Weekly E-Newsbrief
April 15, 2022
The E-Newsbrief of the National Clearinghouse is a free weekly newsletter focusing on new developments in the world of worker health and safety. Each issue provides summaries of the latest worker health and safety news from newspapers, magazines, journals, government reports, and the Web, along with links to the original documents. Also featured each week are updates from government agencies that handle hazmat and worker safety issues such as DOE, EPA, OSHA and others.
Subscribing to the National Clearinghouse Newsbrief is the best way to stay on top of the worker health and safety news.
- Top Stories
- Calendar Features
- On The Web This Week
- Federal Agency Update
- Awardee Highlights/Online Learning
- Job Openings
- We Want Your Feedback
- Newsbriefs Past Issues
| Top Stories | Back to Top |
Hanford Report Reveals Problem with Nuclear Waste Solution
Fourteen years behind its original deadline, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is scheduled to begin turning radioactive wastes into benign glass in 2023. However, an internal federal document said the preparatory process for this work will produce toxic vapors from a substance called acetonitrile, which would be unsafe for workers and people and animals that live nearby.
Crosscut [Author: John Stang]
Workers Evacuated from Area of Carlsbad Nuclear Waste Repository After 'Abnormal Event'
An incident at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant nuclear waste repository near Carlsbad led to the evacuation of workers from an area of the facility where waste is prepared for disposal. The incident was reported in the waste handling building. As a drum of waste was being processed, liquid was found at the bottom of the container which tested positive for radioactive contamination, per a news release from WIPP officials.
Carlsbad Current Argus [Author: Adrian Hedden]
Hearing to Take Place on Decades-Long Fight on Western New York Toxic Waste Landfill
The debate over the expansion of a toxic waste landfill in Niagara County, which is going on 20 years, could soon come to a close. The first in a series of hearings on the matter will take place. Since 2003, local groups fought to stop CWM Chemical Services and Waste Management from expanding their toxic waste landfills in the town of Porter.
Spectrum Local News [Author: Viktoria Hallikaar
Report: IL Clean-Energy Plan to Spur Job Creation
"We can't outrun or hide from climate change. There is no time to lose. Illinois is taking action in the fight to stop and even reverse the damage that's been done to our climate." With those words, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the state's ambitious Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) last fall. CEJA aims to get the state to 100% clean energy by 2050.
Public News Service [Author: Laura Aka]
Are the Skilled Trades Making a Comeback?
The high cost of a four-year college degree and the tight labor market are encouraging some young people to take a closer look at the skilled trades. Jobs in fields like construction, automotive repair and robotic manufacturing generally require fewer years of expensive schooling than a bachelor’s degree and they pay well. Enrollment is up nationally in two-year programs at technical schools.
Minnesota Public Radio News [Author: Angela Davis and Maja Beckstrom]
Healthcare Workers Report High Job Turnover Amid Pandemic
An observational study of 125,717 full-time U.S. healthcare workers in JAMA Health Forum spotlights high turnover rates amid the COVID-19 pandemic among physicians, long-term care workers, and health aides and assistants, especially members of historically marginalized racial groups and women with young children.
| Calendar Features | Back to Top |
U.S. Department of Labor Reopens Rulemaking Record, Schedules Public Hearing on Proposed Final Rule to Protect Healthcare Workers from COVID-19 Exposure
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has reopened the rulemaking record partially and scheduled an informal public hearing to seek comments on specific topics that relate to the development of a final standard to protect healthcare and healthcare support service workers from workplace exposure to the COVID-19 virus. The deadline to submit comments is April 22.
NYC CLC/NYCOSH Webinar: Is Your Ventilation Sufficient?
The New York City Central Labor Council (NYC CLC) and the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) are hosting a webinar on ventilation on April 26 at 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. ET. The webinar will cover three technical parameters of good ventilation: (1) air changes per hour, (2) filtration efficiency, and (3) percentage of fresh air.
Towards a Future of Environmental Health Sciences Workshop
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Standing Committee on Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions is hosting a workshop to consider the future of environmental health research. The workshop will cover the following questions: What are the opportunities for change, what are the existing tools and technologies that will shape the future, and how can environmental health as a field move towards this new future? It will be held on April 26-27 at 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. ET on April 26 and 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. ET on April 27.
