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NIEHS WTP: June 24, 2022 Newsbrief

Weekly E-Newsbrief, June 24, 2022

Weekly E-Newsbrief

June 24, 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 StoriesBack to Top

HHS Announces Programs to Join President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative

NIEHS Environmental Career Worker Training Program (ECWTP) is proud to be included with the 13 programs prioritized by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the Justice40 Initiative that will help communities find relief from pollution and climate-related events impacting people’s health. As part of the historic commitment to environmental justice, President Biden created the Justice40 Initiative to ensure that federal agencies deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, clean water, and other investments to disadvantaged communities.

Press Release

ECWTP

The Demographics of Disaster

A U.S. News and World Report analysis of figures from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index – data that were incorporated at the county level into the newly released 2022 Healthiest Communities rankings – highlights the increased level of risk racial and ethnic minority populations face from a host of extreme weather events, including events linked to climate change.

U.S. News and World Report [Author: Steven Ross Johnson]

Natural Disaster Exposure Adds Up on Mental Health Toll Over Time

Natural disasters accumulate post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and functional impairment in individuals whether impacted directly, indirectly due to concern for friends or family, or even through media coverage, a survey-based analysis of two hurricanes found.

Medpage Today [Author: Michael DePeau-Wilson]

U.S. Must Re-Examine Risks of Glyphosate, Key Roundup Weedkiller Ingredient

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been ordered to take a fresh look at whether glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup weedkiller, poses unreasonable risks to humans and the environment. In a 3-0 decision the ninth US circuit court of appeals agreed with several environmental, farmworker and food-safety advocacy groups that the EPA did not adequately consider whether glyphosate causes cancer and threatens endangered species.

The Guardian

Americans Connect Extreme Heat and Climate Change to Their Health, a Survey Finds

From higher electricity bills to worsened health, more than half of Americans have felt the impacts of extreme heat, according to a new survey released by NPR, Harvard University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. That percentage is even higher in California, where heat was the top climate impact, reported by 71% of those surveyed.

NPR [Author: Molly Peterson]

Sweltering Streets: Hundreds of Homeless Die in Extreme Heat

Excessive heat causes more weather-related deaths in the United States than hurricanes, flooding and tornadoes combined. Around the country, heat contributes to some 1,500 deaths annually, and advocates estimate about half of those people are homeless. The past few summers have been some of the hottest on record.

AP News [Author: Anita Snow]

Calendar FeaturesBack to Top

Exploring Ethics and Protein Processing Workers Webinar

The University of Colorado Center for Health, Work and Environment and Center for Bioethics and Humanities are hosting a webinar to explore the intersection of ethics and the future of work. The webinar will focus on the ethical challenges surrounding the protein processing industry. It will be hosted on June 28 at 12:00-1:30 p.m. MT.

Webinar Registration

EPA Supports New Funding Opportunity from the Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative for Pesticide Safety in Agricultural Communities

Through a cooperative agreement funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative (PERC) is making $200,000 in funding available for 2022-2023 to non-profit organizations for community-based projects. Applications are currently being accepted and must be submitted to PERC no later than July 1.

EPA News Release

EPA Seeks Applications for Brownfields Job Training Grants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that approximately $12 million in funding for environmental job training grants is now available under the Fiscal Year 2023 Brownfields Job Training Program. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 25 grants nationwide at amounts up to $500,000 per award. Applications are due by Aug. 2.

EPA News Release

Notice of Change of Application Due Date and Application Types Allowed for SBIR E-Learning for HAZMAT and Emergency Response

This Notice is to inform potential applicants of a change to the Application Due Date and Application Types Allowed for RFA-ES-22-004 "SBIR E-Learning for HAZMAT and Emergency Response." The modified application due date is Aug. 16.

Notice of Change

RFA-ES-22-004 Grant

On The Web This WeekBack to Top

OSHA’s Parker Talks Innovation, Rulemaking During Forklift Safety Day Event

National Forklift Safety Day is “a tremendous opportunity to bring design [innovations] to advance worker safety,” the Occupational Safety and Health Administration administrator Doug Parker said during the 2022 kickoff event, which took place June 14 at the National Press Club.

Safety and Health Magazine

FEMA Flood Program Could Violate Civil Rights Law

Federal programs that have elevated thousands of U.S. homes above floodwaters may violate civil rights law by shutting out many homeowners who are Black or Hispanic or who have low incomes. The Stafford Act, a 1988 federal law that authorizes the president to send state and local governments aid following disasters, requires that federal funds be spent equitably.

Politico [Author: Thomas Frank]

Extreme Weather Is Making Mining Waste a Major Problem

Mining disasters or mining collapses have been increasing in frequency and severity, according to a new report on mining waste management. Published by a trio of environmental groups, the report calls for revamping the industry’s standards. It comes as mining companies around the world ramp up the extraction of minerals needed to transition from fossil fuels to forms of cleaner energy.

Grist [Author: Lina Tran]

Experts Assess Implementation of International Conventions on Nuclear Emergency Response

Countries need to work closely together in the event of a nuclear emergency, so sharing experience and improving emergency preparedness are key tasks stemming from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) mandate. Those responsible for emergency preparedness at the national level – officially referred to as Competent Authorities – met in Vienna last week at the 11th Meeting of the Representatives of Competent Authorities.

IAEA News Center

WHO World Mental Health Report

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published the “World Mental Health Report.” It is designed to inspire and inform better mental health for all. Drawing on the latest evidence available, showcasing examples of good practice from around the world, and voicing people’s lived experience, it highlights why and where change is most needed and how it can best be achieved.

WHO Report

Federal Agency UpdateBack to Top

DOE Has Opportunities to Better Ensure Effective Startup and Sustained Low-Activity Waste Operations

There are 54 million gallons of radioactive liquid waste being held in aging underground storage tanks at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site in Washington State. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended that DOE ensure issues related to the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste program are resolved during a test phase before starting normal operations.

GAO

Awardee Highlights/Online LearningBack to Top

‘Health Effects Of 9/11’: Online Exhibit Focuses on Responders

The ongoing health problems of workers who responded during and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks are the focus of an online exhibit recently unveiled by NIOSH and the Department of Health and Human Services. “Health Effects of 9/11” educates online visitors about health conditions linked to various exposures during and after the attacks.

Safety and Health Magazine

Call for Papers: International Conference on Nuclear Decommissioning: Addressing the Past and Ensuring the Future

Those interested in contributing papers to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Conference on Nuclear Decommissioning: Addressing the Past and Ensuring the Future, to be held from May 15-19, 2023, at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, have until October 31, 2022, to submit their abstracts.

IAEA

Job OpeningsBack to Top

UCLA LOSH Seeks Project Coordinator

The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program (LOSH) is hiring a project coordinator. The project coordinator will manage various facets of assigned projects, conduct outreach, facilitate meetings and communications between partners, oversee development of curricula and materials, and convene worker training sessions.

Job Posting

OSHA Seeks Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is hiring a social media specialist. The position will apply principles of library management including, but not limited to, cataloging, inventory, shelving, sorting, general operational oversight, presentation, and distribution of technical resources. The deadline to apply is June 27.

Job Posting

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