COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Mental Health and Substance Use, Workplace Solutions Training Tool Now Available in Spanish on the WTP Website

The NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) has developed awareness-level training tools on the prevention of occupational exposure to fentanyl and other opioids, the impact of the opioid crisis on workers, the workplace, and the community, and how these factors interacted with the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Mental Health and Substance Use, Workplace Solutions Training Tool and an activity worksheet are now available in Spanish on the WTP website.

Opioids & Substance Use: Workplace Prevention & Response Webpage

How Bird Flu Puts Workers on Farms and in Food Processing Plants at Higher Risk

Health care is often out of reach for farm workers, and with H5N1 being an emerging concern, health care workers are focused on how these patients will be affected. H5N1, also known as highly pathogenic avian flu or bird flu, has been confirmed in multiple outbreaks among wild and domesticated animals in the U.S. People who work closely with those animals or at food processing plants face higher exposure to risk of infection, and migrant workers face disproportionate risk compared to the general population. They also are more likely to lack affordable access to health care and may hesitate to report symptoms if it means not working.

PBS News [Author: Laura Santhanam]

Tribal Nations Invest Opioid Settlement Funds in Traditional Healing to Treat Addiction

Health care companies are paying out more than $1.5 billion to hundreds of tribes over 15 years. Native Americans had the highest overdose death rates of any racial group each year from 2020 to 2022, and federal officials say those statistics were likely undercounted by about 34% because Native Americans’ race is often misclassified on death certificates. Public health experts say the underlying cause of addiction in many tribal communities is intergenerational trauma, resulting from centuries of brutal treatment, including broken treaties, land theft, and a government-funded boarding school system that sought to erase the tribes’ languages and cultures.

Kaiser Health News [Authors: Aneri Pattani & Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez]

Does Excessive Heat Raise the Risk of Work-Related Injuries?

The higher outdoor temperatures climb, the more likely it is that a worker will be injured, according to a recent study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute. Researchers looked at 2016-2021 workers’ comp claims data and weather data from across 24 states. They found that on days when the high temperature was 85-90° F, the chance of a work-related injury was an estimated 4.3% greater than on days when temperatures were between 65-70° F. Perhaps not surprisingly, workers in the South exhibited a higher risk of injury under higher temperatures.

Safety + Health Magazine

Workers Doing Time Must Be Protected by Job Safety Laws

In virtually all U.S. states, official emergency response plans (EOPs) include roles for incarcerated workers as part of preparation, response, and recovery work. Many EOPs define roles for “inmates” or “prisoners” that place these workers in danger from environmental hazards or exposure to chemicals or biological dangers. In most cases, states also refuse to extend the typical health and safety protections of other workers as laid out in the Occupational Safety and Health Act. While departments of correction often characterize disaster response work as voluntary, systems of physical danger, privatization, and excessive carceral costs and fees coupled with strong incentives for early release push incarcerated workers into accepting dangerous assignments.

National Employment Law Project [Authors: Anastasia Christman & Han Lu]

The Role of Climate Change and Migration in Social Risk Factors

This session will give an overview of climate change's impact on migration and those who migrate for various reasons. Each speaker has expertise at the national and regional level to describe the role that climate change is playing in human migration within countries and across international borders. Presentations will be in Spanish with simultaneous English interpretation available. The session will take place on May 21, 2024, at 1 p.m. EDT.

Event Registration

Emerging and Re-Emerging Viruses: What Clinicians Need to Know, From COVID-19 to Avian Flu

Staying up to date on the rapidly changing landscape of emerging and re-emerging viruses is often challenging for busy frontline clinicians. This webinar will discuss the status of viruses including COVID-19 and highly pathogenic avian influenza and the latest recommendations regarding treatment and prevention. Moreover, we will consider key social determinants of health such as occupation, language, and literacy as we review strategies to provide culturally contextual care to migrant, immigrant, and asylee patients. The webinar will take place on May 23, 2024, at 4 p.m. EDT.

Event Registration

Public Input Webinar on Climate and Health Resource Hub

In the face of extreme weather events, air pollution, degrading water quality, and a changing environment, opportunities to protect health from the effects of climate change are vital. The Grand Challenge on Climate Change, Human Health, and Equity is developing an online resource hub to equip health professionals and others to better understand the connection between a changing climate and health outcomes. This hub is designed to help individuals find the information they need and provide tips and opportunities for them to act that will help protect their health, their loved ones’ well-being, and the broader community. The webinar will take place on May 29, 2024, from 2:30 – 3:45 p.m. EDT.

Event Registration

Climate & Workforce Health: Protecting Employees from Extreme Heat

This summit will provide insights from distinguished experts who are at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of extreme heat on the workforce. Through interactive discussions and a thought-provoking panel, participants will explore innovative methodologies to assess risks and adapt operations amid the evolving climate landscape. It will take place on June 12, 2024, from 1:00 – 1:45 p.m. EDT.

Event Registration

Wastewater Testing Finds H5N1 Avian Flu in 9 Texas Cities

Researchers who sequenced viruses from wastewater samples from 10 Texas cities found H5N1 avian flu virus in nine of them, sometimes at levels that rivaled seasonal flu. A team from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Health Sciences Center detailed their whole-virome sequencing findings in a new preprint study. With many questions still unanswered about how the virus is spreading in dairy cows and how widely the virus is circulating, scientists are increasingly eyeing wastewater sampling as a key surveillance tool. The researchers said that 19 of 23 monitored wastewater sites had at least one detection event and that, over time, H5N1 became the dominant serotype.

