Weekly E-Newsbrief
September 2, 2022
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 |
Submission Deadline Extended: Call for Abstracts for the 2023 National Trainers’ Exchange
The 2023 Trainers’ Exchange will take place in Indianapolis, IN, May 2-4, 2023, and is hosted by OAI, Inc. in conjunction with the NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP). The National Trainers’ Exchange will bring together safety and health trainers and training stakeholders from the U.S. Department of Energy and the NIEHS WTP to exchange ideas about how to make training for hazardous materials and emergency response workers more effective and empowering. Through participatory workshop sessions, participants will share best practices, training techniques, and ways to overcome challenges. The new deadline for abstract submission is Sunday, September 11, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.
Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over ‘Inadequate’ Regulation of Coal Ash Dumps
A lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington D.C. seeks to compel the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review and revise regulations it says are “inadequate to protect human health and the environment” from the solid waste produced by coal-burning power plants.
PBS News Hour [Author: Travis Loller]
Workers Want Mental Health Support From Employers: Survey
More than 4 out of 5 U.S. workers say mental health support from a potential employer will be a key consideration when seeking future job opportunities, results of a recent survey show.
Since Hurricane Katrina, Only Seven Cities Have Adopted Strong Disaster Preparedness Plans
Since Hurricane Katrina made landfall September 2005, new research from a team at Florida Atlantic University shows that within the past two decades, the country has not learned nearly enough from the catastrophe and that “only marginal improvements have occurred with respect to evacuation planning in America’s 50 largest cities.”
The Hill [Author: Gianna Melillo]
Deal Reached to Address 2 Leaking Nuke Waste Tanks
A deal to address two nuclear waste storage tanks that are leaking radioactive materials into the soil in Washington State was reached Thursday between the state and the U.S. Department of Energy. The waste is left over from the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Washington.
AP News [Author: Nicholas K. Geranios]
COVID-19 Appropriations: Health and Safety Training During a Pandemic
The NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) had a swift response to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This response is based on years of experience and the program’s capacity to address infectious diseases, bloodborne pathogens, and other biosafety hazards using regular program funds and emergency appropriations from Congress. This document focuses on how WTP used $10 million in emergency appropriations from the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020.
COVID-19 Recovery Centers: August 2022 Update
The NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) funded supplemental grants under NIH NOT-ES-21-002, Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Promoting Health, Safety, and Recovery Training for COVID-19 Essential Workers and their Communities, with support from the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020. Grantee organizations are leading centers across the nation and will partner with local businesses and community organizations to assess COVID-19 health risks, train essential workers, and coordinate resources needed to reduce disease transmission and promote recovery in disadvantaged communities.
| Calendar Features | Back to Top |
Breathe Deep, Boys: Voices of the McIntyre Powder Project Miners
From 1943 to 1979, tens of thousands of miners and factory workers globally were forced to inhale a finely ground aluminum dust known as McIntyre Powder as part of a mandatory medical treatments by their employers as part of an unproven, and ultimately ineffective, treatment to prevent the lung disease silicosis. This is a 90-minute roundtable conversation between New Solutions: A Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health Policy and McIntyre Powder Project featuring the voices of the miners directly impacted by this dangerous and unnecessary policy. The event will be held on September 8, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
Preventing Suicide in the Construction Industry
Mental health is a growing concern in the construction industry. A 2020 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that suicide among the U.S. working-age population is increasing, and that construction and extraction occupations have the highest rates of death by suicide in any occupational group. Learn more about the impact of suicide, signs, and symptoms to be aware of, and contributing factors such as high rates of opioid use disorder. The event will be held on September 8, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health Will Meet Sept. 14
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will hold an online meeting of the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health on September 14, 2022, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT.
| On The Web This Week | Back to Top |
Undocumented Americans Need Equitable Language in Worker Training
Undocumented immigrant American workers face barriers to adequate safety training and disparities in occupational health. The workplace plays a vital role in the lives of all Americans who perform the necessary work that keeps society functioning, including undocumented workers. It is important that workers receive training and education to perform their work safely and in a healthy manner.
Health Equity [Author: Eric Persaud]
NC Recognized as the Birthplace of the Environmental Justice Movement
In the summer of 1982, Warren County became ground zero for the environmental justice movement. The community, at the time a relatively sparsely populated county on the Virginia border north of Raleigh, was rocked by six weeks of protests over PCB-laced oil being sprayed on rural county roads.
Greensboro News & Record [ [Author: Will Atwater]
Annual Report From the Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Disasters and Emergencies
The Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Disasters and Emergencies convenes public and private sector leaders to improve the nation's preparedness for, response to, and recovery from disasters, public health emergencies, and emerging threats. The Forum fosters in-depth policy discussion and collaboration to identify barriers and explore solutions to ensure and sustain national security, promote recovery, and enhance resilience.
| Federal Agency Update | Back to Top |
Year One of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity
The Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE) celebrates its first anniversary and looks back at its accomplishments to date to protect people’s health from the effects of climate change. In the past year, OCCHE has partnered with other countries on shared goals, launched a voluntary pledge and associated webinar series on supports for U.S. health sector resilience and decarbonization, and developed the Climate and Health Outlook linking seasonal forecasting to health effects.
HHS Blog Posts [Author: John Balbus]
U.S. Department of Labor Awards $8M to Support Policy Development Center for Equal, Inclusive Employment of People With Disabilities
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the award of $8 million to support a four-year cooperative agreement with the National Disability Institute to operate a policy development center focused on employment for people with disabilities.
U.S. Department of Energy Invests Over $6 Million to Support University Training and Research for Decarbonization and Environmental Remediation Projects
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced $6.4 million in funding for 18 projects to conduct early-stage research and development of decarbonization technologies and environmental remediation, and to develop strategies to enhance the engagement of minority-serving institutions on FECM-related research at eligible U.S. colleges and universities.
| Awardee Highlights/Online Learning | Back to Top |
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Receives $500,000 Grant from The Windward Fund to Support New Data Hub
The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) has been awarded a $500,000 grant from The Windward Fund through its Environmental Justice Data Fund project. This grant will fund DSCEJ’s creation of the Environmental Justice Data Hub, an interactive online portal to provide environmental justice organizations the opportunity to conduct research relevant to the needs of their communities.
Guidance on PFAS Exposure, Testing, and Clinical Follow-Up
A report from the National Academies recommends that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry should revise its existing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) clinical guidance to say that clinicians should offer education and blood testing to patients who are likely to have a history of elevated exposure to PFAS, such as those exposed through their work or who live in areas with known PFAS contamination.
Toward a Future of Environmental Health Sciences
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a workshop titled Towards a Future of Environmental Health Sciences on April 26-27, 2022. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.
COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Mental Health and Substance Use, Workplace Solutions
This awareness level training program may be used to update existing opioid, resilience, or COVID-19 training, or as a stand-alone program.
| Job Openings | Back to Top |
CDC Seeks a Public Health Analyst
In summary, the position serves as a public health analyst and, independently or as part of a team, plans, manages, and/or evaluates complex public health program(s), projects, and/or study activities for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The position conducts short- and long-term planning, program development, policy and program analysis, and program evaluations.
| We Want Your Feedback | Back to Top |
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