Occupational Epidemiology and the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health Corresponding author: William
Halperin, MD, DrPH, Department of Preventive Medicine and
Community Health, New Jersey Medical School and School, 185
South Orange Avenue, MS8, Room F-506, P.O. Box 1709, Newark, NJ
07101-1709; Telephone: 973-972-4422; Fax: 973-972-7625; E-mail:
email@example.com. The major factors that propelled the
development of occupational epidemiology since the 1950s have
been delineated (1). They include momentum to control
occupational injury that gained national prominence in the wake
of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of March 25, 1911, in which 146
young, mostly female immigrant garment workers fell to their
deaths while escaping from a fire in a locked sweat shop. This
tragedy was a turning point in the nationwide adoption of state-
based occupational safety regulations, workers' compensation
programs, and federal safety legislation. During the 1930s,
federal initiatives in occupational safety and heal