Massachusetts Office of Technical Assistance and Technology (OTA)

November 20, 2024 is the 25th Annual GIS Day! Geographic Information Systems (GIS) day is an opportunity to share how visualizing data in a geographical context can enhance our understanding of complex topics and enable better decisions. Our environment is inseparable from our geography, so GIS is an incredible tool for learning from environmental data. OTA offers an interactive GIS tool to help businesses, organizations, municipalities, and residents explore the patterns of use and release of toxic chemicals, overlaid with other environmental, land use, and asset data layers and indicators to evaluate environmental justice, climate, and social impacts surrounding chemical use.?Visualizing data in a geographic context can drive innovation in toxics use reduction and promote environmental justice and climate resilience.?You can access our interactive GIS tool here: https://lnkd.in/e54Uk7Xy. This year we have made several updates to our mapping tool, including new language access data layers from the American Community Survey and the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. These data layers allow users to identify the primary non-English spoken languages down to the census tract or zip code level that can inform outreach efforts tailored to specific language access needs.?Stay tuned for future updates and GIS tools from OTA. Would you like to work with us, or to refer a company to us? Contact our team for assistance: https://lnkd.in/e5_Qtg43 #GISDay #GIS #EnvironmentalHealth #PublicHealth #ChemicalSafety #Manufacturing #EHS #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateResilience

OTA and the TURA Program are pleased to announce a new round of grant opportunities! For-profit, municipal, and not-for-profit entities are all eligible to seek financial assistance for projects that aim to reduce the use of toxics in Massachusetts. Submit a preliminary application here by December 20, 2024:? https://lnkd.in/gte2P-zn Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) Grants are available for businesses, municipalities, academic researchers and community-based organizations, enabling recipients to make environmentally conscious decisions that benefit both their organization and the broader community.? Organizations and municipalities that serve environmental justice populations, companies in or near environmental justice populations, and minority owned businesses are particularly encouraged to apply.? Keep an eye on TURI’s website for future grant opportunities: https://lnkd.in/e7d2apWi If applicants need written translation or other language access services to complete the grant application process, please contact TURI at [email protected]. #Grants #GrantOpportunity #Funding #FundingOpportunity #EnvironmentalEngineering #GreenChemistry #GreenManufacturing #EnvironmentalHealth #EnvironmentalJustice

Join the TURA Program for the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI)'s Fall 2024 Toxics Use Reduction Conference! Over these three days, attendees will learn about policies, technologies and examples of success in reducing use of toxic chemicals. Attendees can earn up to 19 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Register here: https://lnkd.in/ezGEPhnz To participate in the sessions you wish to attend, please ensure you register for each session separately. Each session will have its own distinct Zoom registration link, which you will receive in your confirmation email from Eventbrite. Questions? Contact TURI's training team at [email protected], or call 978-934-3142. #Toxics #Manufacturing #EnvironmentalEngineering #EnvironmentalHealth #PollutionPrevention #GreenChemistry #GreenManufacturing

OTA's Fall newsletter is out! Learn about the upcoming TUR Continuing Education Conference, new PFAS regulatory updates, and more: https://conta.cc/3NOHLvS

Toxic chemicals in the workplace don’t just affect workers and fenceline communities – they can also affect workers’ families. In honor of the 25th Annual National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, we wanted to share some resources for lead poisoning prevention. When workers handle lead and return home, their children can become exposed to lead dust on their clothes and shoes – and there is no safe level of lead exposure. Tips for reducing lead exposure: ·??????If you handle lead at work, you can reduce the lead you bring home on your body and clothing by cleaning up, changing your clothes, and removing your shoes before coming home. ·??????If you use tools that come into contact with lead, store them outside of the home. ·??????Consider toxics use reduction to reduce or eliminate the use of lead in the workplace. If your facility uses lead and would like to learn about opportunities to reduce its use, please reach out to OTA’s team: https://lnkd.in/e5_Qtg43 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has fact sheets on preventing lead poisoning in children, including advice for people who handle lead at work (English: https://lnkd.in/etXSPngC en Espa?ol: https://lnkd.in/eu2mE_wZ) USEPA recently finalized new rules to protect children from lead exposure: https://lnkd.in/gUm83fk Check out additional lead poisoning prevention resources from EPA https://lnkd.in/gwBea6Y and CDC https://lnkd.in/gPytai5x. #Manufacturing #LeadPoisoning #Lead #NLPPW #EnvironmentalEngineering #EnvironmentalHealth #PollutionPrevention

