1992-1993 Annual Report

The Hunter College Center for
Occupational and Environmental Health

October, 1993

425 EF, 25th Street
New York, NY 10010
(212) 481-8790


THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
ANNUAL REPORT OF CENTERS AND INSTITUTES
July 1, 1991 to June 30, 1992

Please use this form and, if needed, additional paper to provide information about your center
of institute.

College: HUNTER COLLEGE _ .
. Center for Occupational and Envi
Center/Institute: Pp nvironmental Health
Directors: Stephen R. Zoloth, PhD, MPH and David Kotelchuck, PhD, MPH
Mailing Address: 425 East 25th Street, Box 621
New York, NY 10010
Telephone: (212 _) 481-8790
Fax #: (C212) 481-8795
KK

10/7/93 Sty Cols ts
Date Signature/Tit ce Director of Center/Institute
Date Signature/Title: Chief Academic Officer of the College
Date Signature/Title: Chief Fiscal Officer of the College

Please return the completed form to:
Dean Yaakov Shechter
Office of Academic Affairs
CUNY
535 Fast 80th Street
New York. NY 10021



1992-1993 Annual Report

The Hunter College Center for
Occupational and Environmental Health

MISSION

A. Clearly define the mission of the center/institute. Please pay particular attention to
its consistency with the proposal of the center/institute as originally presented to
the Board.

The mission of the Hunter College Center for Occupational and Environmental Health is to
improve the health and well-being of working people and their families by assisting workers,
their representatives, and their organizations in developing their capacity to identify, analyze,
respond to and abate workplace and community environmental health hazards.

The existence and persistence of occupational risks of injury, acute illness, and chronic
disease are due to a combination of individual, group, political and economic factors.
Effective prevention of occupational injury and illness therefore requires a comprehensive
approach which starts with the development and reinforcement of individual and group
skills among workers to understand and analyze work-related risks and to act collectively to
improve their working conditions. An informed, skilled and cognizant working community
is most likely to overcome the economic and political obstacles to workplace change.

B. Indicate any changes in the mission of your center/institute. Include new
initiatives.

Over the past year, COEH has incorporated into its organizational and programmatic goals
an effort to better integrate community environmental health programs with occupational
health programs. In June, the Hunter College Community Environmental Health Project,
directed by Nicholas Freudenberg, ceased formal operations. Hunter COEH and Nicholas
Freudenberg are now collaborating on surviving grants, and regard this year as one in which
community environmental projects will be taken on by Hunter COEH.

Drawing on work accomplished in 1991-1992 (and described in last year’s annual report),
Hunter COEH has received funding from the NYC Department of Health to develop
educational efforts in Brooklyn (Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant) and Central Harlem to
assist community organizational efforts to prevent childhood lead poisoning. These efforts
are targeting groups working with mothers at-risk, tenant organizations, and health care
facilities. Hunter COEH has also worked with the Mayor's Task Force on Lead to develop
consensus recommendations around lead paint abatement. Hunter COEH has also expanded
its previous efforts to identify industrial sources of workplace and community lead
contamination.

Finally, COEH has responded to the NYC tuberculosis epidemic by expanding its staff
expertise in environmental controls against TB transmission, and is collaborating with other
groups to expand their abilities to assess their facilities for risks associated with tuberculosis
transmission and make necessary improvements.


I.

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ACTIVITIES (1992-1993)

A.

Publications

1.

Books and book chapters

a. Kotelchuck D and Guttmacher S, The Health Status of Americans, In
Press, 1993. Drs. Kotelchuck and Guttmacher have updated and
expanded a previous book edited, by Dr. Kotelchuck, Prognosis
Negative: Crisis in the Health Care System.

b. Chapter by David Kotelchuck in Demanding Democracy After Three
Mile Island, Raymond L. Goldsteen and John K. Schorr, editors.
Gainsville: University of Florida Press, 1992.

Scholarly papers in refereed journals

Zoloth S., Safyer S., Rosen J. et al. (1993). Anergy Compromises Screening for
Tuberculosis in High Risk Populations. Am ]. Public Health 3:749-751.

Welch L., Michaels D., Zoloth S. (in press). The National Sheet Metal Worker
Asbestos Disease Screening Program: Radiologic Findings. Am J. Ind. Med.

Kotelchuck, D. Journal of Public Health Policy, Book Review. 1993.

Kass D., American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Book Review of "Teaching
Workers about Occupational Hazards" by N. Wallerstein and H. Rubenstein.
(In Press).

Michaels D., Zoloth S., Bernstein N., Kass D., and Schrier K. (1992).
Workshops are not Enough: Making Right to Know Training Lead to
Workplace Change. American Journal of Industrial Medicine 22:637-649.

Abstracts
To the American Public Health Association:

McGarrahan, S., Zoloth S., Michaels. D., Welch, L.. Symptoms and
X-ray Abnormalities in Lifetime Nonsmoking Sheetmetal Workers.

Hodge D., The Occupational Health of Unorganized Workers: The
Challenge of Prevention.

