# Hazardous Material Maritime Industry Response Training Safety Initiative (HazMIRTSI)

> **NIH NIH U45** · NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $232,297

## Abstract

Program Abstract
Accidents, natural disasters, exposure to hazardous agents and terrorism are constant threats
in the maritime industry. Hazardous materials incidents are generally infrequent but can be
catastrophic when they occur, resulting in serious injury and death. Workers in the maritime
environment have limited experience responding to hazmat emergencies, limited knowledge of
emergency procedures and often limited rapid access to qualified emergency responders or
hazmat units. The Institute for Disaster and Emergency Preparedness (IDEP) within Nova
Southeastern University (NSU)'s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (KPCOM)
is a regional, national and international resource for the provision of educational services,
trainings and programs focused on all-hazards preparedness, disaster and emergency
preparedness and hazardous waste worker safety training. IDEP began as a task force shortly
after 9/11 and is now formally an Institute that is widely recognized for its expertise with major
support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA) and the Florida Department of Health. For nearly five years, Project
Hazardous Material Maritime Industry Response Training Initiative (HazMIRTSI), a Hazmat
Preparedness Disaster Training Program (HPDTP), funded by a cooperative agreement with the
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), builds on existing programs and
relationships established by IDEP and the greater SEAMIST program (a Hazardous Waste
Worker Training Program (HWWTP) targeting health and safety for personnel whose jobs may
bring them into contact with hazardous materials). Specifically, Project HazMIRTSI has
extended our presence from the Gulf and Atlantic states to the northern Atlantic states of
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Project HazMIRTSI trains fire rescue and emergency medicine service (EMS) personnel to
respond to emergencies at sea and in port as well as preparedness and recovery training to
healthcare workers, volunteers and communities impacted by disasters, with emphasis on
hurricanes and flooding. To date, HazMIRTSI has trained approximately 1,000 first responders
to effectively handle disasters on our waterways, reducing and possibly eliminating incidences
of injuries and deaths among first responders and community members. In carrying Project
HazMIRTSI forward, we aim plans to expand our disaster response training to 3,000 skilled
response personnel, provide new disaster preparedness training to 1,000 community members
and continue to revise, optimize and enhance our training curricula and evaluation protocols.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10849752
- **Project number:** 5U45ES019350-15
- **Recipient organization:** NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Darren Cohen
- **Activity code:** U45 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $232,297
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2010-08-17 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10849752

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10849752, Hazardous Material Maritime Industry Response Training Safety Initiative (HazMIRTSI) (5U45ES019350-15). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10849752. Licensed CC0.

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