Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program

HWWT Project Summary/Abstract The overall goal of the Western Region Universities Consortium (WRUC) Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program (HWWTP) is to provide workers and supervisors in the Western U.S. who handle hazardous materials/wastes with the knowledge and skills to protect themselves, their coworkers, and their communities from exposures that could lead to illness and injury. This goal will be accomplished through a broad outreach and education program involving our four university-based programs targeted to workers and supervisors involved in Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) activities at cleanup sites, at hazardous waste generators and TSD facilities, and those who handle or transport hazardous materials in California, Arizona, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and along the U.S.-Mexico border. In the coming five-year grant period, WRUC will train 2,033 workers and supervisors each year in 123 English and Spanish courses for a total of 22,732 contact hours. The Consortium places a priority on reaching workers from disadvantaged populations across our region using proven adult education methods to impart knowledge and skills to help workers protect their own health and the health of their communities. WRUC will also conduct initiatives that respond to emerging topics of concern, including training for healthcare workers with potential occupational exposure to airborne infectious diseases and for workers exposed to extreme outdoor heat and other climate-related hazards. And WRUC will expand safety training capacity for pre- apprenticeship programs in Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, and Tulalip, WA, and will enhance disaster preparedness for workers at manufacturing facilities (“maquiladoras”) on the U.S.- Mexico border. These aims will be achieved through collaboration with a wide range of government agencies, private sector employers, labor and community groups, tribal organizations.