NIOSH Announces 2023 Update of Its Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards

NIOSH plans to publish an updated version of its Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards in 2023, the agency announced in the November issue of its e-newsletter. The NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards provides general industrial hygiene information for nearly 700 chemicals and is intended to inform workers, employers, and occupational health professionals about workplace chemicals and their hazards. According to NIOSH, the new edition will include expanded signs and symptoms of exposure, updated respirator recommendations, and added airborne concentration measurement methods. The agency also plans to include NIOSH skin notations, descriptions of how chemical protective clothing and decontamination recommendations were developed, and the most recent NIOSH Chemical Carcinogen Policy, which describes how the agency classifies chemicals as carcinogens, identifies control levels, and addresses analytical feasibility.

The NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards was first published in 1978. It is currently available in print, online, as a PDF, and as a mobile app for iOS and Android devices.