2024 NOFO - Hazardous Materials Worker Health and Safety Training (U45 - Clinical Trials Not Allowed)

The NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) has released a funding opportunity for Hazardous Materials Worker Health and Safety Training. Applications for this program should support the development and delivery of model programs for the training and education of workers engaged in activities related to hazardous materials and waste generation, removal, containment, transportation, and emergency response. An informational webinar will be held on Thursday, May 16, from 1 – 5 p.m. EDT. Letters of intent are due on June 8, and applications are due on July 8.

Current Funding Opportunities

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Since its inception in 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month has been a cornerstone of addressing the challenges faced by millions of Americans living with mental health conditions. This national movement is dedicated to eradicating stigma, extending support, fostering public education, and advocating for policies that prioritize the well-being of individuals and families affected by mental illness. This year, the National Alliance on Mental Illness is celebrating Mental Health Awareness Month with the Take the Moment campaign, which champions the importance of destigmatizing mental health by normalizing the practice of taking moments to prioritize mental health care without guilt or shame.

National Alliance on Mental Illness

NIEHS WTP Resources on Responder & Community Resilience

Department of Labor to Restructure Workplace Safety, Health Regional Operations Strategically to Protect Workers

The Department of Labor (DOL) announced structural changes to regional operations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to use resources more effectively and improve agency resilience. The changes include the creation of a new OSHA regional office in Birmingham, Alabama. As part of the changes, the agency will also rename its regions to associate them by geography, rather than its current practice of assigning numbers to regions. The changes reflect the nation’s demographic and industrial changes since the passage of the OSH Act and will allow our professionals to better respond to the needs of all workers, including those historically underserved.

DOL News Release

Launching an Effective Bird Flu Vaccine Quickly Could Be Tough, Scientists Warn

The bird flu that's now spreading among cows doesn't yet appear to pose an imminent threat to most people. Scientists say the virus would need to mutate significantly to be able to transmit easily from human to human, but federal health officials say they've started trying to develop a vaccine to protect people just in case a pandemic erupts. There are two vaccines, made from older, but similar strains of the virus, that early testing indicates could protect people. Some outside experts agree the U.S. is well prepared to produce a vaccine, but some infectious disease specialists are skeptical about the nation's preparedness for this potential threat.

NPR [Author: Rob Stein]

Extreme Weather Wreaks Havoc Around the World

In a world growing increasingly accustomed to wild weather swings, the last few days and weeks have seemingly taken those environmental extremes to a new level. When the world is warmer, it is likely to have more extreme weather and climate events, including record heat and rainfall, scientists say. Climate change is also changing weather patterns, leading to rainy and hot systems stalling over areas and the jet stream meandering. Scientists also pointed to 13 straight months of record hot oceans as a potential factor in the weather extremes.

PBS News [Authors: Seth Borenstein, Suman Naishadham, Sibi Arasu, & Fabiano Maisonnave]

Hot and Cold: Temperature Stress at Work

The Long Island Federation of Labor and New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health are hosting a forum on temperature hazards in the workplace. The forum will cover signs and symptoms of hot and cold related illnesses and injuries, clinical perspectives on temperature stress, and policy solutions for New York State. It will take place on May 16, 2024, from 4 – 6 p.m. EDT.

Event Registration

Superfund Research Program 2024 Progress in Research Webinar Series: Session III

The NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) is hosting their 2024 Progress in Research webinar series, Emerging Technologies in Occupational Health and Safety, showcasing NIEHS SRP-funded researchers developing curricula and educational programs focused on emergent technologies in occupational health and safety. The third and final session is scheduled to take place on May 17, 2024, from 12 – 2 p.m. EDT and will feature WTP grant recipient, Cesar Bandera, Ph.D., of Cell Podium.

Webinar Registration

Redefining “Disadvantaged Communities” in a New Water Infrastructure Era Webinar

The Source Water Collaborative is hosting a free informational webinar to share what clean water advocates can do to help states achieve the most equitable process possible for source water protection in their programs and the role public participation requirements had in modifying their definitions of a “disadvantaged community.” In addition, the webinar will cover how states have ensured their definitions bring about the most equitable outcome possible and challenges states have had in implementing Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding. It will take place on May 30, 2024, from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. EDT.

Event Registration

Safety Insights: What Manufacturing Workers Really Want

This webinar will discuss the results from a first-of-its-kind survey polling worker perspectives around safety in manufacturing. Webinar hosts will explore the invaluable perspectives of workers and gain firsthand insights into their experiences, concerns, and suggestions regarding safety practices in the manufacturing industry, and discover how prioritizing worker safety not only enhances workplace well-being but also boosts productivity and overall efficiency. It will take place on June 4, 2024, at 2 p.m. EDT.

Event Registration

Worker Burnout and Disconnection Are Widespread, Survey Shows

A large majority of workers are either burned out or feel ambivalent about their job, results of a recent survey show. Researchers surveyed more than 1,100 employees and nearly 1,000 managers about their attitudes toward work. Seventy-six percent of the workers said they feel burned out or ambivalent. So did 63% of the managers, yet 89% of them believe their workers are thriving. High turnover rates, which can leave more work for those left behind, were also cited. Managers pointed to constant change as a reason for their own burnout or ambivalence.

