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NIEHS WTP: June 29, 2018 Newsbrief

Weekly E-Newsbrief, June 29, 2018

Weekly E-Newsbrief

June 29, 2018

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 StoriesBack to Top

Administration Proposes Streamlining DOE Nuclear Cleanup Management

Streamlining top-level management of the Energy Department’s nuclear cleanup operation is one part of a sweeping blueprint for restructuring the federal government, which the White House Housed unveiled this week. The report, “Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century: Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations,” proposes to increase efficiency in agency operations across the federal government. That would include streamlining “the management team” at DOE Office of Environmental Management headquarters in Washington, D.C., according to the 132-page document.

Exchange Monitor [Author: Wayne Barber]

Missouri Establishes Radioactive Waste Investigation Fund

The state of Missouri on Friday formally established a fund for investigation of potential radioactive waste contamination in any jurisdiction. The fund, which would receive no more than $150,000 in any fiscal year, was included in broader legislation addressing operations of the state Department of Natural Resources. Gov. Michael Parson signed the bill on Friday, June 22.

Exchange Monitor

Ebola Outbreak in Democratic Republic Congo is ‘Largely Contained’

Almost two months after the start of the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), United Nations health experts announced on Tuesday that the deadly disease has “largely been contained”. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the last confirmed case of Ebola in DRC was on 6 June. Since then, all probable and suspect cases have been declared negative. The last 161 people to have come into contact with suspected Ebola virus carriers will finish their mandatory follow-up period on 27 June, at which point they will be declared virus-free, WHO says.

UN News

Harmful Chemical Vapors Again Suspected at Hanford

More workers at Hanford have reported suspicious odors and symptoms consistent with possible exposure to chemical vapors in recent days. Areas near, but outside, tank farms were cleared both the evening of June 15 and June 22 to check for chemical vapors. The incidents came days after contractor Washington River Protection Solutions announced that it and union leaders had agreed to a very limited loosening of some vapor-protection requirements, with possibly more to come later in the summer.

Tri-City Herald [Author: Annette Cary]

Calendar FeaturesBack to Top

CERC Webinar: Messages and Audiences

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) webinar on Messages and Audiences provides guidance on how to understand your audience(s) in an emergency, adapt messaging to reach and promote action in different audience segments, and how to use facts to build credibility and trust. Participants will be able to learn how to better understand their audience relative to the emergency and describe how to make facts work in their message. The webinar will be held on July 11, 2018 from 2:00-3:00 pm ET.

Webinar Registration

Healthcare Challenges After Radiological Incidents

Many resources are available for healthcare, public health, and emergency management professionals planning for a potential large-scale radiological release or nuclear detonation incident, but planning is difficult and few jurisdictions have detailed plans. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) is hosting a webinar with panelists to discuss the impact and potential solutions of different event types and provide guidance and lessons learned related to casualties of radiological and nuclear emergencies. The webinar will take place July 11, 2018 from 2:00-3:15 p.m. ET.

Webinar Information

Webinar Registration

SBIR E-Learning for HAZMAT and Emergency Response

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant applications from small business concerns (SBCs) that propose to further the development of Advanced Technology Training (ATT) products for: the health and safety training of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) workers; waste treatment personnel; skilled support personnel associated with an emergency/disaster; emergency responders in biosafety response, infectious disease training and cleanup; emergency responders in disasters and resiliency training; and ATT tools to assist in research into the acute and long-term health effects of environmental disasters. Applications are due on July 31, 2018, by 5:00 pm ET.

Funding Opportunity Announcement

On The Web This WeekBack to Top

Partnership for Disaster Health Response Cooperative Agreement Funding Opportunity Announcement

The HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has announced a funding opportunity for a demonstration project for a regional disaster health response system (RDHRS), called Partnership for Disaster Health Response Cooperative Agreement Funding Opportunity Announcement. The demonstration uses FY18 Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) funding that seeks to "address healthcare preparedness challenges, establish best practices for improving disaster readiness across the healthcare delivery system, and show the potential effectiveness and viability of a RDHRS."

HHS Public Health Emergency

The Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) Announces Small Grants Program for Environmental Health and Justice Issues

The CHEJ grant program will support projects that help groups move toward their goals by building leadership, increasing capacity and/or providing training and education. A priority of CHEJ’s Small Grants Program is to help grassroots community groups to build their capacity. The program is designed to especially reach people from low wealth communities and communities of color who are impacted by environmental harms. Grassroots communities of color, low wealth, rural and urban groups are encouraged to apply. Proposals are due August 3, 2018 and the project must be completed and a final report submitted by May 17, 2019.

Small Organization Instructions

Large Organization Instructions

NACCHO Fact Sheet: Essential Actions for Climate Resilience in Local Health Departments

Local health departments (LHDs) are uniquely positioned to identify and communicate the human health risks of climate change and develop interventions that reduce these risks to improve health and promote equity. This National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO) document suggests actions for local public health authorities to begin examining the local health impacts of climate change.

NACCHO Fact Sheet

Federal Agency UpdateBack to Top

Safety Digest: CSB Investigations of Incidents during Startups and Shutdowns

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) recently released a Safety Digest that highlights three incidents that occurred during a startup or shutdown, and provides lessons learned.

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

Nineteen New Publications from the NIOSH Centers of Excellence for Total Worker Health (TWH)

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Centers of Excellence for TWH continue to produce high quality, innovative research and practical guidance. Explore new publications on work-related hypervigilance, Total Worker Health for small businesses, family-supportive supervisory practices, and work impacts on sleep, among other topics.

Publications

Awardee Highlights/Online LearningBack to Top

Disaster Health Training from the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health

A recording and slides of the June 2018 Disaster Information Specialist webinar entitled “Disaster Health Training from the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health” are now available. The webinar, hosted by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC), featured Kandra Strauss-Riggs, Education Director, and Victoria Klimczak, Project Coordinator, both staff members at the Uniformed Services University National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH). They discussed two new products: 1) The NCDMPH Disaster Health Core Curriculum, a modular online course covering the 11 core competencies in disaster medicine and public health and 2) a new website and app for Stop the Bleed, teaching lay people how to correctly apply pressure to stop life threatening bleeding.

Webinar Recording

Essential Measures: A Local Public Health Toolkit for Addressing the Opioid Epidemic

With an increasing understanding that substance misuse is both a chronic disease and a public health issue that impacts community members, health department staff are increasingly playing a leadership role in addressing the opioid epidemic on a local level. The Massachusetts Health Officers Association and Education Development Center recently introduced a toolkit to better equip local health department staff to respond to manifestations of this epidemic in their own towns and cities, and to provide a one-stop reference guide of best practices and other good resources—information, knowledge gleaned from the field, tools, and training.

Toolkit

Job OpeningsBack to Top

WJCNY Seeks Executive Director

The Worker Justice Center of New York (WJCNY) seeks a visionary, passionate, and principled Executive Director committed to advancing the rights of farmworkers and other low-wage workers in New York State. WJCNY’s new Executive Director will have the opportunity to guide the organization’s strategic development in the context of significant recent growth.

Job Description

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