National News Release    USDL 01-490
Dec. 19, 2001
Contact: Sue Hensley
Phone: (202) 693-4676

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a new training partnership with the Laborers International Union to develop an anthrax/biohazard training curriculum. The new partnership was prompted by the recent anthrax outbreaks across the country.

A grant totaling $208,650 from the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration was awarded to the Laborers as a first step in this partnership. The course material will be developed and tested through the combined expertise of the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Laborers and other appropriate government entities.

"Our best response to anthrax and other threats of bioterrorism is to be prepared," said John L. Henshaw, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. "It is important that we have workers who are well trained to respond to such threats safely and at the same time can help the country get back to normal as quickly as possible."

The Laborers' certified hazardous waste workers will utilize this new curriculum to upgrade their skills and fine-tune the training process. After pilot tests are complete, the curriculum will be used by other organizations to train workers in the removal of biochemical agents, including twelve OSHA Training Institute Education Centers and state and local One-Stop centers.

The final training curriculum for distribution across the country will include training manuals, CD-ROM and web-based curriculum, a PowerPoint presentation and other training tools.