Impact of Health Department Worker Safety Training on Health Impacts After Sandy (Columbia)(CDC)

The objective of the research is to identify data gaps, build on existing approaches and methodologies, and increase knowledge about exposures to hazardous pollutants, chemicals and other related physical and mental health impacts during response and recovery activities following Hurricane Sandy. Specifically, we will be identifying and evaluating the physical and mental health outcomes among non-professional response and recovery workers, including volunteers characterizing complex, unknown and multiple worker exposures to contaminants; exploring the impact of a worker safety training program as an occupational health preventative intervention; and exploring the effectiveness of health department issuance of personal protective equipment (PPE) to volunteer workers.