199679 Public Health Risks Management during Sewer Repair Works- A Caribbean Experience

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Irwin Gill, BA , National Labor College, Public Service Association of Trinidad & Tobago, Silver Spring, MD
This paper, "Public Health Risks Management during Sewer Repair Works - A Caribbean Experience," is the result of several years of continuous work with the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) and the Public Service Association of Trinidad & Tobago. As a senior thesis at the National Labor College, the author developed a system of conducting water and waste water safety audits on behalf of workers who engage in water and waste water treatment work. He piloted the audit system and evaluated it. This academic work was subsequently reported at an APHA annual meeting. Since that time, the author has not only perfected the system and spread it across his native Trinidad & Tobago, but is helping to implement an expanded concept across the Caribbean. It is this work that he reports on in 2009.

Learning Objectives:
Describe the research work of students at the National Labor College in the field of occupational safety and health Assess ways that activist research can improve the safety and health of workers Discuss strategies for combining academic research and activist work in occupational safety and health

Keywords: Occupational Health, Water

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an officer of the Water and Wastewater Association of the Caribbean and a long time union activist at water and wastewater treatment plants. This is a continuation of the work I did for my senior thesis in college.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Research by The Rank and File: The National Labor College H&S Program
See more of: Occupational Health and Safety