The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced the award approximately $10.2 million in grant funds to 67 organizations across the nation to support education and training focused on worker safety to help employees and employers recognize serious workplace hazards and employ safety and health programs.
Funded through the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program , the grants aim to advance worker safety and health by providing instructor-led training opportunities for workers and employers in small businesses with an emphasis on industries with high injury, illness, and fatality rates.
The grants will fund training and education on hazard awareness, prevention, and controls to protect workers from on-the-job hazards through the development of quality classroom-ready training and educational materials that identify and prevent workplace hazards.
The grants honor the legacy and work of Dr. Susan Harwood who, during her 17 years with OSHA, developed workplace safety guidelines for benzene, formaldehyde, bloodborne pathogens and lead in the construction industry. Harwood was also primary author of OSHA’s cotton dust standard which virtually eliminated byssinosis – a lung disease that causes asthma-like symptoms – among textile workers.