WEC Staff, Author at Work Environment Council

October 12: Building Equity and Resilience in Vulnerable Communities – Community Engagement Across New Jersey

Dr. Rick Marlink, Director of the Rutgers Global Health Institute, shared details of their initiatives in Newark, New Brunswick, and Trenton on advancing health equity and an equitable recovery for women and minority owned small and micro businesses throughout the pandemic. The program's manager, Arpita Jindani described the efforts necessary to stop the domino effect that takes place when small locally owned businesses close. Their program assists with COVID-19 training, testing, and pop-up vaccination sites in addition to creating local Resilience Networks that provide small businesses connections with local support groups for financial and material support. Former Asbury Park Mayor, Myra Campbell, continued the conversation on the importance of meeting the community members where they are to lower barriers of participation. Myra shared C.U.R.E.D.'s (Communities United Reaction to Eliminating Disparities) initiatives in Asbury Park and Neptune. C.U.R.E.D. was able to bring testing, education, and vaccination clinics directly to community hubs such as local churches. Partner groups in the effort include the New Jersey Black Women Physicians Association. You can find the slides from the presentation here. For more information on the Rutgers Global Health Institute and their Equitable Recovery Program, please use the links below. More than 20 people attended this webinar. Equitable Recovery for New Jersey's Small Businesses | Rutgers Global Health Institute New Brunswick Store Owner [...]

By WEC Staff|2021-10-18T12:59:15-04:00October 18th, 2021|Covid-19, Covid-19 Webinars|Comments Off

October 5: Building Ventilation and Minimizing Exposure to COVID-19

This episode we hosted industrial hygienist Allen Barkkume, MS, who informed us about the importance of good building ventilation to help mitigate COVID-19 transmission. Allen explained the hierarchy of controls and the top priority for proper building ventilation is to bring in fresh outdoor air followed by air exhaust, dilution and finally filtration in order of importance. You can find the slides from the presentation here. For more information on building ventilation, please use the links from the last slide in the presentation. More than 40 people attended this webinar.

By WEC Staff|2021-10-08T19:16:57-04:00October 6th, 2021|Covid-19, Covid-19 Webinars|Comments Off

September 28: OSHA’s ETS & Guidance for Mitigating & Preventing Spread of COVID-19

This episode we hosted OSHA's Region 2 Steve Kaplan, Deputy Regional Administrator, Laura Kenny, Assistant Regional Administrator for Technical Support, and Warren Simpson, Assistant Regional Administrator for Enforcement Programs who gave us insight into the updated COVID-19 guidelines for all workers and details about the Emergency Temporary Standard for Healthcare Workers. Assistant Regional Administrator for Technical Support Warren Simpson informed us, "over 50% of all COVID related citations in the U.S came from Region 2 of OSHA". You can find the slides from the presentation here. For more information on OHSA, ETS and their enforcement efforts, please use the following links from their webpage. More than 40 people attended this webinar. ETS (regulatory text) - https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/ets Summary Data for Federal and State Programs – Enforcement - https://www.osha.gov/enforcement/covid-19-data

By WEC Staff|2021-09-29T13:54:04-04:00September 29th, 2021|Covid-19, Covid-19 Webinars|Comments Off

September 21: The Latest Science on the Virus and Vaccines with NJ Department of Health Expert

After a 5-month hiatus, the COVID-19 Weekly Update returned on September 21 in response to the rise of the Delta variant, the emergence of breakthrough cases, and the increasing number of cases in children which have set us back into uncertain waters as we enter the autumn season when people will be spending more time indoors. This week received an update from Dr. Meg Fisher from the NJ Department of Health about the latest science on COVID-19, including transmissibility and vaccine efficacy as well as an update on where things are currently in NJ in terms of cases, vaccines, and possible next steps such as booster shots. Here is Dr. Fisher's presentation. More than 82 people attended this webinar.

By WEC Staff|2021-09-22T15:16:16-04:00September 22nd, 2021|Covid-19, Covid-19 Webinars|Comments Off

Let’s ‘build back’ the right way for working people

Clean-energy investment is a way to tackle climate change and at the same time create jobs upon which futures can be built Investment in renewable energy nationwide, spurred by President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” campaign, represents even more than an opportunity to fight back against the health, safety and economic threats from climate change. Done right, it also has the potential to dramatically make work pay again for millions of Americans who’ve been shoved aside for too many years in an economy where the rich got richer and — well, you know the rest. Read the entire OpEd.

