# Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program

> **NIH NIH U45** · SUSTAINABLE WORKPLACE ALLIANCE, INC. · 2024 · $188,047

## Abstract

The Sustainable Workplace Alliance (SWA) proposes to reach multiple vulnerable audiences with its
model program for educating communities and training workers under the Hazardous Waste Worker
Training Program (HWWTP). These vulnerable populations are unlikely to know their rights to a safe
workplace, the inherent risks of the work they do, the dangers of misuse of opioids to reduce pain from
workplace injuries, the hazards created by pollution or hazardous materials, and the most effective ways
to protect themselves from these harms.
The overarching goal of this program is to prevent work-related harm by teaching workers how best to
protect themselves and their communities from exposure to hazardous materials while at work.
For the last seven years, SWA and its alliance partners have been leading the HAZMAT P.A.C.T. (Pacific
Atlantic & Caribbean Training) initiative, and as a continuation of that initiative, we will focus on providing
outreach in Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Hawaii. Additionally, we will service the U.S.
Territories of the Pacific Islands, including American Samoa, Guam, Palau, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Typical trainees would include remediation contractors, site demolition, debris removal, and post-emergency
cleanup; laborers who work with mold, asbestos, or lead-based paint; and abatement workers performing work
at Superfund or brownfield sites. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are over 83,000 workers
employed as construction laborers or hazardous waste removal workers in our geographical target areas.
Over the five year term of the HWWTP, SWA and its alliance partners will conduct 264 classes, train 3,550
hazardous material and waste workers, resulting in 45,440 contact hours of training. Additionally, 135 of these
students will be trained to become HAZWOPER trainers. We estimated that each graduate will return to work
and train 10 hazmat employees per year, bringing the total number of direct and tier two workers benefitting
from this training program to 4,900.
Over the five-year term of this HWWTP project, SWA will develop, test, and publish innovative adult training
methods that can be used to better assist the target audience in reducing harm while performing their jobs,
which will have a very positive effect on public health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10850880
- **Project number:** 5U45ES032171-05
- **Recipient organization:** SUSTAINABLE WORKPLACE ALLIANCE, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** David Casavant
- **Activity code:** U45 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $188,047
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-08-04 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10850880

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10850880, Hazardous Waste Worker Training Program (5U45ES032171-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10850880. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*