Weekly E-Newsbrief
June 21, 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 |
HAZMAT Training at DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex (UH4 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) FAQs Now Available on the WTP Website
Frequently asked questions and answers are now available on the WTP website for the 2024 NOFO HAZMAT Training at DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex (UH4 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed). The document addresses general questions, program and technical questions, budget, and review questions.
Environmental Health Chat Podcast: Heat Stress and Worker Health
This episode of the Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) Environmental Health Chat podcast features Kevin Riley, Ph.D., the principal investigator of WTP grant recipient Western Region Universities Consortium. He talks about the health risks of working in extreme heat and offers tips for protecting workers from heat stress. He also highlights tools employers and workers can use to prevent heat-related illness in the workplace.
Final Draft of 2025-2029 NIEHS Strategic Plan Available for Public Comment
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) 2025-2029 Strategic Plan is available as a final draft copy for public review and comment. Comments are welcome on the research areas of emphasis, capacity and infrastructure and scientific management and stewardship priorities, and crosscutting themes sections of the plan. The comment period closes July 21, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. ET, and comments may be emailed to ehs-strategic-plan@mail.nih.gov.
OSHA Extends Comment Period on Notice of Proposed Rule Making Emergency Response Standard
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is extending the comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on Emergency Response for an additional 30 days. OSHA is proposing through this NPRM to issue a new safety and health standard to replace the existing Fire Brigades Standard. The new standard would address a broader scope of emergency responders and include programmatic elements to protect them from various occupational hazards. Comments, including requests for a hearing and other information, must now be submitted by July 22, 2024.
Why Isn’t Extreme Heat Considered a Disaster in The U.S.?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) responds to natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes, which are disasters with major and obvious damage to physical infrastructure. The agency has not historically responded to extreme heat, but now, a coalition of environmental nonprofits, labor unions, health professionals and environmental justice groups is asking the agency to change that. A new petition filed by the coalition asks FEMA to add extreme heat and wildfire smoke to the list of disasters to which they respond.
NPR [Author: Alejandra Borunda]
When the Storm Came, Alerts Came Only in English. This Team is Trying to Change That
In the last decade, Hispanic and Latinx communities have grown considerably in the southeastern United States, where severe weather can be sudden and volatile. Hurricanes, ice storms, and tornadoes are among weather events in the U.S. that are less frequent or rarer in parts of Central and South America. These communities may also not be familiar with these severe weather events and how to best prepare. A lack of information and inconsistencies in warning translations, and a fear or distrust of government entities for undocumented immigrants also complicate efforts. Over the past five years, teams across the National Weather Service, under NOAA, have translated educational materials like radar graphics and other prediction tools.
PBS News [Author: Adam Kemp]
This Number Can Measure How Dangerous a Heat Wave Is for You
Deadly temperatures have already claimed dozens of lives around the world this year. Looking at data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Associated Press found that roughly 2,300 people died in the United States in part due to excessive heat in 2023, the hottest year on record. Amid these extraordinary, sweltering late spring temperatures, an old measure of heat risk is getting some renewed attention: the wet-bulb globe temperature. It measures temperature, humidity, and sunlight, and it’s shown that it can better warn against the dangers of hot weather than temperature alone.
Vox [Author: Umair Irfan]
‘We’re Flying Blind’: CDC Has 1M Bird Flu Tests Ready, but Experts See Repeat of Covid Missteps
It’s been nearly three months since the U.S. government announced an outbreak of the bird flu virus on dairy farms. The World Health Organization considers the virus a public health concern because of its potential to cause a pandemic, yet the U.S. has tested only about 45 people across the country. As the outbreak grows, researchers said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration are not moving fast enough to remove barriers that block clinical labs from testing. The CDC and local health departments have tried to boost bird flu testing among farmworkers, but outreach efforts might not be in the languages the farmworkers speak or address such concerns as a loss of employment.
Kaiser Health News [Author: Amy Maxmen]
| Calendar Features | Back to Top |
Equity in Implementation: Paid Leave Conference
The conference, hosted by the Women’s Bureau, will be an opportunity for state paid leave administrators, stakeholders, federal government, and researchers to talk about how to implement equitable state paid leave programs. The objective is to help attendees to think through ways to improve their implementation with an eye towards lessons learned that can be applied to national paid leave. The virtual conference will take place on June 26, 2024, from 1 – 5 p.m. EDT.
Climate & Workforce Health: Fortifying Workers Against Smoke and Smog
Wildfire smoke and air pollution have been linked to heightened risk of heart attacks, stroke, depression, suicide, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, as well as impaired cognitive performance and ability to focus. The National Commission on Climate and Workforce Health is hosting a webinar to examine the impact of poor air quality on employee health and share ways to protect the workforce ahead of spikes in air pollution due to wildfires, drought, dust and other climate-related factors. The one-hour summit will provide insights from distinguished business leaders who are at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of poor air quality on their workforce. It will take place on July 24, 2024, at 1 p.m. EDT.
| On The Web This Week | Back to Top |
Why U.S. Domestic Workers Have Fewer Labor Protections Than Other Employees
Each day nearly 2.5 million nannies, aides for the elderly and home cleaners do jobs that allow much of the rest of the American workforce to do theirs, but despite being such a foundational part of the economy, many of these workers are excluded from key workplace protections. Domestic workers are excluded from the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which means that a lot of protections most workers have for their workplace do not extend to domestic workers. Domestic workers often work in private homes where they may be exposed to issues of discrimination and harassment. There are current legislative efforts to establish minimum wage provisions, overtime protection, protection at work from harmful chemicals, for example, protection against discrimination and harassment, and the ability to collectively organize.