National Occupational Injury Research Symposium Registration is Now Open
The National Occupational Injury Research Symposium (NOIRS) is the only national forum focused on occupational acute traumatic injury research. NOIRS brings together experts to advance the public health mission of keeping workers safe on the job. NOIRS will take place May 10-12 from 12:00-4:00 p.m. ET.
U.S. Department of Labor to Hold Virtual Meeting to Solicit Public Input on OSHA Whistleblower Program Improvements
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will hold a virtual meeting to solicit public comments and suggestions on how the agency can improve OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program. Registration is required by May 11 and the meeting will be held on May 18 from 1-4 p.m. ET
| On The Web This Week | Back to Top |
Minneapolis Jobs Program Aims to Grow and Diversify Clean Energy Workforce
Alexei Haug was attending electrician classes at a Minneapolis vocational school when a posting in his classroom for free solar training drew his attention. “I thought: Why not?” the 20-year-old Summit Academy student said. Today, Haug is still studying to become an electrician.
Energy News [Author: Frank Jossi]
White House Environmental Justice Advisors Press for Justice40 Action
Key members of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council said Tuesday that the Biden administration hadn't done enough to make good on its promise that 40% of all benefits from climate investment go to disenfranchised communities.
Spectrum News NY 1 [Author: Associated Press]
| Federal Agency Update | Back to Top |
Working for $2.50 Per Hour: U.S. Department of Labor’s Crackdown on Grossly Exploitive, Abusive Pay Practices in San Diego Continues
While dozens of companies along the U.S. border in California hire workers from Mexico to labor as warehouse and logistics’ workers in scores of non-descript buildings, U.S. Department of Labor investigators and attorneys are also working hard – to prevent exploitation of these workers and hold employers accountable.
OSHA Announces National Emphasis Program to Protect Workers from Heat Illness and Injuries
Heat illness affects thousands of indoor and outdoor workers each year and can tragically lead to death. Reducing workplace heat-related illnesses and injuries is a top priority for the Department of Labor, and this National Emphasis Program is a way to immediately improve enforcement and compliance efforts, while continuing long-term work to establish a heat illness prevention rule.
| Awardee Highlights/Online Learning | Back to Top |
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Event: Let’s Clear the Air on COVID-19 Is Now Available
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) event on clean indoor air is now available online. The recording and transcript of the event is now available. These links and more information are under “Let’s Clear the Air on COVID: An OSTP Discussion on Clean Indoor Air” on OSTP’s past events page.
WTP Spring Workshop Registration Is Now Open
The Spring 2022 NIEHS WTP Awardee Meeting and Workshop registration is now open. This workshop’s theme is “Preparing for the Impacts of Climate Change through Training.” The awardee meeting will be held on Tuesday afternoon, May 17. The technical workshop will be held on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, May 18-19. The workshop will focus on sharing strategies regarding mitigating occupational hazards related to climate change.
NOSI: Promoting Health, Safety, and Recovery Training for COVID-19 Essential Workers and their Communities
NIEHS WTP issued a Notice of Special Interest (NOSI). The purpose of this supplement is to provide support for successful applicants to develop partnerships with local worker centers and community organizations specifically targeting under served and disadvantaged communities with higher-than-average COVID-19 transmission rates. The deadline to apply is June 6.
NIEHS Congressional Justification
The NIEHS receives its funding through an annual Congressional appropriation. Each year, congressional subcommittees conduct hearings on the accomplishments and needs of the NIEHS before its budget request is approved by Congress. The Fiscal Year 2023 NIEHS Congressional Justification and Superfund Congressional Justification is now available.
NIEHS Congressional Justification
| Job Openings | Back to Top |
MTA Seeks Environmental Health and Safety Organizer
The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) Field and Organizing Division is seeking qualified applicants for the position of Environmental Health and Safety Rep/Organizer. The role will provide access to environmental health and safety resources, including health and safety training, to MTA staff and local leaders.
Department of Veterans Affairs Seeks an Industrial Hygienist
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) seeks an Industrial Hygienist for the Boise VA Medical Center (BVAMC) and its Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). This role supports the development of facility industrial hygiene policies, programs, and procedural documentation.
| We Want Your Feedback | Back to Top |
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