The University recently received $2.7 million in federal funding to launch a new program to prevent workplace injuries and dangerous exposure to silica among Hispanic workers.

The program, Protección en Construcción: Lawrence Latino Safety Partnership, is a partnership between UML, the City of Lawrence, JSI Research and Training Institute Inc. of Boston and Laborers Union Local 175, which has more than 600 members.

More than 900 Hispanic workers died on the job last year in the United States. While 12 percent of the total workforce is Hispanic, workers from that ethnic group accounted for 16 percent of on-the-job deaths, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Paul Marion, executive director of Outreach, represented Chancellor Marty Meehan at the announcement of the program and described the project as an example of UML’s commitment to the Lawrence community. “We have a responsibility to this whole section of Massachusetts,” said Marion.

Prof. Rafael Moure-Eraso, chair of the Department of Work Environment, told those at the announcement: “The University is very proud to be a part of the project, Protección en Construcción: Lawrence Latino Safety Partnership, which will develop prevention strategies to decrease injuries and illness in Latino workers in Lawrence.”
 
One in four workers fatally injured at work in 2005 was born outside the United States. Falls are among the most common causes of workplace deaths among construction workers, and more than 20 percent of those who were killed in such accidents were Hispanic.

“The results of falls are tragic,” said Prof. Lenore Azaroff, also of the Department of Work Environment, who applied for the funding for the partnership. “This project will address this human suffering.”

The $2.7 million in research funds came from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a program of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dedicated to researching the prevention of workplace injuries, illness and fatalities. One of NIOSH’s research areas is fall prevention, the second leading cause of workplace deaths after motor vehicle crashes. Exposure to silica dust from grinding or cutting concrete is a major cause of potentially deadly illnesses including silicosis, lung cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis and diseases of the airways.

“It’s great that NIOSH recognized the issue and chose to fund the terrific partnership that has developed between the partners, including the city of Lawrence and UMass Lowell,” said June Black, regional coordinator for U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, who represents the 5th Congressional District, including Lawrence and Lowell.