Sixty-nine nonprofit organizations are the beneficiaries of more than $10.5 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants awarded Thursday by OSHA. The grants will provide opportunities to train and educate workers about job safety.

The grants, said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, are an important part of this Administration’s emphasis on compliance assistance. They support the development of training materials and the provision of safety programs to educate Hispanic and other non-English-speaking workers and employers in small businesses, as well as workers who are employed in high-hazard industries and industries with high fatality rates.

OSHA awarded grants in two categories:

Targeted Topic Training Grants support training for four occupational safety and health topic areas: construction hazards, general industry hazards, ergonomics and the healthcare industry.

OSHA Training Materials Development Grants support the development, evaluation and validation of training materials for four occupational safety and health topic areas: construction hazards, general industry hazards, lead hazards and work-related transportation hazards.

The training grants are named in honor of the late Susan Harwood, a former director of the Office of Risk Assessment in OSHA's Health Standards Directorate, who died in 1996. During her 17-year tenure with the agency, Harwood helped develop OSHA standards designed to help protect workers exposed to bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead in construction.