2023 NOFO - SBIR E-Learning for HAZMAT and Emergency Response (R43/R44 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)   

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) encourages Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant applications from small business concerns that propose to further the development of technology-enhanced training products for the health and safety training of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) workers. Technology-enhanced training products as defined by the Worker Training Program include, but are not limited to, supporting training through various venues such as online training, mobile device training, virtual reality, and serious gaming. Applications are due July 14, 2023.

Current Funding Opportunities    

June is the Start of the Atlantic Hurricane Season

The NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) and its awardees have been actively involved in hurricane and flood response and cleanup activities. Resources are available on the Clearinghouse website aimed at protecting the health and safety of those responding to the aftermath of a hurricane or a flood, including emergency responders, skilled support personnel, homeowners, and business owners.

Hurricanes and Floods Page

Sick Workers Tied to 40% of Restaurant Food Poisoning Outbreaks, CDC Says

Food workers who showed up while sick or contagious were linked to about 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks with a known cause between 2017 and 2019, federal health officials said. Investigators with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called for better enforcement of comprehensive food safety policies, which emphasize basic measures like hand washing and keeping sick workers off the job.

AP News [Author: Jonel Aleccis]

Hanford WTP Melter Heat-Up Could Resume Within Weeks, White Says

Crews at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state are doing electrical testing to start heating up the first melter at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. Heating up the first melter for the plant’s Direct-Feed-Low-Activity-Waste Facilities is a process that takes about two months. The vitrification plant will not be cleared for glass-making operations until a second melter is heated up and equipment is vetted to handle the exhaust, also known as off-gas.

Exchange Monitor

Military Must Focus on Short- And Long-Term Challenges of Climate Change, Report Finds

The report offers a glimpse into the many ways that global warming is affecting military readiness, underscoring the risks to national security if the government is not adequately prepared. The report also maps out the various ways climate change will impact military personnel — from recruitment through training and deployment — including equipment, facilities, supply chain and ability to engage with allies and partners.

NBC News [Author: Denise Chow]

Night Shift Work, Binge Drinking Linked to Increased COVID Risk in Nurses

Working the night shift or binge drinking may double the risk of COVID-19 infection, according to a study of nurses published this week in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. Poor sleep quality and binge drinking have been associated with COVID-19 infections, likely because both promote a pro-inflammatory state.

CIDRAP [Author: Stephanie Soucheray]

Review of the Continued Analysis of Supplemental Treatment of Low-Activity Waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation

This meeting will discuss the National Academy of Sciences committee's final review of the Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) report on supplemental low-activity waste treatment alternatives. The FFRDC report is an important document for decision makers that delivers a regulatory overview and describes methods used to analyze treatment alternatives (vitrification, fluidized bed steam reforming, and grouting) and results from the comparative analysis. The meeting will be held on June 6, 2023, 4:00 p.m. EDT.

Event Registration

The Keystone Science Lecture Alabama Fire College Training to Build Response Capacity in Communities

Alabama Fire College (AFC) Principal Investigator Kenny Oldfield will be presenting this Keystone Science Lecture. Oldfield will present on the training and outreach efforts of AFC. Support your fellow WTP grantee at the hybrid event on July 17, 2023, 11:00 a.m. EDT.

Event Registration

FEMA Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Changes to Increase Funding Access, Reduce Disaster Risk for Vulnerable Communities

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is seeking comments on how to apply new legislation that will designate areas where communities are most at risk of natural hazards. This notice will help the agency gain better understanding in key areas to support an effective implementation of the Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act. This includes learning how communities identify, use, and apply risk assessment tools to reduce natural hazard effects and how to achieve equity and geographic balance when designating zones. Comments must be received no later than July 25, 2023.

Federal Register

Paid Leave Is Now Minnesota Law: What You Need to Know

After years of consideration, Minnesota will start ushering in a paid family and medical leave program that does not depend on where a person works. Leave maxes out at twenty weeks in a calendar year (based on the employer’s benefit year) for a combination of events. For any single event, paid leave is capped at twelve weeks.

MPR News [Author: Brain Bakst]

The Rise of Older Women Workers, 1980-2021

The participation of older women in the workforce is a benefit to the economy as well as to the workers themselves. For many older women, employment is a financial necessity both during working years and as they attempt to create a financially secure retirement in an often challenging economic environment. Even though old-age poverty has declined since the expansion of Social Security benefits in the 1970s, it is still the case that more than one-in-ten women 65 and older are living in poverty.

Women’s Bureau Issue Brief

U.S. Department of Labor, International Labour Organization Announce Partnership to Curb Gender-Based Violence, Harassment in World of Work

To curb widespread gender-based violence and harassment in workplaces across all industries and occupations, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that its Women’s Bureau has signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Labour Organization Office for the United States and Canada to create a world of work free of gender-based violence and harassment.

DOL News Release

EEOC Chair Issues New Report “Building for the Future: Advancing Equal Employment Opportunity in the Construction Industry”

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Charlotte A. Burrows issued a report titled, “Building for The Future: Advancing Equal Employment Opportunity in the Construction Industry.” The report includes a brief overview of the construction industry followed by a discussion of employment discrimination based on race, national origin, and sex in the industry through the lens of the EEOC’s publicly resolved cases over the past decade.

EEOC Press Release

DOE Announces $46 Million for Commercial Fusion Energy Development

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $46 million in funding to eight companies advancing designs and research and development for fusion power plants. With a timeline of five to 10 years, the eight awardees will resolve scientific and technological challenges to create designs for a fusion pilot plant that will help bring fusion to both technical and commercial viability.

DOE News Release

The New England Consortium Partners with Lowell Community Health Center to Provide Training

To help the local community prepare for severe weather events, the New England Consortium (TNEC) at UMass Lowell has partnered for the first time with the Lowell Community Health Center to provide disaster preparedness training sessions to the public. Stacey Thompson, the health center’s director of workplace learning and development, says the training sessions present people with critical information that they can then share with family, friends, colleagues and other community members.

UMass Lowell News

Listen: Native American Tribes Struggle to Fund Environmental Research

Tribal governments manage significant wildlife habitats across the U.S. but don't get the same tax revenue as states for conservation research. Julie Thorstenson of the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, a partner organization of WTP grantee Alabama Fire College, says, “the inequity in funding for tribal fish and wildlife is one of the most obvious but least-known issues in conservation.”

WBUR [Reporter: Kathleen Shannon]

Emergency Preparedness: Public Health and Partners

Find information including an emergency communications toolkit, resources for public health emergency centers, information on isolation and quarantine, and more, pertinent to public health professionals, their partners in education, healthcare, law enforcement, government and business, and others with a professional interest in emergency preparedness.

Washington State Department of Health

Colorado Jobs with Justice Seeks an Executive Director

The Executive Director is a management position that will work closely with the Board of Directors to set and implement a strategic plan and direction for the organization. The ideal candidate is someone with a strong dedication to protecting and strengthening workers’ rights and the labor movement in Colorado, and who has demonstrated success with grassroots organizing, campaign strategy, fundraising, staff management, and nonprofit administration.

Job Posting

Alliance for a Greater New York Seeks a Climate Director

The Climate Director will be primarily responsible for leading the Green Team, the staff members who coordinate existing and future climate justice coalitions, renewable energy initiatives, and policy campaigns. They will support these staff members in high level strategy at the state and local level, provide expertise on climate policy, and lead climate campaign visioning for the organization.

Job Posting

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