OSHA $6.7 Million in Safety, Health Training Grants

On Sept. 30, OSHA awarded $6.7 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants to 36 recipients encompassing labor unions, community colleges and other nonprofit organizations for safety and health training and educational programs.

"Education is the cornerstone for assuring safe and healthful work environments," said OSHA Administrator Edwin G. Foulke Jr. "The Susan Harwood grants will assist these organizations and academic institutions in educating employers and employees on ways to prevent safety and health hazards in the workplace."

The Susan Harwood Training Grants support workplace safety and health training programs that educate employees in industries with high hazard and fatality rates, employees with limited English proficiency, hard-to-reach employees and small business employers. The grants support training programs that address topics such as construction and general industry hazards, and other safety and health topic areas, including shipbreaking hazards and Native American tribal safety and health issues.

The training 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 17-year tenure with the agency, Harwood helped develop OSHA standards to protect employees exposed to bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead in construction.

A complete list of the 2008 Susan Harwood Grant recipients is posted at http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/ote/sharwood/2008_grant_recipients.html.