Weekly E-Newsbrief
January 26, 2024
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 |
U.S. Struck with Historic Number of Billion-Dollar Disasters in 2023
An unprecedented number of billion-dollar disasters — 28 in total — struck the U.S. in 2023. This includes 17 severe weather or hail events, four flooding events, two tropical cyclones, two tornadoes, one winter storm, one wildfire event, and one drought and heat wave event. The total cost for these 28 disasters was $92.9 billion. The most costly events in 2023 were the Southern/Midwestern drought and heat wave event at $14.5 billion, and the Southern/Eastern severe weather event in early March, at $6.0 billion.
Rising Suicide Rate Among Hispanics Worries Community Leaders
Community leaders and mental health researchers say the pandemic hit young Hispanics especially hard. Immigrant children are often expected to take more responsibility when their parents don’t speak English even if they themselves aren’t fluent. Many live in poorer households with some or all family members without legal residency, and cultural barriers and language may prevent many from seeking care in a mental health system that already has spotty access to services. From 2011 to 2021, the suicide rate among Hispanics jumped from 5.7 per 100,000 people to 7.9 per 100,000. For Hispanic children 12 and younger, the rate increased 92.3% from 2010 to 2019.
Kaiser Health News [Authors: Andy Miller & Molly Castle Work]
Extreme Cold Snaps Could Get Worse as Climate Warms
Extremely cold Arctic air and severe winter weather swept southward into much of the U.S. in mid-January 2024, breaking daily low temperature records from Montana to Texas. These severe cold events occur when the polar jet stream, the familiar jet stream of winter that runs along the boundary between Arctic and more temperate air, dips deeply southward, bringing the cold Arctic air to regions that don’t often experience it. Evidence suggests that Arctic changes associated with global warming have increased the likelihood of such vortex disruptions. The effects of the enhanced high latitude warming known as Arctic amplification on regional snow cover and sea ice may enhance the weather patterns that, in turn, result in a stretched polar vortex.
Scientific American [Author: Mathew Barlow]
OSH Measures Key to Prevent Violence and Harassment in The World of Work, Says ILO Report
Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) measures are key to building an inclusive, integrated and gender-responsive approach to preventing and eliminating violence and harassment in the world of work, a new International Labour Organization (ILO) report finds. The report finds that more than one-in-five people in employment have experienced violence and harassment. It emphasizes that OSH frameworks tackle root causes of violence and harassment by addressing underlying risks such as inadequate work organization, factors related to specific tasks, and working conditions that produce high stress levels that in turn lead to violence and harassment.
Fast-Food Giants Overwork Teenagers, Driving America’s Child Labor Crisis
The fast-food industry is fueling a surge in child labor violations across the United States, especially at companies with franchised locations such as McDonald’s, Sonic, and Chick-fil-A. Since the widespread labor shortages of the pandemic, fast-food companies have illegally scheduled thousands of teenagers to work late and long hours and to operate dangerous kitchen equipment. Overall, child labor violations have more than tripled in the past 10 years, with violations in food service increasing almost sixfold.
The Washington Post (subscription may be required) [Authors: Lauren Kaori Gurley & Emmanuel Martinez]
| Calendar Features | Back to Top |
Naloxone in the Workplace
Presented by the Employment and Training Administration, this webinar is an essential guide for organizations committed to fostering workplace safety. The guest presenters share invaluable insights, advocating for the establishment of workplace Naloxone programs. The webinar will explore practical strategies, protocols, and best practices designed to empower your workforce in addressing opioid-related emergencies. It will take place on February 7, 2024, from 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. ET.
EFCOG Training Working Group 2024 Annual Meeting
The Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG) Training Working Group (TWG) is hosting their annual meeting from March 19-21, 2024, at the HAMMER Training Facility and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA. The purpose of the TWG is to ensure complex wide collaboration and integration to attain and maintain the highest levels of training, reduce redundant training, and assist in improving performance in the operation of Department of Energy facilities and projects.
| On The Web This Week | Back to Top |
Even Small Reduction in Lead Levels Improve Heart Health for Native Americans, Study Says
Researchers have found that small declines in blood lead levels were associated with long-term heart health improvements in Native American adults through the Strong Heart Family Study. The findings indicated that a 2.5% drop per year in blood lead levels resulted in a drop in blood pressure comparable to the effects of blood pressure-lowering medication. In addition to seeing improvements in blood pressure, researchers found that reductions in blood lead levels were associated with reductions in a marker linked with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and heart failure.
