Department of Labor Awards $10.1 Million to Support Health and Safety Training at the Workplace

The United States Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that they awarded $10.1 million in Susan Howard grants to non-profit organizations for safety and health training purposes on September 28.

The OSHA awarded 55 non-profit organizations a total of $10.1 million for the purpose of creating training and educational materials on workplace health and safety guidelines.

Edwin G. Foulke Jr., Assistant Secretary for the Labor OSHA asserted, "Outreach and education are at the heart of our compliance assistance efforts for employers and employees. The Howard grants will help OSHA expand its educational resources to protect working men and women."

Susan Howard grants are given to organizations in order to support their educational training programs and to create new training materials for employees working in hazardous situations. The grants also support the development of training materials and educational programs for individuals working in industries with high mortality rates, people with limited English skills, and those who are hard to reach. Finally, the grants support the development of safety training materials for small business owners and employers.

Some of the areas covered in training materials developed by the grantees include driving safety, general industry safety, construction safety and hazards, and health issues, such as pandemic influenza.

The grants are named after Susan Howard, who was director of the Office of Risk Assessment in OSHA's Health Standards Directorate before she passed away in 1996. She held her position for 17 years. During that time she helped the OSHA develop guidelines to protect workers who are exposed to cotton dust, formaldehyde, blood borne pathogens, asbestos, and benzene. She also helped create guidelines for the OSHA for workers who lead teams at construction sites.