By WEC Staff|2021-09-15T15:59:55-04:00September 15th, 2021|Opinion Pieces, WEC in the News|Comments Off

New Jersey’s SDA districts set to open in ‘deplorable conditions.’ What you need to know

When Abraham Lincoln School in Garfield reopens in September, students will cram into a building constructed 50 years after the 16th president was assassinated and is showing its age: A sagging roof, water damage from leaks in the mortar, no air- conditioning. It gets no better in some schools in Paterson, where the local teachers union has reported mold, leaky ceilings and rodents. But they do have running drinking water, which is more than can be said of at least half the schools in Jersey City. Those schools are examples among dozens throughout New Jersey’s 31 so-called Schools Development Authority (SDA) districts that will fully reopen this school year in “deplorable conditions,” as the Education Law Center put it in legal filings. Hot, overcrowded, poorly ventilated classrooms have become a way of life for students and teachers in these districts that have been so down-at-the-heels that the Supreme Court ruled decades ago that the state is responsible for school repairs and replacement so students can get a “thorough and efficient” education. Read the full story here.

By WEC Staff|2021-08-12T20:40:17-04:00August 12th, 2021|Highlights, WEC in the News|Comments Off

Back to School: Clean Air in Every School as COVID Resurges

As the new school year starts, the National Coalition for Healthier Schools, coordinated by Healthy Schools Network, is calling for critical and immediate actions and $75 Million in funding to rapidly expand EPA’s capacity to mount education and technical assistance campaigns on clean indoor environments in the nation’s schools: Clean Air, Clean Water, and Clean and Healthy Products. “Clean air in every school should be a national priority for all k-12 schools and childcare facilities,” says Claire Barnett, executive of the Healthy Schools Network. “No child should suffer a full day of polluted and or cold and flu virus-filled indoor air. Teaching suffers; learning suffers; absences and asthma rise. Children are denied the future they and the nation need.”... “Students and staff deserve to learn and teach in healthy schools with adequate ventilation systems. Proper ventilation is important when it comes to good indoor air quality and reducing the spread of COVID-19. Funding must be authorized at the state and federal level to help achieve these goals,” said Heather L. Sorge, NJ Work Environment Council. Read the full article here.

By WEC Staff|2021-08-10T13:11:35-04:00August 10th, 2021|Highlights, WEC in the News|Comments Off

Schools are still unaware of dangers of mercury-tainted gym floors, advocates say

"Heather Sorge is an organizer for Healthy Schools Now, a coalition under the umbrella of the New Jersey Work Environment Council. She said her organization has been advocating for stricter standards for years. The issue, she said, is a lack of awareness. “We’ve advocated for a statewide survey of where these floors are, testing to see if there is a mercury component and then funding on a statewide level because the districts shouldn’t be responsible for these costly repairs,” Sorge said. Not all of the floors are problematic, but it's impossible to know without testing. Mercury exposure can harm the brain and central nervous system. The risk is higher for young children, whose neurological systems are still developing, and who are lower to the ground where vapors linger. Even short-term exposure can cause a cough or sore throat, headaches and chest pain." It's critical that we identify these floors and have them tested and remediated. Read the entire article here.

By WEC Staff|2021-08-09T12:54:47-04:00August 9th, 2021|Highlights, WEC in the News|Comments Off

NJ solidifies role as hub of offshore wind energy with latest BPU awards

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Wednesday awarded a combined 2,658 megawatts of offshore wind capacity to EDF/Shell’s Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind and Ørsted’s Ocean Wind II. The awards bring the state’s total planned capacity to more than 3,700 MW — or approximately half of Gov. Phil Murphy’s goal of 7,500 MW of offshore wind by 2035. Here’s what those numbers really mean: The energy produced by these two awards will supply power to 1.1 million homes in the state — in addition to the 500,000 homes that will be energized by the first award. Read more: https://www.roi-nj.com/2021/06/30/industry/energy-utilities/n-j-solidifies-role-as-hub-of-offshore-wind-energy-with-latest-bpu-awards/

By WEC Staff|2021-07-08T15:56:08-04:00June 30th, 2021|WEC in the News|Comments Off

Press Statement: Jersey Renews Thanks Sen. Loretta Weinberg for Supporting Full Transit Funding & An End to Clean Energy Fund Raids

Sen. Loretta Weinberg issued the below statement in support of full funding for New Jersey Transit and an end to Clean Energy Fund raids. (The full statement can also be viewed here.) The full FY22 state budget must be finalized and approved by the end of this month. Senate Majority Leader’s Weinberg’s statement reads: “NJ Transit has been a perennial budget issue thanks to the degradation of service suffered during the Christie Administration. Adequate funding is necessary to maintain service and to make much-needed capital improvements. “I am concerned, though, that the Governor’s proposed budget includes a $273 million reduction in the state’s subsidy to NJ Transit, while leaving in place longstanding transfers from the Clean Energy Fund and NJ Transit’s capital budget. Read the full press release here.

By WEC Staff|2021-06-03T08:07:39-04:00June 2nd, 2021|Highlights, Press Releases, WEC in the News|Comments Off

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