Native News Online [Author: Kaili Berg]
Stigma Can Make Things Worse for Workers Who Experience Migraines: Study
Feelings of shame or embarrassment, on top of physical symptoms, can cause migraine-sufferers to miss additional workdays, researchers conclude. The researchers used data from more than 59,000 people who completed a survey about their migraines. Overall, 41% of the respondents reported experiencing an average of four or more “headache days” a month. Another 32% said they experienced migraine-related stigma “often” or “very often.” Researchers believe that the social context of migraine may have a greater impact on quality of life than the number of monthly headache days.
Migraine-Related Stigma and Its Relationship to Disability, Interictal Burden, and Quality of Life
New Research Reveals Up To 36 Million Pounds of Toxic Chemical Vinyl Chloride Are Transported Across North American Railways at Any Moment—Putting Millions at Risk
A new report released by Toxic-Free Future and Material Research reveals that at any given moment up to 36 million pounds of toxic vinyl chloride are being shipped via rail. The report is the first to map the most likely path of the longest train route that vinyl chloride regularly travels across the country, putting millions at risk from Texas to New Jersey. It estimates that more than 3 million people live within a mile of the train route, which passes through eight major cities from Houston to Philadelphia. The disastrous train wreck in 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio, alerted many of dangerous practice of transporting vinyl chloride by rail. A known human carcinogen, vinyl chloride is associated with liver cancer, lung and brain cancer, lymphoma, leukemia, breast cancer, and numerous other health problems.
| Federal Agency Update | Back to Top |
2024 Health Disparities Research Institute Application Period Opens Soon
The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)’s Health Disparities Research Institute (HDRI) supports the career development of promising early-career minority health and health disparities research scientists and stimulates research in the disciplines supported by health disparities science. The HDRI features lectures on minority health and health disparities research, small group discussions, mock grant review, and seminars. It will take place August 5-9, 2024, on the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Applications will open on February 5, 2024, and close on March 11, 2024, at 5 p.m. ET.
Biden-Harris Administration Reforms Disaster Assistance Program to Help Survivors Recover Faster
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that it is reforming its federal assistance policies and expanding benefits for disaster survivors to cut red tape, provide funds faster and give people more flexibility. With the increased frequency of extreme weather events fueled by climate change, these updates will provide survivors with faster and easier access to resources they need after disasters. FEMA developed these new forms of assistance based on direct feedback from survivors, and in response to threats the nation faces due to our changing climate; they will create more equitable outcomes for all communities by increasing accessibility and eligibility for post-disaster support.
FHWA Announces $729 Million to Repair Roads and Bridges Damaged by Natural Disasters and Extreme Weather Events
As part of the Department of Transportation’s coordinated approach to help states repair and rebuild roads and bridges, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced it is providing $729.4 million to 34 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The funds will be used to support repair needs following natural disasters, extreme weather, or catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, flooding, and mudslides. These events will receive federal reimbursement funding under the FHWA’s Emergency Relief program due to major disaster declarations.
2023 Was Best Post-Shutdown Year So Far For WIPP
The Department of Energy (DOE)’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 48 shipments of transuranic waste during December, finishing 2023 with 489 shipments, the most in a year since the facility reopened in 2017, according to DOE’s public website. The 489 shipments shattered both the 2022 mark of 272 shipments and their 2023 goal of 400 shipments.
Exchange Monitor [Author: Wayne Barber]
| Awardee Highlights/Online Learning | Back to Top |
Workplace Mental Health: OSHA Publishes New Fact Sheet
A new fact sheet from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is intended to help employers prioritize workers’ mental health. The fact sheet, which is available in English and Spanish, outlines the effects of stress, traumatic events and substance use disorders on a worker’s mental health. It also touches on suicide, listing ways to contact crisis counselors. OSHA says it plans to incorporate information from the fact sheet into the introduction of its 10- and 30-hour outreaching training courses.
| Job Openings | Back to Top |
National Union of Healthcare Workers Hiring a Training Coordinator
The National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) is helping revitalize the labor movement with its commitment to worker empowerment. The training coordinator will work with staff leadership to develop and implement training programs for NUHW staff, members, stewards, and leadership. NUHW's training program currently includes, but is not limited to, live and online steward trainings, staff trainings, leadership trainings, healthcare issues training, and other topics as needs arise. The chosen candidate for this position can work in either Emeryville, California or Glendale, California.
| We Want Your Feedback | Back to Top |
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