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The E-Newsbrief of the National Clearinghouse for Worker Safety and Health Training is a free weekly newsletter focusing on new developments in the world of worker health and safety.
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A new WTP webpage for the Disaster Act Supplemental Funding is now available. Nine WTP grant recipients received Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 supplemental funding. The supplemental funding supports health and safety training for U.S. populations impacted by major disasters declared in 2022. Grant recipients use targeted strategies to reach and train workers, day laborers, and volunteers in disaster-impacted areas, especially those in vulnerable or marginalized communities. The webpage provides information about the grant recipients' work and related resources.
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In a move not seen for almost 40 years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an emergency order suspending all uses of a weedkiller linked to serious health risks for unborn babies. The herbicide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, also known as DCPA or Dacthal, is used on crops such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage and onions. Fetuses exposed to it could suffer from low birth weight, impaired brain development, decreased I.Q., and impaired motor skills later in life. Farmworkers have been found to be at the greatest risk from exposure to the chemical. EPA said it would soon issue a notice of intent to cancel DCPA products permanently, a process that could take several months if uncontested by the manufacturer, or years if the move is contested.
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that’s not often the case. Federal investigators and tribal epidemiologists have documented a litany of obstacles keeping state and federal public health information from tribes, including confusion about data-sharing policies, inconsistent processes for requesting information, data that’s of poor quality or outdated, and strict privacy rules for sensitive data on health issues.
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One year after the extreme wildfire that took 102 lives in Lahaina, piles of burned rubble on the waterfront are among the last of the debris to be removed in a long cleanup process. As the town recovers from one disaster, another is on the horizon. Many buildings along the shoreline were built directly on the water and as the climate gets hotter, oceans are rising. Studies show those properties could be inundated by the end of the century. With sea levels expected to rise three feet by the end of the century in Maui, a new line specifies where buildings should be set back from the shoreline. On Lahaina's waterfront, many of the destroyed buildings sit in that no-build zone.
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Since 2020, long COVID-19 has become a widespread disability affecting the health and quality of life of millions of people across the globe and costing economies billions of dollars in reduced productivity of employees and an overall drop in the work force. Long COVID is a term that describes the constellation of long-term health effects caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These range from persistent respiratory symptoms, such as shortness of breath, to debilitating fatigue or brain fog that limits people’s ability to work, and conditions such as heart failure and diabetes, which are known to last a lifetime. The intense scientific effort that long COVID sparked has resulted in more than 24,000 scientific publications, making it the most researched health condition in any four years of recorded human history.
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Various psychosocial, organizational and physical factors may increase workers’ risk of low back pain, according to a recent study led by researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Looking at 2015 data for more than 17,000 adult workers, the researchers found that the rate of low back pain was “significantly elevated” among those who reported high job demand, low control over their work, work-life imbalance, and bullying, among other factors. Job control and nonstandard shifts were significantly associated with low back pain only among those who reported low/no physical exertion.
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The Women’s Bureau, Nevada Women’s Business Center, and the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division are hosting a webinar about the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”). Discussion topics include protections provided by the Pump for Nursing Mothers Act and lactation resources for employers and workers. It will take place on August 14, 2024, from 4:30 – 5:00 p.m. EDT.
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The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure and Blue Green Alliance is hosting a webinar to discuss the launch of a new mapping resource that highlights the location of selected projects, awarded investments, and associated community benefits made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The webinar will also feature DOE’s Office of Community Engagement and leaders who will share their experiences about working in communities where clean energy infrastructure investments are being deployed. It will take place on August 15, 2024, at 12 p.m. EDT.
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Child labor unfortunately is on the rise, with more than 10 states introducing legislation to undermine child labor protections. The American Federation of Teachers is hosting a one-hour webinar to learn about the rise in child labor today, and to discuss what educators can do to respond. It will take place on August 20, 2024, from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. PDT.
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Workshop registration is now open for the 35th Annual Continuing Challenge, the nation’s largest hazardous materials emergency response workshop. Featuring almost 100 classes, 60% of them new offerings, this dynamic, content-rich, and engaging workshop provides classroom, field demonstrations, and manipulative skill programs. Over 40 vendors will be there to showcase their products and services. The workshop will be held in Sacramento, California, from September 3-6, 2024.
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People who work in construction get hurt on the job more often than other U.S. workers. Beyond the physical strain, they have the nation’s highest occupational rates for falls, slips and trips. The decades-long opioid crisis that started with the proliferation of prescription painkillers has hit the construction sector especially hard. The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show more than 162 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 construction workers in 2020. Synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, were involved in most overdose deaths for all occupations.
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The San Joaquin Valley, an agricultural stretch of land locked between California’s two great mountain ranges, the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Ranges, endures an average of 106 days per year with temperatures at or above 90 degrees and 40 days per year with temperatures at or above 100 degrees. In the San Joaquin Valley, adults aged 65 and over account for 12% of the population but 28% of all heat-related deaths since 2020. The valley is also home to seven of the 10 most disadvantaged communities in the state. Residents in these communities have applied for energy saving assistance programs, which cover the cost of insulation problems in low-income households, but many of them have never heard back about these requests.
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For rural patients, getting cancer treatment close to home has always been difficult. In recent years, chemotherapy deserts have expanded across the United States, with 382 rural hospitals halting services from 2014 to 2022. To keep the doors open, financially strapped facilities in small communities nationwide continue to shed basic health care services, like obstetrics and chemotherapy. Loss of chemotherapy services can signal other gaps in cancer care, such as a shortage of local specialty physicians and nurses, which is bad news for patients.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR) has published an updated version of the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Community Change Grants Program. EPA has updated the map used to identify disadvantaged communities, so that it now reflects the most recent data in OEJECR’s update of EJScreen. The Community Change Grants Program is still accepting applications through November 21, 2024, and will be making additional selections on a rolling basis for the remainder of 2024.
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The Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $2.2 billion investment in the nation’s grid for eight projects across 18 states to protect against growing threats of extreme weather events, lower costs for communities, and catalyze additional grid capacity to meet load growth stemming from an increase in manufacturing and data centers. The projects will catalyze nearly $10 billion in total public and private investment to bring reliable, affordable, clean energy to Americans, and will create at least 5,000 good-paying jobs. This deployment of new, innovative transmission infrastructure and technology upgrades to the existing grid will add nearly 13 gigawatts of grid capacity allowing more clean power to reach customers across the country.
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Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Becerra observed Farmworker Appreciation Day on August 6 by participating in a conversation about extreme heat with farmworkers and announcing several new actions to support farmworkers. The Secretary announced initial actions of the Initiative on Protecting Farmworkers from Extreme Heat and Wildfire Smoke, including improving access to health hazard evaluations, evidence-based recommendations to better protect workers, and funding opportunities for new care sites. The Worker Training Program resource Building Blocks for a Heat Stress Prevention Training Program was highlighted in the Secretary’s Farmworker Appreciation Day Factsheet.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its plan for implementing a new label program to boost clean American manufacturing by helping federal purchasers and other buyers find and buy cleaner, more climate-friendly construction materials and products. The label program aims to cut climate pollution linked to the production of construction products and materials, which accounts for more than 15% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. EPA anticipates that labeling requirements for each product type will be periodically reviewed and updated every two to four years to respond to and drive market shifts and help users meet sustainability objectives.
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Sonoma County in California is looking to hire a workplace violence prevention (WVP) manager. They will oversee the newly established WVP Unit, which will work to increase violence prevention awareness and training for all employees. Alongside the county's occupational safety and health unit, this position will also work closely with all county departments and agencies to assess workplace safety in various settings and develop mitigation strategies to address risks.
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