The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into a new training partnership with the Laborers International Union to develop an anthrax/biohazard training curriculum. A grant totaling $208,650 from the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration was awarded to the Laborers as a first step in this partnership.

Course material will be developed and tested jointly by OSHA, the Laborers and other appropriate government entities. This partnership was prompted by the recent anthrax outbreaks across the country.

The Laborers' certified hazardous waste workers will use the new curriculum to upgrade their skills and fine-tune the training process. The curriculum will eventually be used by other organizations, including 12 OSHA Training Institute Education Centers and state and local One-Stop centers, to train workers in the removal of biochemical agents.

The final curriculum, which will be available for nationwide distribution, will include training manuals, CD-ROM and web-based curriculum, a PowerPoint presentation and other training tools.