Weekly E-Newsbrief
September 14, 2018
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
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- Newsbriefs Past Issues
| Top Stories | Back to Top |
NIEHS WTP Resources on Hurricanes and Floods
NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) resources are designed to help protect 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. Training topics include floods safety awareness, mold remediation, and debris removal.
Registration Now Open for WTP Fall Meeting
Registration for the 2018 NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) Fall Awardee Meeting and Workshop is now open! The WTP Awardee Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 24, 2018, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. The WTP Workshop will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, October 24 – 25, 2018. Both events will take place on the NIEHS campus in Research Triangle Park, NC. The WTP Workshop will focus on opioid-related hazards in the workplace and developing a training framework to address exposure, use, and prevention. Registration closes Wednesday, October 10, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
NIEHS Worker Training Program Interactive Listening Sessions
The NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) is conducting a series of interactive listening sessions across the country to learn about the impact of the opioid epidemic on workers and the workplace. The goal is to learn what is happening in affected industries and occupations and to identify training needs, gaps, and opportunities. Three upcoming listening meetings will be held on the following dates: 1) September 23, 2018, in Hamden, Connecticut, 2) September 24, 2018, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and 3) September 27, 2018, in New York City.
Hurricane Florence Is Going to Slow Down. That’s Not Good.
With wind speeds that have approached 140 miles per hour, Hurricane Florence isn’t exactly slow. But forecasters don’t expect the storm to blow through quickly once it reaches land. Instead, they think it will stall, much as Hurricane Harvey did over Houston last year, besieging the area for days with wind and rain. That is part of the reason Florence is expected to be so dangerous.
The New York Times [Author: Kendra Pierre-Louis]
Hurricane Could Flood Many Waste Sites, Creating Toxic Brew
The heavy rain expected from Hurricane Florence could flood hog manure pits, coal ash dumps, and other industrial sites in North Carolina, creating a noxious brew of waste that might wash into homes and threaten drinking water supplies. Computer models predict more than three feet of rain in the eastern part of the state. Longtime locals don’t have to strain their imaginations to foresee what rain like that can do. It’s happened before.
Associated Press [Author: Michael Biesecker]
As Extreme Weather Gets Worse, Emergency Responders Deal with The Fallout
As Hurricane Harvey showed, work is already becoming more treacherous for first responders. Occupational health experts are beginning to grapple with this issue as climate change transforms working conditions in many fields, making major storms not just more common but also more devastating. While climate change is a health risk to everyone, public health experts say laborers will be the canaries in the coal mine. They have little choice but to work through extreme heat and severe weather.
The Huffington Post [Author: Dave Jamieson]
| Calendar Features | Back to Top |
National Academies’ Gulf Research Program Announces Grant Opportunity for Enhancing Coastal Community Resilience in the Gulf of Mexico Region
The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) announced a new grant opportunity focused on enhancing coastal community resilience and well-being in the Gulf of Mexico region. Applications for this funding opportunity have two stages, including a required letter of intent due September 19, 2018, by 5 p.m. ET. A full proposal is then due by November 28, 2018, by 5 p.m. ET.
Webinar on Green Chemistry: Finding Safer Alternatives for Occupational Applications
The Rutgers School of Public Health is hosting a webinar focused on green chemistry as an essential component of occupational health. The webinar will discuss how to apply new tools and resources for transitioning to safer chemicals in the workplace, and how green chemistry research, applications, and educational activities can advance safety and health. Guest speakers include Nancy Simcox from the University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Saskia Van Bergen from the Washington State Department of Ecology. The webinar will be held on September 20, 2018, from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET.
Webinar on Planning for Disaster: Partnerships Ensure Continuity of Operations
As part of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Disaster Information Specialist webinars, this webinar will discuss steps that libraries can take to develop Continuity of Operations plans to deal with new realities in disaster preparedness. The development and maintenance of real life collaboration between two military libraries, one federal library, and one local hospital library will be discussed. The webinar will be held on September 20, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
PEPH Webinar: Air Sensor Stories
In response to growing interest in exploring local air quality concerns, NIEHS grantees developed an interactive workshop for audiences seeking to understand the potential benefits and challenges associated with using air sensors. This Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) webinar will discuss how workshop materials were developed by a collaboration between four NIEHS-supported community engagement cores and pilot tested with diverse community partners. The webinar will be held on September 24, 2018, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET.
Opioids and the Workplace
The New York City Central Labor Council, Rutgers School of Public Health, and the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) are sponsoring a workshop to discuss the national opioid epidemic impacting communities and worksites throughout the country. In this workshop participants will learn facts about the crisis, the impact of prescription and illegal opioids, the connection between hazardous jobs, workplace injury, and opioid misuse, overdose, and addiction, worker protection guidelines, and non-punitive strategies for helping addicted workers. The workshop will be held on September 27, 2018, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET in 256 West 38th Street, New York, NY.
| On The Web This Week | Back to Top |
Hurricane Harvey Spurred the Spread of Dangerous Diseases
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, J.R. Atkins was diagnosed with “flesh-eating” necrotizing fasciitis, likely an infection with Group A Streptococcus and almost certainly from contact with tainted floodwaters after he was bitten by an insect. His experience is a stark reminder that the perils from an intense hurricane don’t end when the storm does. Researchers at Rice University in Houston studied the health threats of flooding from storms like Harvey, analyzing the post-Harvey floodwaters to see what microbes were present.
