A brief history

In 1947 the Directorate of Labour Inspection initiated a laboratory for analysis and evaluation of exposure to chemicals at work. In 1963 the laboratory was extended and the Institute of Occupational Health was established under the auspices of the Ministry of Local Government and Labour. This institute was soon renamed and became known as the Work Research Institutes upon inclusion of the newly created Institutes of Work Physiology and Work Psychology and later, in 1981, the Institute of Muscle Physiology.

In 1986 the Institute of Work Psychology was made independent and named the Work Research Institute. The institute is concerned primarily with applied research, that is to say, practical research related to organisational and psychosocial conditions.

The three remaining institutes were combined and became jointly known as the National Research Centre for Occupational Medicine and Occupational Hygiene. In 1988 the name was changed to the present one – The National Institute of Occupational Health.