University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy [Author: Lisa Schnirring]

Tackling Mental Health Challenges in the Public Safety Sector: Implementing and Evaluating Mental Health Programs

Public safety sector workers including firefighters (structural and wildland), law enforcement officers, emergency medical services clinicians, and corrections personnel are at a high risk of occupational exposure to traumatic events and stress. As such, mental health programs are critical for addressing the unique challenges these workers face. Traditionally, public safety workplaces have used interventions that require active, ongoing engagement by workers, but these interventions may not address the root cause in the work environment. In recent years, there has been movement towards more holistic interventions that engage multiple levels in an organization rather than relying heavily on individual workers.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Science Blog [Authors: Meghan Kiederer, Hope Tiesman, Daniel Gerard, Meret Hofer, Kristen Wheldon, Dana Neitlich, David Shapiro, Wesley R. Attwood, Maryann D’Alessandro, & Suzanne Marsh]

Nail Salon Workers Face Elevated Risk of Reproductive Health Issues: Report

Female nail technicians have a higher occurrence of reproductive health issues than other women, according to a new report from the New York Healthy Nail Salons Coalition. The report points to chemicals used in nail salons as abundant, toxic and associated with serious health risks, including damage to reproductive health. Findings include 17% of nail technicians reporting reproductive health issues, which is 6% higher than women in the United States overall, and 18% reporting they had pregnancy complications, compared with 8% of women in the general population.

Safety + Health Magazine

Chemical Crisis: Reproductive Harms Among Nail Salon Workers in NYC

Why Scientists Are Concerned About the Latest Transmission of Bird Flu to Cows

The outbreak of bird flu in the U.S. has alarmed researchers and prompted new efforts to track the virus that’s already killed millions of birds from Europe to Antarctica. As H5N1 continues to jump into mammals, many scientists are concerned that we’re not watching closely enough as this virus spreads. The virus seems to be spreading cow to cow in some fashion, but scientists don't know exactly how that is.

PBS News [Authors: William Brangham & Sam Weber]

Fact Sheet: USDA, HHS Announce New Actions to Reduce Impact and Spread of H5N1

Since the detection of H5N1 in dairy cattle, the Federal response has leveraged the latest available scientific data, field epidemiology, and risk assessments to mitigate risks to workers and the general public, to ensure the safety of America’s food supply, and to mitigate risk to livestock, owners, and producers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is taking a series of additional steps to help achieve these goals and reduce the impact of H5N1 on affected premises and producers, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is announcing new actions to increase testing and laboratory screening and capacity, genomic sequencing, and other interventions to protect the health and safety of dairy and other potentially impacted food items.

USDA and HHS News Release

Department of Labor to Hold 2nd Annual ‘Stand Down to Save Lives’ to Promote Miner Safety, Health at Nation’s Mines on May 22

The Department of Labor (DOL) announced that its Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) will hold its second annual ‘Stand Down to Save Lives’ on May 22, as part of a national campaign to encourage the nation’s mining community to take steps to prevent fatalities and injuries. MSHA encourages miners, operators, and unions to set aside time during the week of May 20-24 to stress the importance of safety and health in and around U.S. mines. Agency leaders and staff will visit mines across the nation on May 22 in MSHA’s continued educational and outreach efforts to reduce fatalities, serious injuries and illnesses in the industry.

DOL News Release

New EPA Survey Highlights Wastewater Infrastructure Needs to Protect Waterbodies in Communities Across the Country

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transmitted a report to Congress outlining clean water infrastructure investments, including wastewater and stormwater system upgrades, that are needed over the next 20 years. Through the Clean Watersheds Needs Survey, states and U.S. territories report on future capital costs or investment needs to maintain and modernize publicly owned wastewater treatment works, stormwater infrastructure, nonpoint source control, and decentralized wastewater treatment systems like septic tanks. The 2022 survey represents the most recent comprehensive and robust report on wastewater, stormwater, and other clean water infrastructure needs in the U.S., and shows that at least $630 billion will be needed over the next 20 years to protect our nation’s waterbodies.

EPA News Release

Trenching Injuries, Citations and Penalties in Construction

Trenching and excavation activities expose workers to multiple hazards, such as cave-ins, inhalation exposures, and struck-by and/or caught-in between injuries. This data bulletin examines trenching injuries in construction and in all industries by nature of injury, demographics (age and ethnicity), and time of day. It also analyzes injuries where the primary source of injury was trenches, ditches, or excavations, and explores Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citations and penalties for violating the OSHA trenching standard.

CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training [Authors: Thomas Yohannes, William Harris, Jacob Hooper, & Amber Brooke Trueblood]

WNYCOSH is Hiring a Safety and Health Trainer

The Western New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health (WNYCOSH) is seeking a safety and health trainer to join their organization and provide training on occupational safety and health issues to worker populations. WNYCOSH is a non-profit organization with a mission of defending workers’ rights to a safe and healthy work environment through outreach, advocacy and education to improve working conditions of all workers. As a part of our training and education program, WNYCOSH provides worker safety and health training to thousands of workers in the Western New York area covering a wide range of topics on how to identify, evaluate and control hazards they are exposed to on the job.

Job Posting

NIH Looking to Fill Several Positions in the Division of Extramural Research and Training

The National Institutes of Health has several positions open in the Division of Extramural Research and Training: Health Science Administrator Program Officer (PO) and Scientific Review Officer (SRO) and Supervisory Health Scientist Administrator PO and SRO. To apply, candidates must be U.S. citizens and meet a basic education requirement of a bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree with major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position. The job announcements will close after 200 applications are received, so interested candidates should submit applications as soon as possible.

Job Posting: Health Scientist Administrator (Program Officer & Scientific Review Officer)

Job Posting: Supervisory Health Scientist Administrator (Program Officer & Scientific Review Officer)

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