PBS News [Authors: Ali Rogin, Juliet Fuisz, Kaisha Young, & Andrew Chambers]
On The Safe Side Podcast Episode 52: Keeping Workers Safe in the Heat and Tips to Revive a Safety Committee
In Episode 52, the Safety + Health Magazine team examines a feature story with tips on keeping your safety committee fresh and effective. Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration Bureau Chief Peggy Peterson joins the podcast to discuss how to keep workers safe in the heat.
Safety + Health Magazine [Authors: Kevin Druley, Alan Ferguson, & Barry Bottino]
Phoenix Using Ice Immersion to Treat Heatstroke Victims as Southwest Bakes with Highs Well Over 100
Summer’s first heat wave is baking the Southwest with triple-digit temperatures as firefighters in Phoenix, America’s hottest big city, employ new tactics in hopes of saving more lives in a county that saw 645 heat-related deaths last year. Starting this season, the Phoenix Fire Department is immersing heatstroke victims in ice on the way to area hospitals. The medical technique, known as cold-water immersion, is familiar to marathon runners and military service members and has also recently been adopted by Phoenix hospitals as a go-to protocol. The heatstroke treatment has made ice and human-sized immersion bags standard equipment on all Phoenix fire department emergency vehicles.
Associated Press [Author: Anita Snow]
| Federal Agency Update | Back to Top |
Department of Labor Announces Final Rule Updating the Hazard Communication Standard to Better Protect Workers, First Responders
The Department of Labor today announced a final rule from its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that will update the current Hazard Communication Standard to better protect workers by improving the amount and quality of information on labels and safety data sheets and allow workers and first responders to react more quickly in an emergency. The updates take effect on July 19, 2024. Workers will benefit from the changes in the updated standard, including a clearer hazard classification process to provide more complete and accurate hazard information on labels and safety data sheets; updated physical hazard classes to better inform users on safe handling of explosives, aerosols and chemicals under pressure; and updated precautionary statements on how to safely handle, store and dispose of hazardous chemicals.
DOE Announces $900 Million to Accelerate the Deployment of Next-Generation Light-Water Small Modular Reactors
The Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Notice of Intent to fund up to $900 million to support the initial U.S. deployments of Generation III+ Small Modular Reactor technologies. This funding will help strengthen America’s domestic nuclear industry and spur follow-on reactor projects, which are vital to achieving our nation's ambitious clean energy and climate goals and meeting the growing demand for clean, reliable power. DOE estimates the U.S. will need approximately 700-900 gigawatts of additional clean, firm capacity to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Biden-Harris Administration Announces Another $31.4 Million in Funding Opportunities for Priority Behavioral Health Needs
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, announced notices of funding opportunities aimed at improving behavioral health for racial and ethnic minorities, and other disadvantaged populations, providing training and technical assistance to programs serving these populations, and integrating primary and behavioral health care. The funding totals $31.4 million and supports efforts to address mental health and overdose crises, as well as continuing efforts to advance heath equity and address the consistent and disproportionate impact of HIV on racial and ethnic minorities.
OSHA QuickTakes Newsletter – June 17, 2024
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)'s twice-monthly bilingual newsletter provides important resources and updates on workplace safety and health. This issue features a case about nail salons and resources on migrant worker labor rights and protections in eight languages, among other updates.
| Awardee Highlights/Online Learning | Back to Top |
NABTU and CPWR Start New Quarterly Newsletter on Preventing Construction Worker Deaths from Suicide and Opioids
North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) and CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training have launched a newsletter to help the construction industry prevent suicides and deaths from opioids. The name of the newsletter, REASON (Resources and Effective programs Addressing Suicides and Opioids Now), emphasizes the purpose and urgency needed to combat these pressing issues, it captures comprehensive solutions, important research, and free resources that highlight these issues and the positive steps being taken to address them.
Protect Workers from Wildfire Smoke: Washington L&I Has Resources
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) is reminding employers about the tools available on its Wildfire Smoke webpage, which features a training kit, a template for a wildfire smoke response plan, and air quality information. The page also has sections on general wildfire smoke safety, workers’ compensation and topic-specific information, including for firefighters and agricultural workers.
| Job Openings | Back to Top |
Michigan Water Resources Authority Seeking Manager of Occupational Health and Safety
The Michigan Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is seeking a Manager, Occupational Safety & Health to manage MWRA's compliance with Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards and federal rules and regulations and provide programs, guidance and recommendations in areas of employee safety and health. The position will oversee and develop a program for regulatory compliance with state standards and works closely with other authority safety and health staff to communicate, implement, monitor and track safety and health regulatory compliance and lead the agency's activities in a proactive way to minimize health issues and prevent situations that could create workers' compensation cases.
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