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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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An updated version of the NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) mold clean-up and treatment orientation resource is now available in Spanish on the Hurricanes and Floods webpage. The new version of the tool includes specific information on mold clean-up in Puerto Rico and other tropical environments.
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The Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (P2R) Consortium released an article this month highlighting WTP, the accomplishments of the P2R consortium, and information on how others can leverage external training resources to help support their workers and communities. The P2R Consortium is an WTP awardee whose training efforts are intended to decrease downtime due to injuries, thereby improving work site management and operations.
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A report by the Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service confirmed that the health disparities gap between rural and urban Americans is widening substantially. According to the report, between 1999 and 2019, the gap in rural residents will likely have even poorer access to health care and all manner of services and amenities as a consequence.
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The 2024 outbreak of eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) has caused six reported and confirmed human disease cases in five states, including one death so far. Typically, there are about 10 human cases reported annually in the Atlantic, Great Lakes, and Gulf Coast regions of the U.S., though there are likely many more mild cases that go unreported. Every few years, there are much larger outbreaks of EEE disease in certain areas. These cyclic outbreaks are likely due to a complex interaction between temperature, rainfall, mosquito populations, bird immunity, and bird migration patterns. About 95% of infected people either have no symptoms or relatively mild symptoms. Some may develop fever or a flu-like illness after an incubation period of four to 10 days.
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Hurricane Francine barreled into southern Louisiana on September 11 as a Category 2 storm, packing 100 mph winds and sending a surge of water into coastal communities. Because so much of southern Louisiana sits at or below sea level, the surge could race inland unimpeded. The Gulf Coast’s storm surge problem will only get worse from here as different climate change phenomena interact, scientists warn. Climate change is supercharging hurricanes and causing sea levels to rise, and the coastline along Louisiana and Texas is sinking in some places, a process known as subsidence.
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Many of the heat calls the Missoula, Montana fire department receives are from seniors who struggle to stay cool inside their older homes. Despite the latitude and altitude, in recent years this region has experienced punishing summer heat waves. It has been difficult for residents to adapt to the warming climate and new seasonal swings. Montana’s population is among the oldest in the country, and many don’t have air conditioning and are unprepared for the new pattern of daytime temperatures hovering in the 90s. Dehydration, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and abnormalities in heart rate and blood pressure are among the many health complications that can develop from excessive exposure to high temperatures.
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The Massachusetts Department of Public Health recently added a new respiratory protection program and new sample exposure control plan to their website. The first resource is an annotated respiratory protection program, based on the template found in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Hospital Respiratory Protection Program Toolkit. The other is a similar resource for bloodborne pathogens.
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Bolstering mindfulness and emotional intelligence in the transportation industry will help foster a felt sense of psychological safety among employees, empowering them to perform their roles effectively, efficiently, and safely, according to a new report by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State university. Researchers point to 2022 findings from the U.S. Surgeon General showing that 76% of workers have experienced at least one symptom of a mental health condition, while 84% indicate conditions at their workplaces have resulted in at least one mental health challenge.
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The rapid concentration of food animal production into factory farms makes meat plentiful and cheap, but this type of agriculture comes at a great cost to human health and the environment. A new book, titled “Industrial Farm Animal Production, the Environment, and Public Health,” by Johns Hopkins University researchers brings together public health experts to explore the most critical topics related to industrial farm animal production.
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The National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH) collaborated with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to draft proposed safety guidance for outreach workers who will be doing education with dairy workers, poultry workers, and other individuals at risk for H5N1. They are hosting a 90-minute training that will cover the proposed guidance, plus a map with detailed information on dairy farms and the number of dairy workers in most U.S. counties. The virtual training will take place September 17, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
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The Rutgers University Center for Public Health Workforce Development is hosting a webinar on inhalation transmission and healthcare workers. The webinar will review and analyze the developments in air/inhalation transmission science; discuss the World Health Organization’s updated terminology for pathogens transmitted through the air; apply the science of air/inhalation transmission to protect healthcare workers from infectious diseases; and discuss the concrete steps that can be taken to promote the recognition of air/inhalation transmission science among healthcare facilities, health departments, and government agencies. It will take place September 18, 2024, Noon – 3:00 p.m. EDT.
