Washington – NIOSH recently issued a report (.pdf file) on lessons learned from the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The report found that NIOSH, given its limited resources, should decide what role it will play in future large-scale disaster events and that federal agencies need standardized tools for data collection and information posting.

According to the report, an unprecedented number of NIOSH workers (106) participated in the response effort. The agency’s duties included establishing a roster of volunteer workers, conducting health surveillance and partnering with OSHA to develop interim guidance for protecting workers.