Weekly E-Newsbrief
October 29, 2021
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 |
Ensuring Worker Safety and Health in the Aftermath of Disasters
A new fact sheet provides a comprehensive overview of WTP’s longtime efforts and successes in disaster preparedness and response. It describes response efforts dating back to the 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks, along with other activities related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill, California wildfires, the 2014 Ebola virus outbreak, the COVID-19 pandemic, and many others.
California Proposes 3,200-Foot Buffer Zone Between Oil Wells and Homes, Schools
After years of advocacy by frontline communities, California may finally be on the way to implementing a key health and safety regulation to protect communities living near oil and gas extraction facilities. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the new draft ruling in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington, one of the most polluted communities in the state.
Capital and Main [Author: Alexandria Herr]
Natural Gas Leaks in Boston Are Vastly Underreported — And Could Be Coming from Inside Homes, Study Says
Six times more natural gas is leaking into the skies of Boston than is officially reported, new research shows. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also suggests that gas could be escaping not only from distribution pipelines but from inside businesses and homes as well — a finding that some say may be overstated.
The Washington Post [Author: Tik Root]
OSHA to States: Protect Workers from COVID-19 or Forfeit Authority
In a rare move, federal labor officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have threatened to take over three states’ workplace safety programs because they failed to adopt emergency COVID-19 rules to protect healthcare workers. That admonition, labor advocates say, also serves as a thinly veiled warning that resisting the forthcoming federal vaccine mandate for most healthcare workers and employees at large companies likewise could cost states their regulatory power over workplace safety.
Alabama Town Offers $200 Incentive for Workers to Get Shots
A rural Alabama town voted to offer its employees a $200 incentive to get the COVID-19 vaccine using federal pandemic relief money. Leaders in the Walker County town of Dora said they hoped the move would boost the vaccination rate in the city of 2,200, about 25 miles northwest of Birmingham, the Daily Mountain Eagle reported.
U.S. to Give Nuclear Waste Plant in Idaho Another Try
Problems plaguing a nuclear waste treatment plant in eastern Idaho appear to be solved, U.S. officials said, and converting high-level liquid waste into safer, more easily managed solid material could start early next year.
Idaho Press [Author: Keith Ridler, AP News]
Bidding Begins for Massive $45 Billion Contract for Hanford Radioactive Waste Cleanup
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) put out a request for bids for a massive new contract at the Hanford nuclear reservation. It is capped at $45 billion for work over 10 years. That’s a significant jump from the $26.5 billion cap of the proposed contract made when DOE gave a first look at its proposed new contract in February.
Union-Bulletin [Author: Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald]
Resources on Substance Use Prevention
As National Substance Abuse Prevention Month comes to a close, we wanted to remind you of the resources available through the Clearinghouse, along with the special edition of New Solutions on Opioids and the Workplace – Risk Factors and Solutions.
| Calendar Features | Back to Top |
The NIH Common Fund Transformative Health Disparities Research Community Listening Sessions Series
The NIH Common Fund is hosting the Transformative Health Disparities Research Community Listening Sessions Series to gain perspectives on opportunities, challenges, and community needs related to interventions targeting social determinant factors that influence health disparities including education, healthcare, financial resources, neighborhood environments, and social context. The sessions for individual stakeholders will be held on Nov. 2, Nov. 4, Nov. 9, Nov. 10, Nov. 16, and Nov. 18.
NIHB Save the Date for the 2021 Infectious Disease Regional Institute
The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is excited to announce the 2021 Infectious Disease Regional Institute. The Institute will be virtually held on Thursday, Nov. 4. NIHB is hosting three free regional institutes to provide a learning environment for Tribal frontline personnel and communities experiencing significant disease outbreaks.
Federal Transit Administration Announces Request for Information on Transit Worker Safety
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is seeking the input of transit industry personnel, researchers, contractors, government entities, transit users, and other interested parties to make American transit safer for millions of frontline staff. The FTA Request for Information (RFI) closes on Nov. 23.
Texas A&M Superfund Research Center Disaster Research Training Workshop
The Texas A&M Superfund Research Center is sponsoring a two-day, hands-on workshop that will be held at the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) Disaster City, Emergency Operations Training Center, College Station, Texas, on Dec. 2-3. Registration and the workshop agenda are now available.
COSHCON Registration Now Open
Registration for the National Conference on Worker Safety and Health (#COSHCON2021) is now available. The conference brings together a diverse, inclusive and bilingual group of workers, occupational health and safety experts, unions, activists and academics united around common goals. It will be held Dec. 7-9 and 14-16.
| On The Web This Week | Back to Top |
If Our Oil Jobs Are Ending, We Need Safety Nets and Good Replacement Work
In response to renewed calls to ban offshore drilling after about 25,000 gallons of crude oil poured into the Pacific Ocean, the governor commented, “Banning new drilling is not complicated. The deeper question is how do you transition and still protect the workforce?” Norman Rogers is the second vice president of United Steelworkers Local 675.
