The Institute for Disaster and Emergency Preparedness at Nova Southeastern University proposes to continue and expand it's successful maritime workers hazardous materials handling training program, Project SEAMIST (South East Area Maritime Industry Safety Training) under the auspices of RFA-ES-14-008 Hazardous Materials Worker Health and Safety Training. We also propose to extend our training model to workers who will respond to such incidents and will be responsible for cleaning up hazardous materials in the wake of such incidents with a concurrent program in Hazardous Material Maritime Industry Response Training Safety Initiative (HazMIRTSI). We have an established network of maritime industry clientele (companies and ports), safety training partners and law enforcement representatives in Virginia, Florida and Louisiana that we propose to expand into further Gulf (Mississippi and Texas; Project SEAMIST) and Atlantic (6 northern states; HazMIRTSI) states. These required training courses prepare maritime workers for the possibility of exposure to hazardous materials in the course of their regular duties, during accidents, and incidents due to either natural disasters or the possibility of targeted terrorism attacks. We provide three levels of training, from basic worker awareness to training trainers in order to reach the greatest number of at-risk personnel. Through HazMIRTSI, we will provide additional training on hazardous material disaster response preparedness.
Project SEAMIST (South East Area Maritime Industry Safety Training) targets a unique worker population with both significant safety concerns, and concerns that are unique to their occupation, transport of hazardous materials with proximity to the shore of oceans and rivers. Since 2011, we have developed and delivered targeted safety training curricula to nearly 2000 maritime workers in Florida, Louisiana and Virginia; 33% of our trainees have been police responders to maritime incidents, whose training also impacts upon the surrounding community, and 20% of our trainees are safety trainers themselves, passing on training to their own constituencies. We plan to expand on the present program through increased training, training of a more geographically, occupationally and ethnically diverse populations, and offering of training in specialized topics, such as disaster preparedness through the Hazardous Material Maritime Industry Response Training Safety Initiative (HazMIRTSI), through a variety of technologically- enhanced methods of delivery.
