Ergonomic injuries and illnesses and an OSHA standard to control them have been the subject of intense debate in recent years. Claims have been made that there is no scientific evidence or proof that workplace factors cause musculoskeletal disorders—the collective name for ergonomic injuries and illnesses. However, the scientific literature shows that there is a large body of evidence that workplace factors cause musculoskeletal disorders. This view is supported by national and international safety and health professionals and scientific experts:

The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses—the professional association for more than 13,000 occupational and environmental health nursing professionals—went on record in a February 1999 letter to OSHA Assistant Secretary Charles Jeffress stating "a standard designed to protect workers from musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses is consistent with supporting scientific evidence."

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine—the world's largest occupational medical society, representing over 7,000 physicians, went on record in a 1999 letter to OSHA Assistant Secretary Charles Jeffress stating that "there is an adequate scientific foundation for OSHA to proceed...and no reason for OSHA to delay the rulemaking process while the National Academy of Science panel conducts its review."

The American Industrial Hygiene Association, the professional association for industrial hygienists, wrote in a March 1999 letter to Rep. Roy Blunt that "AIHA feels that enactment of H.R. 987 would unduly delay the process of moving forward with an ergonomics proposal." It further states that "AIHA believes the NAS study should parallel the rule making process, not precede it in a way that might result in a delay..." This letter was in keeping with the AIHA position paper on ergonomics that states "there is a significant and growing body of knowledge related to the relationship between the physical work environment and musculoskeletal disorders."

The American Occupational Therapy Association stated in a February 22, 1999 press release that "The 60,000 members of the American Occupational Therapy Association feel strongly that the epidemic of work related injuries occurring today is a public policy and economic problem that needs to be addressed, and OSHA's draft ergonomics standard will focus public attention on the problem."

The American Public Health Association's position—first stated in a 1997 resolution and reiterated in a February, 1999 letter to OSHA Assistant Secretary Charles Jeffress—is that "Scientific evidence has established a cause-and-effect relationship between poor ergonomics in the workplace and chronic musculoskeletal disorders."

The American Society of Safety Engineers' summary position on OSHA's proposed Ergonomics Standard as written in a June 1999 letter to OSHA Assistant Secretary Charles Jeffress is that "ASSE supports the concept of a federal standard addressing ergonomics" and "ASSE believes there is enough science justifying the creation of such a standard."

The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society—the professional organization of ergonomists takes the position that "Ergonomics is a globally recognized science with a body of validated research findings and practices".... "companies adopt ergonomic principles to reduce the incidence of costly accidents in their facilities, or to make products more marketable as user friendly. In some cases, government or industry guidelines or voluntary, consensus-based standards may be appropriate." "Ergonomics applications—based on solid research findings—not only can improve the workplace, but can make products and processes more competitive in the world market."

The National Academy of Sciences, as a result of a Congressionally requested review of work-related musculoskeletal disorders completed in 1998, found that:

• Musculoskeletal disorders are a serious national problem.
  
• The scientific literature clearly demonstrates that musculoskeletal disorders in workers are caused by exposure to ergonomic hazards at work.
  
• Scientific research clearly demonstrates that effective work place interventions are available which can reduce ergonomic hazards and prevent musculoskeletal disorders.
  
• There is evidence that interventions are cost-beneficial for employers.

The National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health—a committee of safety and health experts from management, labor, the safety and health professions and academia that advises the Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Health and Human Services has taken the position that , "Although some issues associated with ergonomics remain to be resolved, the science of ergonomics is strong and dates back at least fifty years and, in our view, is sufficient to move forward with a proposed OSHA ergonomics standard. Clear evidence of this assertion and testimony to the benefits of ergonomics is the fact that many countries and Fortune 500 companies are using ergonomics successfully to reduce workplace injuries."

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health comprehensive review of the scientific literature on Musculoskeletal Disorders and Workplace Factors concluded, "A substantial body of credible epidemiologic research provides strong evidence of an association between MSDs and certain work-related physical factors when there are high levels of exposure and especially in combination with exposure to more than one physical factor (e.g. repetitive lifting of heavy objects in extreme or awkward postures)."

The Scientific Committee on Musculoskeletal Disorders of the International Commission on Occupational Health has gone on record in support of the NIOSH science review and its findings. In a July 1997 letter, they stated: "The general conclusion [of the NIOSH review] were welcomed as being both concise and straight forwards...There was broad agreement with the findings that related to the importance and relevance of specific factors within this work system. There was also agreement with the implications of these findings for policy, research and practice."

"The review demonstrates that there is a vast body of literature that can be exploited to control the incidence and severity of work-related musculoskeletal disorders."