Other Publications

Manowitz A, Kass D (1992): Trabajar Sin Dolor: Guia de Los Trabajadores de
La Industria Papelera Para Mejorar las Condiciones de Trabajo en el Sector de
Conversion. (A guide to ergonomics in the paper conversion industry)
Spanish Translation published by the United Paperworkers International
Union. 29 pages.



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Kass D, Hodge D (1993): Reducing the Risk of Tuberculosis in your
Workplace: A Guide to Improving Natural Ventilation. Published by Hunter
College COEH. 20 pages.

Kass D (1993): The Workplace Incident Surveillance System (WISP): Software
written in Clipper to record and analyzeeworkplace injuries and illnesses.
Release 1.1.

Factsheets of significance: COEH has self-published and distributed dozens of
factsheets to unions, trade associations, and private and public employers
throughout NYS.

B. Lectures, seminars, and papers presented in conferences and professional meetings.

Assessing the Needs of Workers for Occupational Health Programs. Occupational
Health Educators Roundtable Seminar. November, 1992.

Literacy and Health. Occupational Health Educators Roundtable Seminar. February,
1993,

Teaching about Occupational Health Regulations. Occupational Health Educators
Roundtable Seminars; June 1993.

Seminar: A Site-Specific Chemical Hygiene Program for Medical College Faculty and
Students; Meharry College of Medicine, Nashville TN, May 1993.

Seminar: Engineering Controls against Tuberculosis Transmission; NYCOSH,
November, 1992.

Conference Planning: American Public Health Association Occupational Safety and
Health Section. Program Planner, Daniel Kass. 1992-1993.

Daniel Kass: A worksite Injury Surveillance Package (WISP): the application of new
software technology in preventing workplace injury. American Public Health
Association, Oct. 1992.

Derrick Hodge: Addressing laboratory hazards in a multi-site university setting --
effecting organizational changes and fulfilling employee training requirements.
American Public Health Association, Oct. 1992.

Stephen Zoloth: Homelessness among a Mentally Ill Incarcerated Population.
American Public Health Association, Oct. 1992.

Cc. Educational Activities (curriculum development, teacher training, faculty
development).

Over the past 12 months, COEH has provided direct training to over 1,400 individuals. The
programs have been conducted with joint sponsorship by labor unions, employers, or jointly
with labor and management. Our union-based training, by far the most significant



numerically, has been conducted on behalf of four unions outside NYS, over 20 in New York
City, and 8 around NYS. COEH has jointly conducted training to prevent repetitive trauma
disorders with the Workplace Health Fund of the AFL-CIO and the United Paperworkers
International Union. Other educational programs have been conducted with or on behalf of
community organizations including the Brooklyn Coalition on Lead Poisoning, The NYC
Emergency Response Network, the NYS Occupational Medicine Clinic Network, the NYC
Coalition to End Lead Poisoning, among others. COEH has developed curricula and trained
employees and staff of City and State agencies, including the NYC Dept. of Transportation,
CUNY, NYC Health and Hospital Corporation, the NYS Dept. of Environmental
Conservation, the NYC Dept. of Sanitation, and many others. Some innovations in these
programs include:

° public health laboratory health and safety program development and training at
CUNY campuses and county public health laboratories in NYC and Long Island.

° ergonomic hazard awareness and prevention training to workers in the paper
industry, communications industry, service sector, and garment industry.

$ emergency response training of managers at each of the NYC Health and Hospitals
Corporation hospital facilities and satellite.

* implementation and refinement of an injury surveillance program for the NYC Dept.
of Transportation.

° public policy development around worker and childhood lead poisoning

* assessment of ergonomic risks among NYS paperworkers through a pilot effort to
develop the capacity of local organizations to conduct and report survey results.

D. Outreach Activities (community service, public programs)

COEH staff are encouraged to participate in community organizations, coalitions and public
health programs. In 1992-1993, COEH staff served in the following capacities:

iC Member of the NYC Mayor’s Task Force on Lead. Daniel Kass participated in
formulating city policy on training and certification requirements for lead paint
removal, and wrote the subcommittee final report.

2 New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. Derrick Hodge is
an active member of the Infection Disease Task Force, and Amy Manowitz is
an active member of the Repetitive Strain Illness Task Force.

3 Hunter College Students of Color. Derrick Hodge founded a group of
graduates and current students in the Industrial Hygiene Program at Hunter
College. The organization provides tutoring and advocates on behalf of people
of color within the program. It is the only alumni organization within the
EOHS Program.

4, Julie Quinton and Daniel Kass are members of community coalitions to
prevent lead poisoning.



TI.

5. Daniel Kass is the 1993 Program Planning Chair for the American Public
Health Association Occupational Safety and Health Section, responsible for
organizing the October 1993 conference in San Francisco for over 1,000 section
members.

6. David Kotelchuck is a member of the Board of Directors of NYCOSH, and an
advisory board member of the Bellevue Hospital Occupational Medicine
Clinical Center.

