appropriations to conduct occupational safety and health research. The agency does not generate revenue from product sales or services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NIOSH conducts research, develops guidelines, and provides recommendations to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths across U.S. industries. As a federal agency under CDC, it produces free science-based standards, training programs, and the NIOCCS web-based machine learning tool for industry and occupation coding, distributing all resources at no cost to workers, employers, and government stakeholders.

Product overview

NIOSH serves as a federal research agency within CDC focused on occupational safety and health research. Its primary technology product is NIOCCS, a web-based machine learning application that automatically codes industry and occupation data. NIOSH does not operate as a commercial product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NIOCCS (NIOSH Industry and Occupation Computerized Coding System) A free web-based machine learning application that automatically codes industry and occupation text for public health professionals, replacing manual coding processes that were slow, costly, and difficult to scale. Offered with API access for real-time programmatic data integration.
• Construction Work Zone Safety Webinars (Internal Traffic Control Plans) Educational webinars on construction work zone safety topics, including Internal Traffic Control Plans (ITCPs), designed to prevent construction worker injuries and fatalities in work zones.
• Commercial Fishing Safety Training Programs Maritime safety training programs delivered through partner organizations, including drill conductor courses and fishing vessel safety classes, aimed at preventing commercial fishing fatalities.
• Hazardous Drug Compounding Safety Guidelines and Certifications Safety guidelines and certifications covering the safe handling and compounding of hazardous drugs, including cellular and gene therapies, for pharmacy technicians and healthcare workers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Commercial fishing fatalities reduced by over 80 percent since NIOSH prevention programs began
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• University of FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Ongoing research at the University of Florida on drone-human interactions and demolition robot safety hazards, with NIOSH's Center for Occupational Robotics Research partnering with universities to develop safety standards.
• Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMSEA depends on NIOSH funding for fishing safety training programs that have trained thousands of commercial fishermen. NIOSH prevention programs have reduced commercial fishing fatalities by over 80 percent. AMSEA plans to continue training operations in 2026, including drill conductor courses in Alaska and fishing vessel safety classes on the West Coast and Gulf of Mexico.
• CPWRmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCPWR funds research related to construction robotics safety, working with NIOSH on human-robot collaboration safety standards.
• California Department of Public Health (CDPH)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDPH identified the first two U.S. engineered stone countertop worker fatalities due to silicosis in early 2019. NIOSH is now expanding CDPH's approach nationwide to conduct workplace surveys and distribute education on silicosis prevention.
• University of Washington's Department of Environmental & Health SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIOSH funded the Northwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety (NWCOHS) at UW, which conducts occupational health research and training. Grant renewal was affected by the Trump administration communications embargo on HHS and NIOSH.
• International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerISEA led advocacy efforts including a letter with 460 cosigners to Congress and the Administration to reinstate NIOSH staff, commending the decision as essential to protecting workers and ensuring regulatory certainty for employers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA): AIHA is a professional association advancing industrial hygiene practice, including worker exposure assessment and occupational health standards. It operates adjacent to NIOSH's mission with practitioner-focused training, certification, and advocacy.
• CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training: CPWR is a nonprofit research and training center focused on construction safety, partnering with NIOSH on construction robotics safety standards. It is a peer in occupational safety research applied specifically to the construction industry.
• National Safety Council (NSC): NSC is a nonprofit safety advocate that conducts workplace and roadway safety research, training, and advocacy. It complements NIOSH's mission with a private-sector, multi-stakeholder model and overlapping research on motor vehicle and workplace fatalities.
• Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI): WCRI is an independent, nonprofit research organization studying workers' compensation systems and workplace injury outcomes. It overlaps with NIOSH's research mission around workplace injury and illness economics, though focused on insurance and policy rather than direct regulatory science.

Direct peers

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): OSHA is the federal regulatory counterpart to NIOSH, responsible for enforcing workplace safety standards that NIOSH's research informs. The two agencies share the statutory framework under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, with NIOSH generating research and recommendations and OSHA implementing enforcement, making them the closest peer in mission and scope.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): BLS collects and publishes workplace injury, illness, and fatality data through its Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) and Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). It is a direct statistical peer to NIOSH's surveillance work and often cited alongside NIOSH in occupational safety research.
• Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA): MSHA is the federal agency enforcing safety and health standards in the mining sector, with research functions similar to NIOSH's applied to mining hazards. It operates a parallel federal safety-research-and-regulation model for a specific industry vertical.
• EU-OSHA (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work): EU-OSHA is the European Union's occupational safety and health agency, conducting research, developing guidance, and running awareness campaigns across EU member states. It is the closest international analogue to NIOSH in scope and mission.
• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS): NIEHS is a fellow NIH institute focused on environmental health research, including occupational and environmental exposures. It shares NIOSH's research-and-recommendation mandate but with a broader environmental scope, overlapping on topics like hazardous exposures and worker health.

Broad incumbents

• World Health Organization (WHO) Occupational Health Programme: WHO's Occupational Health and Worker Safety programme develops global guidelines and coordinates international occupational health policy. It operates at a global scale and sets broader normative frameworks that NIOSH's work feeds into and aligns with.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health