Project SEAMIST

Nova Southeastern University, Ft Lauderdale FL

Investigators

Abstract

Program Summary/Abstract The United States (U.S.) maritime industry is responsible for transporting over 69 percent of the nation’s goods, including an estimated two billion tons of hazardous materials annually. These materials are moved through supply lines to navigable waterways and coastal or inland ports. Thousands of incidents involving hazardous materials on U.S. waterways occur each year because of accidents or natural disasters, releasing hazards into the environment causing harm. In such a vast industry, incidental exposures to hazardous materials are inevitable, but they can be mitigated through proper recognition of the hazardous nature of certain materials and comprehensive training to minimize exposure, accidents, and mishandling. Spills in coastal waters may cause substantial disruption of marine transportation with potential widespread economic impacts. The cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was carrying 764 tons of hazardous materials, raising fears about pollution and safety. This incident claimed six lives and with ongoing salvage efforts, the true effects of this incident are still being measured. This demonstrates the unmet need for ongoing training, specifically addressing recognition and handling of hazardous materials, along with risk reduction. This training is essential for all workers at every level within the maritime industry, but training related to handling hazardous materials remains limited. Over nearly 15 years, Project South East Area Maritime Industry Safety Training (SEAMIST, a Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program (HWWTP)) funded by a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has addressed this unmet need. Project SEAMIST provides health and safety training for personnel whose jobs may require them to handle, transport, remove, or dispose of hazardous materials on or off the ports. To date, the program has successfully trained more than 22,000 participants, logging over 195,000 contact hours and targeting several occupational areas in the maritime industry within our stronghold states of Florida, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico, and extending our presence in Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, New York, New Jersey, and California. In carrying Project SEAMIST forward, over the next five years, we aim to provide safety and hazardous preparedness training for 16,000 maritime workers in English and Spanish, including both the current and incoming workforce, and expand trainings to new states. We also aim to continue to revise, optimize, and enhance our training curricula and evaluation protocols to reduce and possibly eliminate incidences of injuries and deaths among maritime workers and those who work in concert with the maritime industry.