Nexus Media News [Author: Marlene Cimons]
Environmental Science and Technology [Authors: Yu et al.]
Estimating the Potential Impact of Climate Change on Hurricane Florence
Climate Extreme Modeling (CEM) group members have been busy this week watching the path of Hurricane Florence in the North Atlantic. Colleagues at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have for the first time used a climate model (CAM5) to produce near real-time experimental forecasts of Hurricane Florence to assess how much human-induced climate change has altered the anticipated rainfall, intensity, and size of the storm.
Grants for Worker Safety Available
The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) announced that companies with 250 or fewer employees can apply for a matching grant of up to $5,000 to make improvements in workplace safety and health. The MIOSHA Workplace Improvement to Safety and Health program is designed to create a safer and healthier work environment while reducing the risk of injury and illness. The grant period begins October 1, 2018 and continues on an ongoing basis until the $250,000 in funding is expended.
| Federal Agency Update | Back to Top |
DOE Cleanup Chief Hopes to Move Past ‘Plateau,’ Focus on Completion
The head of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) nuclear cleanup office fears remediation efforts have reached a “plateau” and need a push to advance toward closure of remaining sites. To achieve this, the office is developing strategic plans both for its full operations and for specific properties over the coming decade. DOE is trying to get the focus back squarely on “completion and closure,” through development of an enterprise-wide 10-year strategic plan.
Exchange Monitor [Author: Wayne Barber]
Solicitation of Nominations for Appointment to the World Trade Center Health Program Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee (STAC)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in accordance with provisions of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, is seeking nominations for membership on the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program STAC. The STAC reviews scientific and medical evidence and makes recommendations to the Administrator of the WTC Health Program on additional Program eligibility criteria and additional WTC-related health conditions and provides consultation on research regarding certain health conditions related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Nominations for membership on the STAC must be received no later than November 16, 2018.
Mission Possible: Preparing and Responding to Disasters Through a Health Equity Lens
Previous disasters have shown that certain groups of people face greater risk during and after disasters. This includes those who may have difficulty accessing or receiving standard resources before, during, or after an emergency. In the following blog, Amy Wolkin, Dr.P.H., a vulnerable populations officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discusses these issues, highlighting a workshop she moderated, titled “Root Causes: Social Inequality and Vulnerability in Disasters.”
Conversations in Equity [Author: Amy Wolkin]
| Awardee Highlights/Online Learning | Back to Top |
Success Story on NIEHS Grantee Janelle Rios: Providing Training and Tools for Hurricane Harvey Recovery
NIEHS grantee Janelle Rios, Ph.D., is a passionate advocate for the health and safety of workers and communities, especially those affected by disasters. Rios is the co-principal investigator for the Texas-Utah Consortium for Hazardous Waste Worker Education and Training (Texas-Utah Consortium). Most recently, working alongside co-principal investigator Robert Emery, Dr.P.H. and other colleagues, Rios led efforts to protect workers, residents, and volunteers from hazardous exposures during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas.
Preparedness and Safety Messaging for Hurricanes, Flooding, and Similar Disasters
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed a reference document that contains key messages on hurricane and flood related health threats. The Preparedness and Safety Messaging for Hurricanes, Flooding, and Similar Disasters can help local responders quickly create and adapt health communication products for affected communities. The document contains messages on various topics including food safety, carbon monoxide poisoning, waterborne diseases, and mold.
| Job Openings | Back to Top |
Recruiting Cal/OSHA Safety and Health Inspectors
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) is hiring safety and health inspectors throughout the state. These are field positions that conduct compliance inspections in many different settings and consult with employers on a wide range of health and safety issues. The upcoming application deadline is October 31, 2018.
Ford Foundation Seeks Program Officer
The Ford Foundation seeks a dynamic, strategic leader to serve as a Program Officer in its new ‘Future of Work’ (FoW) program area, which strives to actively ensure that the ‘future of work’ places workers and their well-being at the center and reduces inequality. The Program Officer would help shape FoW program strategy, develop grant portfolios and related activities, and participate as a thought-leader on issues related to the ‘Future of Work’ in various public and private settings. Apply for this position by September 25, 2018.
UW Occupational Health Services Research Program Seeks Doctoral Traineeship
The University of Washington is recruiting a doctoral trainee for their Occupational Health Services Research (OHSR) Program. The Occupational Health Services Research Training Program includes tuition, travel, research support, and a stipend. The program is one of only two National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-funded OHSR programs in the United States and is part of the Northwest Center for Occupational Health & Safety, a NIOSH-funded Education and Research Center (ERC). Trainees have the opportunity to participate in ongoing research projects through the Occupational Epidemiology and Health Outcomes Program, and undertake field-based studies in external organizations. The application deadline is December 15, 2018.
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