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The Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau is hosting a webinar dedicated to older working women. It will explore strategies for fostering a supportive work environment, addressing health challenges, and ensuring older women in the workforce have the resources they need to thrive in their careers. The webinar will take place September 25, 2024, 5:00 – 5:30 p.m. EDT.
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The New Jersey Work Environment Council is sponsoring free webinars for workers and community members across the nation who would like to learn more about, and build skills to help apply, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Risk Management Program (RMP) rule to prevent chemical disasters. The workshops will cover important new provisions of the RMP rule. The “Risk Management Program Rule Overview and How to Get RMP Information” webinar will take place October 2, 2024, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT; the “RMP Site Management Must Hold a Public Meeting After an Offsite Chemical Release” webinar is October 16, 2024, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EDT; and the “RMP Worker Rights and Stop Work Authority” webinar is November 20, 2024, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT.
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Registration is now open for the 2024 NIEHS WTP Fall Awardee Meeting and Workshop. The awardee 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 October 11, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
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Pilots have been intentionally flying into hurricanes since before World War II, but flying people directly into a hurricane is a risky business that can sometimes prove deadly. Even missions that don’t end in disaster can be accompanied by scary moments and close calls. It raises the question of why, decades after the first flights into hurricanes, weather forecasters still send piloted airplanes into the most extreme storms on the planet. Scientists are now exploring the feasibility of flying drones into hurricanes to gather weather observations at low altitudes that are too dangerous for crewed aircraft to fly.
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Nationally, an estimated 2.5 million adults are living with an opioid use disorder, yet only one in five of them are getting the medications to treat it. Some groups are substantially less likely to receive medication for opioid use disorder, including women, people of color, those who are unemployed, and those in small towns and rural areas. Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) health officials say their experience in the use of medications for opioid use disorder mirrors national trends. Life-saving treatment is underused, prompting the DHS to launch a new campaign to change the perceptions of medications for opioid use disorder and connect people to treatment.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $232 million in grant funding through EPA’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup program. The new grants will advance environmental justice and help transform once-polluted, vacant, and abandoned properties into community assets while spurring economic revitalization in underserved communities. Applications are due by November 14, 2024, via grants.gov.
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As part of the Biden-Harris administration’s effort to ensure more than 150 million people with private health coverage have greater access to mental health and substance use disorder care, the departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services, and the Treasury took significant action by issuing final rules to clarify and strengthen protections to expand equitable access to these benefits as compared to medical and surgical benefits, and reduce barriers to accessing these services. The new rules add additional protections against more restrictive, nonquantitative treatment limitations for mental health and substance use disorder benefits as compared to medical or surgical benefits.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the launch of a new website, the Climate Resilience and Adaptation Funding Toolbox (CRAFT). CRAFT is a user-friendly resource for technical assistance providers working with federal funding applicants and recipients to develop, apply for, and implement climate-resilient investments. The website provides simple, easy-to-understand resources that can help users consider climate adaptation and resilience before, during, and after applying for EPA funding opportunities. CRAFT is a resource for technical assistance providers helping to guide investments of federal funding to local solutions, while also supporting investments that deliver results in the face of climate change.
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The World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program has expanded enrollment to include additional responders who served on 9/11 and in the following weeks at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, following the publication of an interim final rule effective September 11, 2024. Prior to the interim final rule, there were a total of 1,330 Pentagon and Shanksville responders enrolled in the WTC Health Program, but previous research shows it is possible that up to 8,500 people may have responded at the Pentagon site and more than 1,000 people responded to the Shanksville crash site.
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Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN) is hiring a full-time senior director of development. MCN is a national non-profit organization pushing back against health inequities and structural racism to help migrants and asylum seekers, immigrants, and other historically marginalized communities gain access to quality care when they need it. The senior director of development will serve as the strategic leader and visionary for all fundraising and development activities.
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