This application is being submitted by CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) in response to the Funding Opportunity Announcement, RFA-ES-19-004, HAZMAT Training at DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex (UH4), for a Cooperative Agreement to support the development of model programs for the training and education of workers engaged in activities related to hazardous waste generation, removal, containment, transportation and emergency response within the Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Weapons Complex. CPWR is organized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation sponsored by North America?s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), which represents 14 international/national building trades unions and over 3 million workers. Twelve of these unions comprise the training consortium CPWR has assembled for this application. The 12 building trades unions that comprise our proposed training consortium represent workers employed primarily by contractors and sub-contractors working throughout DOE?s nuclear weapons complex. Our proposed program is national in scope, and our major objective is to prevent work-related harm by training construction workers on DOE sites how best to protect themselves and their communities from exposure to hazardous materials encountered during hazardous waste operations, facility decommissioning, decontamination and demolition, hazardous materials transportation, environmental restoration of contaminated facilities or chemical emergency response. In partnership with our 12 building trades union training consortium, our specific aims are: 1) train 11,659 students in 663 courses in Year1 and 58,295 students in 3,315 courses over five years; 2) continue rigorous evaluations of all training courses, to assess students, instructors, curriculum, and outcomes; 3) conduct train-the-trainer programs to continue to grow the pool of trainers available across the United States; and 4) continue training and education for current and veteran instructors.
The relevance of this proposal, which is national in scope, is to prevent work-related fatalities, injuries and illnesses by training construction workers on DOE sites how best to protect themselves, their workplaces and their communities from exposure to radiation and other hazardous materials encountered during hazardous waste operations, facility decommissioning, decontamination and demolition, hazardous materials transportation, environmental restoration of contaminated facilities or chemical emergency response. A well trained construction workforce enables DOE, its contractors and subcontractors, and other stakeholders, such as trade unions and Native American tribes, protect not only the workers themselves but communities surrounding DOE sites.
