Principal Investigator / Institution

Mitchel A. Rosen, Ph.D.
Mitchel A. Rosen, Ph.D.
Tel 732-235-9452
Fax 732-235-5469
[email protected]
https://sph.rutgers.edu/directory/
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Center for Public Health Workforce Development
683 Hoes Lane West
Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-8021

Program Description

NJ/NY HMWTC Logo

The Atlantic Center for Occupational Health and Safety Training (Atlantic Center) has a long history of effective training that meets the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standard, providing hazardous materials knowledge and skills to more than 450,000 workers since 1987.

The Atlantic Center will train workers about safety issues during cleanup of hazardous waste sites; issues related to generation, treatment, and storage of hazardous materials; and emergency response. The courses develop competency in workers to critically analyze dangerous situations, and enable them to identify safe work practices. Key principals of adult education are incorporated into the training, and training courses are developed to include peer learning, hands-on activities, and development of critical thinking skills. The Center has a robust evaluation plan, and will continue to expand the types of data collected on impact of training on workplace practice, as well as how training can more effectively influence workplace safety culture.

Center members include Rutgers School of Public Health; CUNY School of Public Health; New Jersey State Police; New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health; the New York City District Council of Carpenters Labor Technical College; the University at Buffalo; the Universidad Metropolitana; and the World Cares Center.

Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program (HWWTP)

The focus of the HWWTP is to provide comprehensive training for workers who clean up hazardous waste sites; are involved in the generation, treatment, and storage of hazardous materials; and respond to transportation and other emergencies.

Environmental Career Worker Training Program (ECWTP)

The ECWTP will use focused strategies to recruit, train, and employ underserved residents living in New York City, New York, and Essex and Hudson counties in New Jersey for construction and environmental remediation work. The Center has long-term, effective partnerships in minority and underserved communities that help reinforce occupational health and worker education, and mitigate health disparities at the community level. The Center includes training in environmental justice, health and safety, and life skills, preparing trainees for a career in the environmental industry.

HAZMAT Disaster Preparedness Training Program (HDPTP)

The HDPTP enhances the safety and health of current hazardous materials workers and chemical responders by delivering training to workers responding to disasters. These courses focus on prevention and preparedness so that disaster response personnel are aware of safety and health hazards and mitigation techniques before they initiate a disaster response.

Ebola Biosafety and Infectious Disease Response Training

The Atlantic Center will conduct worker-based training to prevent and reduce workers’ risk of exposure to Ebola virus and other infectious diseases through their work duties. This application represents a multi-state partnership, which includes the following members of the Atlantic Center: the Rutgers School of Public Health (Rutgers), the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), the World Cares Center (WCC), and the Universidad Metropolitana (UMET). Each of these organizations will apply its specific expertise to develop and implement training for its target groups. A total of 92 courses, reaching 1,935 trainees, will be provided in the first year to workers and 5,805 for three years in Federal Region 2, including New Jersey, New York and Puerto Rico. Courses will be provided both in face-to-face and online environments. Training will include a variety of teaching methods, including small group activities, hands-on, lectures, and discussions. The Centers will develop, implement, and evaluate training programs for a large number of workers. The training program aims to prevent and reduce disability, morbidity, and mortality from potential infectious disease risks during hazardous waste operations and emergency response. The target populations include healthcare and non-healthcare job sector workers, such as first responders, allied healthcare workers, hospital workers, transport worker unions involved with maintenance and fleet services, teachers, solid waste workers, municipal workers, airline workers, domestic workers, disaster volunteers, immigrant workers, and nail-salon workers, all of whom are identified as at-risk populations. The investigators will train multiple sites through combined distance learning and face-to-face training and integrate Spanish-based training for those in Puerto Rico. Direct training will be disseminated through small group activity, hands-on training, and lectures with discussions. The descriptions and details of the disseminated curriculum integrates a broad scope of biological safety training, infection prevention engineering control, personal protective equipment (PPE),and respiratory protection with hazard recognition and mitigation principles. This program uniquely identifies nail-salon workers as a potential at-risk population for emerging infectious diseases and provides compelling material that this population has limited background in infectious diseases.

Project Duration

  • August 1, 2020 - May 31, 2025 (HWWTP, ECWTP, HDPTP)
  • June 1, 2016 - May 31, 2019 (Ebola Biosafety and Infectious Disease Response)

Grant Numbers

  • U45 ES006179 (HWWTP, ECWTP, HDPTP)
  • UH4 ES027019-01 (Ebola Biosafety and Infectious Disease Response)

Other Participating Organizations