Weekly E-Newsbrief
August 18, 2023
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 |
2023 National Trainers’ Exchange Webpage is Now Live!
The National Trainers’ Exchange (TRX) brought together over 300 participants representing WTP-funded training programs. Participants met and exchanged ideas about how to make training for hazardous materials and emergency response workers more effective and empowering. The webpage features links to the Spring Awardee Meeting and TRX agendas, speaker presentation slide decks and handouts, and session summaries.
Maui Wildfires Highlight Rural Firefighting Dilemma
In Lāhainā, resources were already stretched thin as firefighters from stations across Maui responded to two other fires on August 8. The Maui Fire Department has previously stated that the four-minute response time set by the National Fire Protection Association is unrealistic in Hawai’i where mountains, unpopulated land, ocean channels and limited roads increase travel time drastically.
The Daily Yonder [Author: Claire Carlson]
Coal Miners Plead with Feds for Stronger Enforcement During Emotional Hearing on Black Lung Rule
During an emotional, hours-long hearing miners spoke about their fear of retaliation for speaking up about unsafe dust levels and being asked by companies to help falsify samples. They said the government needs more inspectors to spend more time in the mines making sure existing rules are followed.
13 News [Author: Leah Willingham]
Montana Youth Victory Could Spur Momentum on Other Climate Cases
A landmark court decision that Montana is violating its youngest residents’ rights to a clean and healthful climate could have legal repercussions well beyond the Treasure State. Judge Kathy Seeley of the 1st Judicial District Court in Montana found that youth in the state have a “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, which includes climate” as she struck down two laws that bar state agencies from considering the climate effects of fossil fuel projects.
Climate Wire [Author: Lesley Clark]
Hurricanes Cause Vast Majority of Storm Deaths in Vulnerable Communities
A few minor changes to the summary – see sentences below: A new study examined short-term excess mortality following tropical cyclones in the U.S. The study looked at 179 storms over the past 32 years and found that major storms contributed to more than 18,000 deaths in the month of and month following the storms—many more than in official tallies. More than 90 % of those who died came from poor or historically disadvantaged communities.
NPR [Author: Alejandra Borunda]
| Calendar Features | Back to Top |
Environmental Public Health Mobile Apps Webinar - Session 2
In this webinar Nadia Pack, with the ChicAgo Center for Health and EnvironmenT (CACHET), Jill Johnston, Ph.D., with the University of Southern California (USC), and Jennifer Carrera, Ph.D., with Michigan State University (MSU) will share their experiences developing mobile apps to improve environmental public health. The webinar will be held on August 23, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. ET and registration is required.
Staying Safe When Digging: Trenching & Excavation Basics
Join CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training, the Associated General Contractors of America, Occupational Safety and Health Administration Region III, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to learn more about staying safe during excavation activities. The webinar will be held on August 30, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. ET.
2023 Emergency Preparedness & Infectious Disease Institute
The Emergency Preparedness and Infectious Disease Institute is designed to help Tribal health professionals and first responders minimize the impact of infectious diseases on Tribal communities and health systems. The in-person, two-day event includes workshops, interactive exercises, and panel discussions to connect with existing resources and tools and build disaster resilience across Indian Country. The event will be held on September 11-12, 2023 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Justic Week 2023: Equity Empowered
Justice Week 2023: Equity Empowered is a five-day hybrid event aimed at advancing equity and environmental justice in the clean energy transition and ensuring climate change investments benefit the communities often left behind. Learn how the Department of Energy (DOE) is meeting its equity and environmental goals and embedding equity into the fabric of the DOE.
| On The Web This Week | Back to Top |
Survey of Frontline Workers Reveals ‘Disconcerting Picture’ of On-The-Job Safety
Among the respondents who reported not feeling “completely safe,” 58% indicated that the threat of physical harm is on the rise, and 40% said they’re more concerned about their safety now than they were 12 months ago. Around 40% of the respondents said they would quit their jobs right now over safety concerns but can’t afford to do so.
What's Behind the Recent Spike in COVID-19 Cases in the U.S.
The number of COVID cases is rising in the U.S. Public health experts believe new variants, summer travel and heat waves, which force people inside, are partly to blame. Since the national public health emergency ended in May, testing and treatment for COVID have become less available and more expensive.
Morning Edition [Author: Ayesha Rascoe]
| Federal Agency Update | Back to Top |
EPA Announces $13M Grant to Deep South Center for Environmental Justice to Help Communities Access Historic Funding Under Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing In America Agenda
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), members of Congress and other elected officials celebrated a $13 million grant over five years to the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. The grants will help underserved and overburdened communities across the country access funds from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda for a variety of activities to advance environmental justice.
Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH), Request for Nominations
The Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) invites interested parties to submit nominations for membership on the FACOSH. FACOSH is authorized to advise the Secretary of Labor on all matters relating to the occupational safety and health of Federal employees. Nominations for FACOSH must be submitted (postmarked, sent, transmitted, or received) by September 22, 2023.
Department of Labor Launches Apprentice Trailblazer Initiative to Promote, Expand Registered Apprenticeships, Increase Youth Employment
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the Apprentice Trailblazer initiative, which will create a national network of apprentices and apprenticeship graduates whose individual stories may inspire career seekers interested in becoming apprentices. The initiative will also give them a platform to share their diverse stories and experiences and show how registered apprenticeships increase opportunities for underserved populations.
| Awardee Highlights/Online Learning | Back to Top |
Connecting Communities to Substance Use Services: Practical Tools for First Responders
This guide from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) provides practical, evidence-based information that first responder agencies, their partners, and communities can use to implement or expand practices and programs for linking people to substance use services.
WTP Wildfires Resources
The NIEHS Worker Training Program and its awardees have provided resources and training in support of wildfire response operations in the U.S. These resources are aimed at protecting the health and safety of those responding to wildfires.
| Job Openings | Back to Top |
Hazmat Education Specialist
The Hazmat Education Specialist leads the UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program (LOSH) educational efforts to prevent worker and community exposures to hazardous materials and environmental hazards in Southern California. The Specialist coordinates with a team of LOSH staff and consultant instructors with field and subject matter expertise to support an ongoing calendar of HAZWOPER and related training courses; maintain and update training curricula; and adapt educational materials and approaches to meet the needs of diverse training audiences.
ECWTP Project Coordinator
The Project Coordinator is responsible for overseeing LOSH’s Environmental Career Worker Training Program (ECWTP), an initiative to support career pathways into the environmental and construction fields for individuals from underserved communities. The Project Coordinator manages all facets of the Los Angeles ECWT program, working closely with partner organizations to provide training to workforce development program participants on worker health & safety, job skills, life skills, and/or environmental justice.
| We Want Your Feedback | Back to Top |
We Want Your Feedback
What kinds of stories or other content would make this newsletter especially valuable to you?
Send your ideas for this newsletter to: wetpclear@niehs.nih.gov
To go back and subscribe to the newsletter, click here
Back issues of our Newsbrief are available at our archives page