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Epidemiology & Exposure Science

As the nation’s research facilities, laboratories, and private industry place greater importance on ensuring that activities are performed in a safe and environmentally responsible manner, accurate analysis of occupational health issues is critical to mitigating the causes and effects of on-the-job exposures.

From epidemiology and health surveillance studies to organizational culture evaluations—ORAU offers a comprehensive approach to helping customers focus on workplace hazards research and the occupational health and safety of workers.

Male and female workers dressed in safety vests

Impact Areas

NIOSH Radiation Dose Reconstruction Project

Since its inception in 2002, the NIOSH Radiation Dose Reconstruction Program has yielded thousands of claims successfully processed for workers’ compensation. Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, the program helps ensure that energy workers who developed cancers from occupational radiation exposures—or surviving family members—are rightfully compensated for their illnesses.

Learn more about the NIOSH project

A worker holds a hard hat in a warehouse setting

National Supplemental Screening Program

Under the National Supplemental Screening Program (NSSP), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) offers free customized medical screenings to former energy workers who may have been exposed to hazardous substances on the job site. The screenings are designed to identify occupational diseases such as chronic respiratory illnesses, hearing loss, kidney or liver disease, and some forms of cancer.

Learn more about the NSSP

A female physician speaks to a male patient in a doctor's office

Understanding the relationship between safety culture and safety performance

ORAU researchers recently co-author Understanding the relationship between safety culture and safety performance indicators in U.S. nuclear waste cleanup operations, published in the October 2023 edition of Safety Science. The study examined the relationship between nuclear safety culture and safety performance by evaluating the relationships between safety culture traits and two types of performance measures—personal safety and operations indicators—for a U.S. nuclear waste cleanup contractor.

Read more about this research

Understanding the relationship between safety culture and safety performance

Contact us

For more information about ORAU's epidemiology and exposure science programs, contact us at (865) 576-3115 or .

If you have questions about contracting vehicles, contact the ORAU Contracts Administration Office at (865) 576-7618 or angela.holmberg@orau.org.