Recorded presentation

Thomas H. McQuiston, DrPH, Health and Safety Department, Paper, Allied Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union, 117 Balsam Court, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, 919-929-5878, tom.mcquiston@earthlink.net, Amy Mock, MPH, AFSCME, 410 Orchard Dr., Granville, OH 43023, Brenda Cantrell, BA, Rail Workers Hazardous Materials Training Program, George Meany Center for Labor Studies-National Labor College, 10000 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20903, Mark Catlin, BA, BS, Health and Safety Department, Service Employees International Union Education and Support Fund, 1313 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20005, John Morawetz, MS, International Chemical Workers Union Council, 329 Race Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202, Luis A. Vazquez, MPH, UAW Health & Safety Department, UAW Health & Safety Department, 8000 East Jefferson Ave, Detroit, MI 48214, and Charles Levenstein, Ph D, Department of Work Environment, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 1 University Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854.

The potential for a terrorist attack puts hundreds of thousands of workers in industrial, transportation, service and government sectors at risk at their places of work. Many of these risks emanate from possible attacks that could transform conventional use hazardous materials into weapons of mass destruction. The potential consequences of intentional acts of this type carry with them many of the same risks as unintentional incidents that regularly occur within existing infrastructure and related systems. While it has long been recognized that workers must play a substantive role in preventing and responding to unintentional incidents, the valuable knowledge and skills of workers have not yet been engaged in addressing the full range of potential threats from intentional acts. Unions that represent service, government, transportation and industrial workers are among those who have begun working through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Worker Education and Training Program to provide education to their members and their employers that engage them in addressing these issues. The panel of presenters from PACE Union, American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, International Chemical Workers Union Council, United Auto Workers, Service Employees International Union Education and Support Fund and Rail Workers Hazardous Materials Training Program at the George Meany Center will describe their programs to prepare workers and their unions to engage in hazard and vulnerability assessment, primary and secondary prevention measures to limit the scope of potential disasters, and emergency response planning and preparedness. Panelists will explore both practical and policy issues in this 90 minute session.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation the participant (learner) will be able to

• articulate the range of intentional and unintentional threats workers and those who live and work around them face from hazardous materials incidents;
• understand the important roles workers need to play in ensuring vulnerabilities are identified, communicated and addressed,
• the ways in which worker education is being used to engage workers in addressing a full range of issues and systems assess and reduce vulnerability, and mitigate and respond to incidents.

Keywords: Workplace Safety, Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation