NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) awardees have provided resources, trainers, and subject matter expertise during many oil spill response and related cleanup operations. The following resources provide health and safety information for workers involved in oil spill response and cleanup activities. For a list of resources applicable to a variety of natural and man-made disasters, please visit our All-Hazards Resources page.
Training Resources
The National Clearinghouse creates training tools to aid in the development of awareness-level courses or other awareness-level materials. These tools provide health and safety guidance to those involved in disaster response and cleanup activities. Companion booklets are pocket guides that can be distributed with the training and used as a resource when workers are on a disaster site. To order hard copies of these booklets, please complete the Booklet Order Form.
Oil Spill Cleanup Training Tool
Note: This training tool is intended for workers NOT exposed to petroleum or other chemical products, but who may have a role in supporting oil spill cleanup efforts.
In English:
- Oil Spill Cleanup Initiative: Safety Awareness for Oil Spill Cleanup Workers(6.7MB)
- Oil Spill Cleanup Initiative: Safety Awareness for Oil Spill Cleanup Workers (Booklet)(2.9MB)
- Safety Awareness for Oil Spill Cleanup Workers (Flyer)(233KB)
En Español:
- Iniciativa de Limpieza del Derrame de Petróleo: Seguridad y Concienciación de Salud para Trabajadores de Limpieza de Derrames de Petróleo(6MB)
- Iniciativa de Limpieza del Derrame de Petróleo: Seguridad y Concienciación de Salud para Trabajadores de Limpieza de Derrames de Petróleo(1.6MB)
In Vietnamese:
- Oil Spill Cleanup Initiative: Safety Awareness for Oil Spill Cleanup Workers(6MB)
- Oil Spill Cleanup Initiative: Safety Awareness for Oil Spill Cleanup Workers (Booklet)(2.9MB)
Training Courses
Two different levels of training for oil spill workers have been developed and supported by NIEHS:
- A 40-hour training course on Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response. This is commonly known as HAZWOPER training. This is part of our regular, ongoing worker training offered through NIEHS and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This extensive training is for supervisors and individuals who will likely have direct contact with oil spill products.
- Short two- and four-hour training courses on Safety and Health Awareness. NIEHS, together with OSHA, helped develop several short educational courses, including some online training, which focus on the necessary hazard awareness and safety training for all oil spill workers. This training is provided to individuals who will have minimal contact with oil spill products.
In 2012, the NIEHS WTP, with support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), initiated the Gulf Responder Resilience Training Project to address behavioral health training and education for disaster-impacted communities. The project has developed awareness-level training materials for disaster workers, disaster supervisors, and disaster care providers.
Other NIEHS Resources
- NIEHS Gulf Oil Spill Response Efforts
- Provider Awareness of Patients with Environmental/Chemical Exposures Flyer(2.6MB)
- Worker Awareness of Environmental/Chemical Exposure and Communicating with Your Health Care Provider Flyer(2.2MB)
- WTP Update on 2010 Oil Spill Response and Cleanup Activities: Presented to the NIEHS National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council(1.3MB)
WTP Technical Workshops
- Spring 2011 Technical Workshop – Deepwater Horizon Lessons Learned: Improving Safety and Health Training for Disaster Cleanup Workers
- Fall 2010 Technical Workshop – Back to the Basics
Federal Links and Documents
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- Chemical Hazards and Toxic Substances Page
- Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: OSHA’s Role in the Response
- Oil Spills Page
- OSHA Letter (1993) Regarding Training Requirements for Emergency and Post-Emergency Response to Marine-Based Oil Spills
- Training Marine Oil Spill Response Workers under OSHA’s HAZWOPER Standard
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Emergency Response for Drinking Water and Wastewater Utilities
- Envirofacts System Data Searches
- Environmental Response Team
- EPA Response to the BP Spill in the Gulf of Mexico
- National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan Overview
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM)
Other
State/Local Links and Documents
- New Jersey Department of Health: Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheets
- Southeast Alaska Petroleum Resource Organization: Oil Spill Decontamination Procedures
Please refer to your state or local emergency management agency website for additional guidance on oil spill preparedness and response.
Other Links and Documents
- International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association: Oil Spill Responder Safety Guide
- Laborers National Health and Safety Fund Report of the Public Health Team Assessing the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Cleanup(5.8MB)
- Material Safety Data Sheet for Dispersant COREXIT® DC9580A(98KB)
- Material Safety Data Sheet for Dispersant Type 2 (COREXIT®EC9527A)
- Prolonged Respiratory Symptoms in Clean-up Workers of the Prestige Oil Spill(247KB)
- Self-Reported Exposures and Health Status among Workers from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Cleanup(7.9MB)
- Video: Hindsight and Foresight: 20 Years after the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
- Video: Worker Safety during the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill