Environmental safety and health training: Models to address occupational health disparities and environmental justice by Sharon Beard

8/12/2019 Environmental safety and health training: Models to address occupational health disparities and environmental justice by Sharon Beard

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National Institutes of HealthU.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Sharon D. BeardIndustrial Hygienist

NIEHS Worker Education andTraining program (WETP)

Title of Presentation:Environmental safety and health training: Models to

address occupational health disparities andenvironmental justice

National Environmental Justice Training ConferenceMarch 27, 2014


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Goals of Presentation

Provide background on the NIEHS Worker Education and TrainingProgram

Share the overall environmental justice accomplishments of theProgram

Describe the Minority Worker Training Program (MWTP)

Share findings and recommendations from the MINORITY WORKERTRAINING PROGRAM REPORT: Guidance on How to AchieveSuccesses and Best Practices

Share next steps for program and funding announcements for theNIEHS WETP

Western Region UniversitiesConsortium trainees give presentationduring interactive classroom exercise.


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NIEHS Worker Education & Training Program

The NIEHS has conducted health and safety training programs

since 1987.

Focus

-

provide awards to organizations to develop model worker

safety and health training programs for workers engaged in

activities related to hazardous waste removal or containment or

chemical emergency response

20 non

-

profit organizations at 100 universities, labor

-

based safetyprograms and other institutions.

Trained over 2.5 million workers in all states and US provinces.


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Background

Goals: The major objective of

these cooperative agreements is toprevent work-related harm byassisting in the training of workersin how best to protect themselvesand their communities fromexposure to hazardous materials,

waste and chemical emergencyresponse. Includes the Departmentof Energy (DOE) Nuclear ComplexProgram.

Need: There are literally thousands of sites that pose severe health and safety

concerns to workers and the surrounding communities.

Three distinct program areas including the Hazardous Waste Worker TrainingProgram, Minority Worker Training Program, and the Hazmat DisasterPreparedness Training Program.


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Accomplishments

Partnerships: The NIEHS WETP

operates these two programs inpartnership with HHS, DOE, OSHA, EPAprimarily, and with over 100 non-profittraining organizations across the country. The Hazardous Waste Worker Training

Program is our Core Program

Major Successes: Each year 175,000 to 200,000 workers receive critical safety and health

training.

Over 2.5 million workers trained in every state and province. Program leverages resources to respond to multiple emergencies &

disasters. For MWTP, 10,000 trained in 30 communities across 20 states with 70%

employment. Since 1993 the DOE program has offered 33,490 courses, 479,597 workers with

6,448,305 contact hours of training

Native American PlacardERG Training


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Training and Educatingthe Cleanup Workforce

NIEHS Technical Workshops

Development and use of theMinimum Criteria for Health andSafety Training

Gold Standard of Training

Peer Worker Trainers

Real Life Training Scenarios

New Areas of Training HazmatDisaster, Nanomaterials, GreenJobs, etc.

Consortium Approach toTraining

Formalized training curriculumand tools (Hurricane,Earthquake, Oil Spills)

National Clearinghouse for

Worker Safety & HealthTraining

Interagency Working Groupsand Local Partnership

Over 25 Years of Experience


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Minority Worker Training Program:

Train unemployed or underemployed individuals by delivering holistic andcomprehensive training to disadvantaged and underserved communities;

Program addresses the risk of occupational health disparities; Provides job readiness training such as remediation education and life skills; Prepare and place them for employment in the fields of environmental

restoration, construction, and hazardous materials/waste industries; and Exploring name change to reflect the expanding diversity of the program.

Hazmat Disaster Preparedness Training Program:

Develop specific training and specific tools for preparing workers forresponse to future natural and manmade disasters in a wide variety offacilities and high-risk operations.

Closely coordinate training with Department of Homeland Security (DHS),OSHA, FEMA, and USACE.

Response efforts include September 11, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Sandy,

California wildfires, Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill, etc.

Program Components


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DOE/NIEHS Worker Training Program:

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT: Section 3131 createdthe Worker Training Program in 1993 for NIEHS and DOE as apartnership.

Interagency Agreement with DOE to develop model worker safety andhealth training programs at DOE facilities.

Support worker safety training for the purpose of DOE site clean upactivities, waste management and hazardous materials response.

Tank Cleaning Operation

DOE- IAFF HAMMER Training


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MWTP Partnerships

Center for Construction Research andTraining

New Orleans, LA; St. Paul, MN; and EastPalo Alto, CA.

OAI

Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; and WyandotteCounty, KS/Eastern Jackson County, MO.

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA and Seattle, WA University of Medicine and Dentistry of

New Jersey

Newark, NJ and New York City, NY Dillard University

New Orleans, LA; Savannah, GA;Houston, TX; and Detroit, MI.

15 Communities


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MWTP Update

NIEHS Minority Worker Training Program UpdateFifteen-Year Summary of Training

For Budget Period 09/01/1996-07/31/2013 Final

Year Students Trained Placed inJobs

Percentage of StudentsPlaced in Jobs

1996-2006 3,499 2,346 67%

2007 385 241 63%

2008 317 222 70%

2009 379 285 75%

2010 531 372 70%

2011 396 291 73%

20122013

366367

274279

75%76%

Total 6 240 4 310 70


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2012-2013 MWTP Training Accomplishments Final


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National, Strong & Effective Consortia

NI EHS
http://www.oaiinc.org/index.htmlhttp://www.oaiinc.org/index.htmlhttp://www.oaiinc.org/index.htmlhttp://www.citysq.org/WorkPathshttp://www.citysq.org/WorkPathshttp://www.tsu.edu/http://www.tsu.edu/https://depts.washington.edu/envhlth/https://depts.washington.edu/envhlth/http://jobtrainworks.org/http://jobtrainworks.org/http://greendoorinitiative.org/http://greendoorinitiative.org/


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Minority Workers Training Program:Success and Best Practices Report

Purpose: To document the importance of theMWTP and illustrate the programs bestpractices and major successes How the MWTP works: Components of the program

and why is it successful (best practices)

Life skills and social support network

Holistic approach to promote capacity building. Partnership development: joint partnerships with

communities, unions, universities (e.g.HBCUs)/academia and contractors/employers

Sustainability - ability to sustain itself through

leveraging funds (e.g. drawing in funds from otherorganizations)

Approaches to addressing impediments or barriers tosuccessful program implementation

Evaluation component (Results of the Program):Impacts and Outcomes

OAI, INC


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Minority Workers Training Program:Success and Best Practices Report

SUMMARY : Since 1995, the MWTP trainedapproximately 10,000 people in more than 30communities across 20 states with 70% employment.

Address the significant impediments to training andemployment that challenge underserved anddisadvantaged people.

Increase sustainable employment opportunities,promote economic development, address healthdisparities, and advance environmental justice

Transformed the lives of trainees, families, andcommunities traditionally overburdened by economicdistress and exposures to hazardous environmentalconditions.

Provides significant contributions to environmental justice by providing training and increasing jobopportunities.

The MWTP provides a model and useful guidance forother federally-funded worker training programs.


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Key recommendations and next steps

NIEHS should: Continue to provide funding for critical life skills and other job readiness

instruction.

Expand the scope of performance measures to account for graduates whopursue further educational opportunities, other certifications, and/or achieve

job promotion.

Provide training and facilitate opportunities for awardees to conduct outreachto other organizations that might provide additional funding for theseprograms.

Disseminate this final guidance report to other federal agencies

Assist MWTP awardees gain access to additional funding sources andemployment opportunities for program graduates.

Conduct a follow-up evaluation of the significant contributions to minorityworker training and job creation provided by all WETP Awardees.

OAI trainees receive general classroom instruction .


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Key recommendations and next steps

MWTP Awardees should:

Continue to expand relationships with the judicial andcorrections systems to identify suitable ex-offendersfor the training program.

Continue to expand training to include additional areasof green industry and consider the growing concerns

about climate change when working to identify newareas of training.

Explore partnership opportunities with cities working toimplement Clean Water Act consent decrees.

Consider working more with local government andprivate contractors to include program graduates as a

part of first source hiring agreements and project laboragreements.

Increase efforts to recruit greater percentages of otherminority and underserved populations, such as Native

Americans, Pacific Islanders, and women, into theprogram.

Dillard University trainees exhibit new skillsin community service-learning project.

CPWR Center for Construction Researchand Training trainee receives confined-

space training.


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Plans & Next Steps

Release Funding Opportunity

Announcement for all of WETPPrograms in Summer 2014Hazardous Waste Worker Minority Worker TrainingHazmat Disaster Training

DOE Nuclear Worker Training


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National Institutes of HealthU S Department of Health and Human Services

Sharon D. Beard, Industrial Hygienist

Worker Education Training Branch

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Contact Information:P.O. Box 12233, Mail Drop K3-14

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2233919-541-1863 phone; 301-451-5595 fax

919-491-7802 cellE-mail: [email protected]

www.niehs.nih.gov/wetp/home.htm

Documents

Environmental safety and health training: Models to address occupational health disparities and environmental justice by Sharon Beard