The American Dream Depends on Transit for All in Pa. We Need to Fund it That Way
Pennsylvania depends on public transit – but as any transit worker or rider will tell you, public transit systems across the state are running on fumes. In June of 2022, Act 89 will sunset, eliminating roughly a third of the dedicated state funding for public transit. Cho Blaise is a Harrisburg transit rider and immigrant from Cameroon. Lionel Randolph is a transit operator and President of Harrisburg ATU Local 1436.
Deadlines, Costs Raised in White House OSHA Covid Rule Meetings
Employers and unions meeting with White House staffers want to know who pays for testing and how quickly businesses must comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) impending COVID-19 shot-or-test standard. The White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs had scheduled 59 meetings about the rule.
Bloomberg Law [Authors: Bruce Rolfsen, Ben Penn, Fatima Hussein]
Dairy Farmer Sues Burlington Over Airport PFAS Contamination
A South Burlington dairy farmer is suing the City of Burlington, contending that his well was contaminated by toxic chemicals that flowed off airport property. John Belter alleges that the chemicals came from a firefighting foam long used by the Vermont Air National Guard, which leases a portion of the Burlington International Airport.
Seven Days Vermont [Author: Kevin McCallum]
A Record Amount of Americans Are Quitting Their Jobs Due to Pandemic Burnout
A record 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs in August alone. The biggest reason: burnout. But rather than complain, thousands have started their own companies. Nick Folmar had pandemic panic: he was furloughed by his janitorial company 13 months ago when no one else was hiring.
CBS News [Author: Mark Strassmann]
| Federal Agency Update | Back to Top |
U.S. Department of Labor Initiates Rulemaking to Protect Workers, Outdoors and Indoors, from Heat Hazards Amid Rising Temperatures
In concert with the White House administration interagency effort and its commitment to workplace safety, climate resilience and environmental justice, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is publishing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings on Oct. 27. Currently, OSHA does not have a specific standard for hazardous heat conditions and this action begins the process to consider a heat-specific workplace rule.
EPA Appoints New Members to National Environmental Justice Advisory Council
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the appointment of ten new members to the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC). Established in 1993, the NEJAC provides advice and recommendations about broad, cross-cutting issues related to environmental justice to the EPA administrator.
New Fentanyl Detection Standards Will Protect First Responders in the Field
Another critical consequence of the widespread prevalence of synthetic opioids is the alarming frequency with which first responders, including emergency medical and law enforcement personnel at all levels, encounter them. Unknown or unexpected contact with a synthetic opioid such as fentanyl or a related compound presents a safety hazard for first responders if they are not prepared with the proper protective equipment.
Senate Confirms Biden’s Occupational Safety and Health Nominee
Douglas Parker, most recently chief of California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, was confirmed to be the assistant secretary of labor at the Labor Department, which makes him the leader of the workplace safety agency that has about 1,800 employees.
Government Executive [Author: Courtney Buble]
| Awardee Highlights/Online Learning | Back to Top |
Environmental Justice Is Essential in the Workplace and at Home
Black and brown residents of these communities disproportionately suffer from the health effects of these harmful exposures, from children with asthma to seniors with cancer. David Michaels is an epidemiologist at the George Washington School of Public Health. Robert Bullard is a distinguished professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University.
The Nation [Authors: David Michaels and Robert Bullard]
Total Worker Health Webinar Series: Introducing the NIOSH Worker Well-being Questionnaire
During this webinar, hosted August 2021, the NIOSH Total Worker Health Webinar series introduces the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Worker Well-being Questionnaire. This new tool provides an integrated assessment of worker well-being.
| Job Openings | Back to Top |
WRUC Seeks Program Manager/Educator
The Project Manager/Educator manages the federally-funded Western Region Universities Consortium (WRUC), one of 20 programs supported by the NIEHS Worker Training Program whose aim is to reduce worker exposure to occupational and environmental hazards. The position is based at the University of California Los Angeles Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program.
UC Berkeley Seeks Coordinator of Public Programs, LOHP
The University of California Berkeley’s (UC Berkeley) School of Public Health seeks a coordinator for their Labor Occupational Health Program (LOHP) is the community engagement/outreach program of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. LOHP promotes safe, healthy, and just workplaces and builds the capacity of workers and worker organizations to take action for improved working conditions.
| We Want Your Feedback | Back to Top |
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