Anhydrous ammonia leaks present grave and sometimes fatal dangers to workers and surrounding communities. Anhydrous ammonia is often used as a refrigerant in many industries, including food and chemical manufacturing. Facilities in Massachusetts have received enforcement action from EPA recently on lack of proper maintenance, and unfortunately there have also been leaks resulting in worker hospitalizations. As climate change intensifies the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, it’s critical for facilities to have emergency preparedness plans in place to ensure the safe handling of anhydrous ammonia to prevent releases. ?Facility emergency plans should include emergency contacts, locations of shut off valves, and other critical safety steps to take in the case of flooding, power loss, and other impacts associated with extreme weather.? ? If your facility could use free, confidential technical assistance from OTA’s team concerning your use of anhydrous ammonia and developing facility emergency preparedness plans, please reach out to us! https://lnkd.in/e5_Qtg43 You can also find tools and resources on our Chemical Safety and Climate Change Resiliency website here: https://lnkd.in/eURDZ-Dp? ? EPA’s Risk Management Program offers guidance on accident prevention and response for users of anhydrous ammonia: https://lnkd.in/ehjvmAkD? ? Find information here about emergency release notifications for hazardous substances under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA):?? https://lnkd.in/eWh9vfaW? ? #Manufacturing #AnhydrousAmmonia #RMP #EnvironmentalEngineering #EnvironmentalHealth #PollutionPrevention #OccupationalHealth #OccupationalSafety #OHS #WorkerHealth #WorkerSafety #EmergencyPreparedness #ChemicalPreparedness?

The Advisory Committee to the Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA) Administrative Council will meet remotely from 2pm – 4pm on Thursday, October 17, 2024. The agenda with meeting access information is posted on the TURA Advisory Committee website. https://lnkd.in/eksSDqn3 For additional information or questions, please contact the TURA Program Administrative Council Executive Director, Tiffany Skogstrom, at [email protected].

It’s Manufacturing Week 2024! OTA is celebrating Massachusetts manufacturers who work every day to make their operations cleaner, safer, and more environmentally friendly. OTA is here all year round to support businesses with toxics use reduction and resource conservation. Get in touch to find out how we can help your facility! https://lnkd.in/e5_Qtg43 #Manufacturing #ManufacturingWeek #EnvironmentalEngineering #EnvironmentalHealth #PollutionPrevention #OccupationalHealth #OccupationalSafety #OHS #WorkerHealth #WorkerSafety

Climate Preparedness Week is from September 22-29, 2024! Climate change creates unique challenges for manufacturing facilities dealing with hazardous chemicals. Fortunately, OTA?is here to help. Our team can provide free, confidential technical assistance with important climate preparedness issues—like reducing toxics to minimize risks from flooding and infrastructural damage or preparing to maintain emergency power in the event of catastrophic power failure. Environmental justice neighborhoods face disproportionate hazards from climate change. To determine whether your facility or business is located in an environmental justice neighborhood or near an environmental justice population, search your address in OTA’s mapping tool here: https://lnkd.in/e54Uk7Xy. Find OTA’s chemical safety and climate preparedness resources here: https://lnkd.in/eURDZ-Dp To view a video of a recent training developed by OTA and The New England Consortium (TNEC) on the intensifying climate crisis, extreme weather events, chemical safety in companies and communities, state and federal requirements for hazardous materials, emergency planning (including risk management plans), and resilience during and after extreme weather events, see this link: https://lnkd.in/ePU9isF2 Would you like to work with us, or to refer a company to us? Contact OTA’s team for assistance: https://lnkd.in/e5_Qtg43 ? If you would like to request a training on chemical safety and climate change resiliency for your agency or organization, contact Kari Sasportas, Outreach & Chemical Policy Analyst at [email protected].

September is National Preparedness Month! This month, we want to highlight some important emergency preparedness considerations for manufacturing facilities who deal with hazardous chemicals. In a survey OTA conducted with WPI student interns, among companies with processes that require continuous backup power to maintain safe operations, only about 1/3 stated that they have back-up power available for these processes. In an unexpected power outage, this could lead to the failure of pollution control devices, cooling and pressure failures, loss of ventilation, and other conditions that can lead to unintended chemical releases or exposures that can impact workers and communities. Toxics use reduction can reduce the likelihood and severity of these events. Find OTA’s chemical safety and climate preparedness resources here: https://lnkd.in/eURDZ-Dp To determine whether your facility or business is located in an environmental justice neighborhood or near an environmental justice population, search your address in OTA’s mapping tool here: https://lnkd.in/e54Uk7Xy To see the full WPI report, visit: https://lnkd.in/e2xvZktY Does your facility need help considering how to ensure the safety of your workers and community in the event of severe weather or a natural disaster? Are you from a local Board of Health or fire department and you’d like to refer a company to us? Contact OTA’s team for assistance: https://lnkd.in/e5_Qtg43 ? If you would like to request a training on chemical safety and climate change resiliency for your agency or organization, contact Kari Sasportas, Outreach & Chemical Policy Analyst at [email protected]. #EmergencyPreparedness #NationalPreparednessMonth #ChemicalSafety #Manufacturing #EmergencyManagement #EnvironmentalJustice Image: Flooding following Hurricane Idalia