Dear NASA Team Member,

Some time ago, I reaffirmed safety and health as NASA's highest core values 
and emphasized the importance of every NASA employee's involvement in and 
support of the Agency Safety Initiative. In the coming year, I plan to regularly 
discuss health and safety topics with the NASA team and place these topics on 
the NASA web site (www.nasa.gov/bios/goldin_speeches.html) and in e-mail to 
every NASA employee.

I strongly believe that promoting and maintaining our health is a prerequisite to 
ensuring safety and productivity in the unique NASA work environments on the 
ground, in the air and in space.  

Studies show that the U.S. workforce could be more productive if some of the 
common risk factors that cause errors and accidents were addressed.  These 
risk factors, including stress at home and work, fatigue due to shift work, travel, 
and lack of sleep, unhealthy diet and insufficient exercise all contribute to errors 
and injuries.  Through preventive measures such as health education, medical 
screening for early detection of chronic diseases, and attention to safety we can 
minimize these risk factors -- and more importantly, we can work more safely 
and productively.  

I encourage every NASA employee to review the information that I will be 
forwarding and to take full advantage of our NASA-wide expansion of 
occupational health services.  This is an investment for everyone on the NASA 
team and an investment in NASA's future.  Our preeminence in air and space is 
a result of your hard work and expertise, and good health and safety are keys to 
that success.  To maintain our competitive edge we must do more than talk 
about our concerns for health and safety.  Ultimately, it is up to each of us to 
accept responsibility for our personal health and safety.  That means 
everywhere, at all times, at work and at home.  And if we pursue this goal as a 
team, we can protect our most valuable asset -- you.

Sincerely, 

Daniel S. Goldin
Administrator