The Hazardous Material Maritime Industry Response Training Safety Initiative (HazMIRTSI) will complement hazardous materials training currently provided by Nova Southeastern University?s College of Osteopathic Medicine?s (NSU-COM) South East Area Maritime Industry Safety Training (SEAMIST) Project, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Hazardous Waste Worker Training. Since, 2010, Project SEAMIST has provided hazardous materials worker health and safety training to individuals employed on ships or those working in the marine shipping industry, including oil rig and oil platform workers, port workers, and law enforcement serving maritime venues. SEAMIST is unique in that the hazardous materials? training focuses exclusively on the health and safety of workers in the maritime environment, with the curriculum. The proposed HazMIRTSI Project meets the minimum requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), providing critical curricular training focused on hazardous materials disaster response preparedness delivered to the target population currently being served by Project SEAMIST, in addition to public and private sector Firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians, HazMat Technicians, HazMat First Responders, and Emergency Management personnel with responsibility or potential responsibility to respond to marine incidents. Geographic locations will include the following: current NIEHS-funded SEAMIST trainee population in Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia, expanding to Texas and Mississippi as currently proposed by SEAMIST, and the current geographic training area of our partner organization, Tri-State Maritime Safety Association (TMSA), namely Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The overarching goal of HazMIRTSI aligns with the NIEHS Strategic Plan Goal #5, ?to identify and respond to emerging environmental threats to human health, on both a local and global scale;? the goal is to reduce injuries and death by providing engaging and interactive safety training for individuals responding to maritime disasters and emergencies that pose health and safety risks. HazMIRTSI will modify, develop, and implement interactive safety training utilizing traditional interactive classroom-based techniques, e-learning technology, and simulated performance-based scenarios ? all specific to responding to disasters or emergencies involving hazardous materials. In addition, a series of online self-paced modules for individuals working in the maritime environment that address specific issues related to hazardous materials disaster preparedness and response will be developed and implemented.
