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Safe Alternatives Awareness Training

Safe Alternatives Awareness Training. Union TUR Capacity Building Initiative. Toxic Use Reduction Institute Grant . Toxics Use Reduction Act. Mass Law passed in 1989 requires certain facilities to prepare a plan that could reduce the use of the most toxic chemicals and their by products

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Safe Alternatives Awareness Training

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  1. Safe Alternatives Awareness Training Union TUR Capacity Building Initiative Toxic Use Reduction Institute Grant

  2. Toxics Use Reduction Act • Mass Law passed in 1989 requires certain facilities to prepare a plan that could reduce the use of the most toxic chemicals and their by products • It’s time to Expand TURA for worker health • Toxic Ignorance Creates Risk: Health, Toxic Tort, Reputation etc. 4% have some 96% of chemicals have little or no toxicity test data ! data source: EPA / HPV

  3. TURI Safe Alternatives Studywww.turi.org • First Step for safer alternatives approach – study 5 toxic chemicals • Input from Stake Holders: • scientists, public health, environmental groups, business and labor

  4. Background MassCOSH Outreach Project • Surveyed unions on awareness of the 5 chemicals and safer alternatives. • 20 unions responded: • Lacked information, full range of chemicals • Not familiar ,TUR and TURI • Majority interested in information about safe alternatives for these and others • Most workers have little input decisions about substitutions • Many representatives are never asked about specific chemicals they use safe alternatives

  5. 5 Primary Toxics • Perchloroethylene (PCE) • Formaldehyde • di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) • Lead • Hexavalent chromium safe alternatives

  6. 5 Primary Toxics

  7. 5 Primary Toxics

  8. 5 Primary Toxics

  9. 5 Primary Toxics

  10. Action Steps for Safer Alternatives • Take this presentation to your local • Put articles in your newsletters/ websites • Work with you to take action steps with safer alternatives to chemicals • Avoid the Consequences by: • educating the “Work Force” Breaking the Chain = “A Safer Environment” BodyBurden safe alternatives

  11. Safer Alternatives Tool Box • Identify common concerns about hazards (surveys, review chemical inventory, use your Right-to-Know and request the MSD -Material Safety Data Sheets). • Organize a union-only health and safety committee. Contact MassCOSH for health and safety support in non-union workplaces. • Negotiate contract language for: hazard awareness and annual training; declaration agreements on using safer alternatives for identified hazards, trigger clauses to negotiate union involvement in decisions about technology or work processes changes before they occur. • Collaborate with MassCOSH to seek funding for joint projects on health, safety and toxics use reduction (see MassCOSH Campaign Toolbox on our webpage) • Build community alliances to create “good neighbor” agreements about toxics. • Communicate with your members for their right to know about safer alternatives and join with labor and environmental allies for legislative action. Many of the strategies labor currently has available to them, can be used to promote safer alternatives to toxics

  12. Resources • Websites: • www.turi.org • www.mass.gov/envir/ota • www.sustainableproduction.org • Case studies • Technical reports • Fact sheets • Data (www.turadata.turi.org)

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