Safety + Health Magazine

Burned Out & Checked Out: What Employees and Managers Need to Thrive

How Do Scientists Know How Much Climate Change Affects a Hurricane, a Heat Wave, a Drought, and More?

In the last 20 years, the field of attribution science, which is dedicated to analyzing the effects of climate change on specific weather events, has gained steam. Nowadays, scientists can tell with much more certainty how much climate change influences the severity and intensity of heat waves, droughts, hurricanes, and more, by comparing weather data from the real world to a counterfactual, modeled world where climate change has not occurred. This webinar featured attribution scientists who discussed the importance of historical data in attributing extreme weather to climate change.

Yale Climate Connections [Author: Samantha Harrington]

Maine’s Firefighters Rarely Fight Fires. Instead They’re Answering Medical Calls.

For years, fire departments around Maine have struggled to hire enough staff and volunteers to handle an increasing number of calls. In many places, those calls are no longer to fight fires, instead, departments are spending most of their time responding to medical emergencies. At the state level, a mere 4.5% of the 160,435 calls for service in 2022 were for fires, while 70% of those calls were for emergency medical response. The closure of ambulance services and lack of emergency medical service responders around the state has prompted other departments to consider training firefighters as medical personnel.

The Daily Yonder [Author: Amber Stone]

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $3 Billion for Lead Pipe Replacement to Advance Safe Drinking Water as Part of Investing in America Agenda

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $3 billion from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to help every state and territory identify and replace lead service lines, preventing exposure to lead in drinking water. Lead can cause a range of serious health impacts, including irreversible harm to brain development in children. This funding will be provided specifically for lead service line identification and replacement and will help every state and territory fund projects to remove lead pipes and reduce exposure to lead from drinking water.

EPA News Release

COVID-19 Vaccination Public Education Campaign Saved Thousands of Lives, Billions of Dollars

The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) COVID-19 Vaccination Public Education Campaign, We Can Do This, resulted in an estimated $731.9 billion in societal benefits due to averted illness and related costs, resulting in a nearly $90 return in societal benefits for every $1 spent, according to new research. The study showed the Campaign encouraged 22.3 million people to complete their primary COVID-19 vaccination series between April 2021 and March 2022, preventing nearly 2.6 million SARS-CoV-2 infections. Preventing these outcomes resulted in societal benefits to the U.S. of $740.2 billion, accounting for such factors as medical expenses, wages, and other costs that people and institutions would have incurred in the absence of the Campaign.

HHS News Release

Department of Labor Takes Critical Step in Heat Safety Rulemaking, Continues Heightened Enforcement Efforts, Focuses on Dangers to Agricultural Workers

Record-breaking temperatures across the nation have increased the risks people face on-the-job, especially in summer months. Every year, dozens of workers die and thousands more suffer illnesses related to hazardous heat exposure that, sadly, are most often preventable. The Department of Labor (DOL) has taken an important step in addressing the dangers of workplace heat and moved closer to publishing a proposed rule to reducing the significant health risks of heat exposure for U.S. workers in outdoor and indoor settings.

DOL News Release

NIOSH Impact Wellbeing Campaign

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Impact Wellbeing campaign gives hospital leaders evidence-informed solutions to reduce healthcare worker burnout, sustain wellbeing, and build a system where healthcare workers thrive. Challenging working conditions, such as staff shortages, harassment, and violence, drive burnout and other poor mental health outcomes. The Impact Wellbeing Guide provides a step-by-step systems approach to improving wellbeing and building trust between leaders and healthcare workers.

NIOSH

Chemical Workers Union Consortium Trains Trainers in Disaster Response While Building Both Resiliency in Disasters and Preparedness

This paper studies disaster training work of one of the original grantees of the Worker Training Program of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: The International Chemical Workers Union Council (ICWUC) and its consortium of unions and national organizations. The consortium developed disaster train-the-trainer curriculum in English and in Spanish, so worker trainers would be poised to do training during, after, and in prevention of disasters. This paper reviews the program and its impact on affected communities, with both a historical perspective and with interviews of 20 of those who were trained to be disaster response trainers.

Archives of Business Research [Authors: Shari Glines Allen, John S. Morawetz, & Ruth Ruttenberg]

Episode 156 Osterholm Update: H5N1: An Impending Crisis?

In episode 156 of University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (CIDRAP) podcast “Osterholm Update,” Michael Osterholm, Ph.D., discusses the spread of H5N1 avian influenza in U.S. dairy cows, covers the latest COVID-19 trends, reviews two articles on long COVID, and answers a listener question about the safety of raw milk and other dairy products.

University of Minnesota CIDRAP Podcast

MassCOSH Seeking Executive Director

The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) seeks an executive director to build on the organization’s exceptional record of advocating for safe, healthy workplaces. MassCOSH’s mission is to ensure that all workers can go to work and return home with their health and well-being intact. The incoming executive director will provide effective and visionary leadership that actively engages the board, staff, and volunteers in implementing the organization’s strategic plan and maximizing the organization’s impact. They will be responsible for overseeing operations including finance, human resources, program development and fundraising.

Job Posting

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