Region 1 News Release:   BOS 99-183
Friday, October 1, 1999
OFFICE: (202) 693-1999
PHONE: (617) 565-2075
GRANTS OFFICE: Cynthia Bencheck (847) 297-4810

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today awarded $4,177,000 in Susan Harwood Training Grants to conduct safety and health training programs for more than 50,000 workers, supervisors and employers nationwide. Three programs which will continue to provide training throughout the six New England states have received renewal grants totaling $681,000.

"These grants educate and train employers and workers in ways to reduce injuries and illnesses," Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman said. "The programs funded will go a long way to achieving our goal of a safe and healthful workplace for all Americans."

Forty grants are being awarded. Sixteen of the grantees were selected through a national competition open to all nonprofit organizations. The remaining 24 awards are extensions of existing grants for another year.

"Many of the grants will focus on the injuries and illnesses in selected industries identified by OSHA's strategic plan - construction, health services and preventing amputations in manufacturing," said Assistant Secretary of Labor Charles N. Jeffress. "Others will provide training on such significant topics as ergonomics, food processing safety and silica hazards in general industry."

The grants are named in honor of the late Susan Harwood, a former director of the Office of Risk Assessment in OSHA's health standards directorate, who died in 1996. During her career, Harwood helped develop OSHA standards to protect workers exposed to bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead in construction.

The 16 new grants are:

Construction Safety: Construction Advancement Foundation of Hammond, Ind., $88,000; Construction Education Foundation of Rosslyn, Va., $113,000; Construction Safety Council of Hillside, Ill., $156,000; Labor Users Contractors Committee of Roseville, Minn., $96,000; Marshall University Research Corp. of Huntington, W. V., $130,000; Roofers and Waterproofers Research and Education Joint Trust Fund of Washington, D.C., $167,000.

Health Services: AFSCME Training and Education Institute of Washington, D. C., $156,000; Shirley Ware Education Center of Health Care Workers Local 250, SEIU, of Oakland, Calif., $141,000; Riverside Management and Rehabilitation of Bolivar, Mo., $96,000; Visiting Nurse Association of Dallas, $98,000; Washington Health Foundation of Seattle, Wash., $116,000.

Preventing Amputations: Columbus State University of Columbus, Ga., $36,000; International Union, UAW, of Detroit, $165,000; Metropolitan Community College of Kansas City, Mo., $98,000; South Alabama Chapter, National Safety Council, of Mobile, Ala., $94,000; Western Iowa Tech Community College of Sioux City, Iowa, $90,000.

The grants being renewed in New England are as follows:

ERGONOMICS

University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Conn. The university, working with coalitions for occupational safety and health (COSH groups) in four New England states, will continue to conduct ergonomics awareness training for workers. It will also train ergonomic awareness teams from selected industries; 1,070 will be trained in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island; $78,000.

LOGGING

Northern Vermont Resource Conservation and Development Council, Berlin, Vt. The grantee will provide administrative direction to the Yankee Forest Safety Network, which includes forestry and logging safety organizations. The network will train loggers and managers and, following training, conduct safety visits at their worksites to help them improve logging safety practices and assess the effectiveness of the training; 220 to be trained in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; $135,000.

OUTREACH TO WORKERS

Connecticut Council on Occupational Safety and Health, Hartford, Conn. The grantee will administer a coalition of 19 committees for occupational safety and health (COSH groups). Each COSH group will train trainers who will then train temporary workers, immigrants and teenagers about worker rights and responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the whistleblower provisions administered by OSHA. Worker information materials in English and nine other languages are being developed; 3,960 to be trained in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin; $468,000.

The information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (617) 565-2072. TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) Message Referral Phone: 800-347-8029.