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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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Registration is now open for the 2024 NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) Fall Grant Recipient Meeting and Workshop. The grant recipient meeting will be held on October 22, 2024, and will be in-person only. The workshop will follow on October 23-24, 2024, and will be in-person only at the NIEHS campus in Research Triangle Park, NC. Registration for the grant recipient meeting and workshop will close on October 11, 2024, at 5 p.m. EDT.
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U.S. health officials now say COVID-19 is an endemic disease. Even though that changes how public health officials think about managing the virus, they say it doesn't mean being less cautious or vigilant during surges. COVID still poses significant risks for older individuals and those with underlying conditions, and anyone who gets COVID is at risk of developing long COVID. People can protect themselves and others by masking in crowded spaces and around high-risk individuals and getting updated vaccines.
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A new approach to assisting military personnel who have mental health concerns helps people get the specific care they need in a timely manner. TRICARE, a government-sponsored provider, says targeted care begins with a screening assessment, after which service members are matched to the most appropriate means of care. The Defense Health Agency conducted a targeted-care pilot program at 10 military behavioral health clinics from April to October 2023. Targeted care is expected to be available in all military hospitals and clinics by next year.
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Without a sharp pivot in state and federal policies, the bird flu virus that has bedeviled American farms is likely to find a firm foothold among dairy cattle, scientists are warning. So far, this virus, H5N1, does not easily infect humans, and the risk to the public remains low, but the longer the virus circulates in cattle, the more chances it gains to acquire the mutations necessary to set off an influenza pandemic. Genetic data suggest that the U.S. outbreak stemmed from a single spillover of the virus from birds into cattle and then spread to other parts of the country. Fundamental questions about the outbreak remain unanswered, including how many cows are infected and how often the virus jumps into people and other animals.
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The creeks around East Palestine, Ohio, were so badly contaminated by the disastrous Norfolk Southern derailment that some workers became sick during the cleanup. Workers who reported headaches and nausea were sent back to their hotels to rest, according to a report about their illnesses. The findings were not released to the public last spring, despite residents’ concerns about the potential health effects of exposure to the long list of chemicals that spilled and burned after the disaster. Researchers are still determining how many of those health problems can be linked to the derailment and how the disaster will impact the long-term health of residents in the area near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.
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In January 2024, the National Safety Council surveyed more than 500 employers and 800 employees across all industries on their perceptions of opioid use, overdose and naloxone. The main theme emerging from the results was disconnection between awareness and adoption, community and workplace, use and safety, and support and stigma. As we increase awareness and knowledge of opioids, naloxone and the impact on workplaces, opportunities increase to help workplaces implement opioid overdose response programs.
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The New Jersey Work Environment Council, Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, and National Council for Occupational Safety and Health are hosting a webinar on key aspects of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk Management Program (RMP) rule and the ways that unions and communities can obtain and use RMP information. The webinar will take place on October 2, 2024, from 1 – 3 p.m. EDT.
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The New Jersey Work Environment Council, Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, and National Council for Occupational Safety and Health are hosting a webinar that covers a little-known part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk Management Program (RMP) rule that requires facility management to hold a public meeting after a chemical release with offsite impact. The webinar will take place on October 16, 2024, from 1 – 2 p.m. EDT.
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The New Jersey Work Environment Council, Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, and National Council for Occupational Safety and Health are hosting a webinar that covers the important, but underused, rights on worker and union participation in the Environmental Protection Agency’s current Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations and the new rights in the 2024 revised rule, with a focus on Stop Work Authority and collective bargaining. The webinar will take place on November 20, 2024, from 1 – 3 p.m. EDT.
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The abstract submission period for the Pathways to Recovery in the Aftermath of Disasters summit is open. The summit planning committee invites public health, health care, disaster relief, emergency management, and other professionals nationwide to showcase and share their research findings, best practice training models, tools, or other resources that advance the field of public health and healthcare preparedness and response. The summit will take place Aprill 29 – May 2, 2025, in San Antonio, Texas. The abstract submission deadline is September 13, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. PDT.
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Small businesses provide vital services to communities, but many are vulnerable to increasingly extreme weather as the climate warms. To help businesses prepare for climate impacts, the Local Initiative Support Coalition offers a free online tool kit. Business owners should plan for different scenarios, like how the business could keep operating during a power outage, or how to continue offering services if customers cannot get to the property. It's also essential that business owners know how to access relief aid and other financial resources if it’s necessary to temporarily close.
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A company developing an industrial-scale solar panel array on Badger Mountain in Eastern Washington has paused permitting activities on the project amid concerns about impacts to Indigenous cultural sites. The decision comes on the heels of an investigation which found that a land survey funded by the developer had omitted more than a dozen sites of archaeological or cultural significance on the public parcel included in the project area. The future of the Badger Mountain solar project is unclear.
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A new program from the National Institute of Health will invest nearly $300 million for research that could turn the tide of the overdose crisis in Indian Country. The Native Collective Research Effort to Enhance Wellness Program will provide $268 million over seven years to Tribes and tribal organizations to lead public health research to address overdose, substance use, and pain management. While the overdose crisis has touched every community in the U.S., Native American communities are the most affected, with overdose rates the highest among Alaska Native and American Indians.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has obligated $27 billion in grants under three competitions to Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund recipients. Together, the grant recipients receiving funds under EPA’s $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF), the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA), and the $7 billion Solar for All program will create a national financing network for clean energy and climate solutions across the country. Solar for All recipients will invest 100% of program funds in low-income and disadvantaged communities. NCIF and CCIA recipients will dedicate over $14 billion of program funds toward low-income and disadvantaged communities.
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To support vulnerable communities responding to continued and extreme climate effects, the Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $10 million in funding for innovative Climate Resilience Centers (CRCs) in 10 different states. University-led research teams will leverage the world class modeling, data and research capabilities from DOE national laboratories customized for their local regions with a focus on climate prediction of weather hazard risks to better prepare communities. Each of the CRCs are led by Minority Serving Institutions and Emerging Research Institutions. Most are also collaborations with DOE national labs, other federal agencies, academic institutions, state and municipal agencies, or community organizations.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $25.5 million in grants through a new program to support drinking water systems in underserved, small, and disadvantaged communities while reducing impacts of climate change. The funding was awarded under the Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability grant program, established under the America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018. AWIA improves drinking water and water quality, deepens infrastructure investments, enhances public health and quality of life, increases jobs, and bolsters the economy.
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The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is looking to fill a supervisory safety and occupational health specialist position at the Wilmington, Delaware area office. Responsibilities include conducting on-the-job assessments of workload progress, productivity, and quality; reviewing case files to ensure proper application of standards and proposed penalties; and serving as a witness before judicial hearing and trials, including criminal investigations, and providing technical expertise in occupational safety.
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