PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTAL HEAD INJURIES.

The National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH) proposes that compliance with substantially improved performance standards for industrial safety helmets will reduce both the frequency and severity of disabling head injuries. During the next five years, NIOSH plans to develop such standards, which will deal solely with features directly related to the safety of the wearer. These standards will define, for example, the magnitude of a blow that a helmet must withstand, and the criteria against which the test data will be compared. They will be based on defensible human injury tolerance data and occupational hazard exposure data. NIOSH is promoting studies that will supply information on which the standards will be based.