In addition to community activity by staff, COEH has provided technical assistance on
occupational and community environmental health concerns in the forms of short trainings,
telephone consultations, material development, on-site walkthroughs and employee surveys
for a number of community organizations serving the needs of minority workers, women
workers, the unemployed, and parents of at-risk children. Some of these during 1992-1993
include NYCELP, Legal Aid Association of New York, Legal Services Foundation of New
York, Prostitutes of New York (PONY), New Jersey Community Research Initiative, the
Orphan Project, National Committee for Health Rights in Central America, Lower East Side
Tenants Organization, and many others.

COEH has also conducted, formally and informally, outreach on behalf of the Community
Health Education Program and the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Program at the Hunter College School of Health Sciences, recruiting potential students and
linking current students with community organizations for internships and employment.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT:

A. Grants Obtained between July, 1992 and June, 1993.
List project title, principal investigator(s), effective dates, amount, funding agency.

1, "Preventing Workplace Injuries: New Populations and Ongoing Support".
Stephen Zoloth and Daniel Kass. 7/1/92 - 12/31/93. $270,000, New York State
Dept. of Labor. (continuation grant from previous award).

2. "Hazardous Materials Worker Training." David Kotelchuck. 9/1/92-8/31/93.
$64,000. National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (UMDNJ lead
agency).

w

"Preventing Tuberculosis in a Correctional Institution": 4/1/93 - 12/31/93.
[Consortium Agreement between Hunter COEH, Hunter Center on AIDS, and
Montefiore/Rikers Island Prison Health Service. Hunter COEH: $24,000. NYS
Department of Labor.

3, "Community Based Lead Poisoning Prevention Education". Daniel Kass and
Nicholas Freudenberg 7/1/93-6/30/94, $60,000. NYC Department of Health.


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Grant Proposals Generated between July, 1992 and June 1993.
List project title, principal investigator(s), amount requested, funding agency.

1. “Preventing Workplace Injuries: New Populations and Ongoing Support".
Stephen Zoloth and Daniel Kass. 7/1/92 - 12/31/93. $270,000. New York State
Dept. of Labor.

2

2. “Hazardous Materials Worker Training.” David Kotelchuck. 9/1/92-8/31/93.
$72,000. National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (UMDNJ lead
agency).

3. "Preventing Tuberculosis in a Correctional Institution": 4/1/93 - 12/31/93.

[Consortium Agreement between Hunter COEH, Hunter Center on AIDS, and
Montefiore/Rikers Island Prison Health Service. Hunter COEH: $31,000. NYS
Department of Labor.

4. "Community Based Lead Poisoning Prevention Education". Daniel Kass and
Nicholas Freudenberg 7/1/93-6/30/94. $60,000. NYC Department of Health.

De "A Workplace Injury Surveillance Package: A Demonstration of Data
Gathering and Analysis for Worksite Prevention Activities." Stephen Zoloth.
$345,000 (3 years). National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

6. "Reporting the Results of Asbestos Disease Screening to Sheetmetal Local
Unions". Stephen Zoloth. $22,000. Sheetmetal Workers Special Trust.

Other Financial Support (contracts, gifts, in-kind services).

1, Contracts:
a. United Paperworkers International Union. $34,000.
c New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation. $66,000.
d. NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation. $2,000.
e. Sheet Metal Workers Asbestos Trust. $13,500.
g- Communication Workers of America. $21,000.
h. Workplace Health Fund, AFL-CIO, $6,000.
i. South Nassau Communities Hospital. $6,500.
2; Course Fees and Miscellaneous Support
a. Fees generated from Hazardous Materials Worker Training Program
from various sources (4/92 - 6/93): approximately $44,000.
b. Consulting Projects of various sources, approximately $8,500.
3. In-Kind Services

Building Renovation. In June, 1993, the New York City District Council of
Carpenters renovated an office for Hunter COEH in the West Building of
Hunter College Brookdale Health Sciences Center. The labor costs are
estimated to be equivalent to a $2,500 gift.


Miscellaneous Demonstration Equipment. 3M Respirators and Lead Check
swabs were donated for demonstration purposes to Hunter COEH. These are
valued at approximately $400 and $80, respectively.

IV. PERSONNEL

A.

2

Staff
List all staff members, their titles, whether full- or part-time. (If part-time indicate
percentage of time in the center/institute), and amounts of salaries and/or release
time.

1: Stephen R. Zoloth, Ph.D. Director, Program in Community Health Education,
Hunter College School of Health Sciences, and Co-Director of Hunter
COEH. Dr. Zoloth works part-time on Hunter College Center for
Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH) activities (20%).
Summer salary provided in 1992-1993: $10,000.

2, David Kotelchuck, Ph.D., Director, Program in Occupational and
Environmental Health Sciences, Hunter College School of Health
Sciences, and Co-Director of Hunter COEH. Dr. Kotelchuck devotes
significant time to our projects, though does not, however, take release-
time or summer salary from COEH activities.

Se Daniel Kass, MSPH, Co-Director of COEH. 100%. $43,000.

4. Amy Manowitz, MPH, Project Coordinator, COEH. 57%. $30,160.

5 Micki Siegel, MPH. Director of Curriculum Development. 100% Salary:
$42,120.

6. Derrick Hodge, MS, Industrial Hygienist, COEH. 100%. $34,840.

7. Dan Katz, MA, Health & Safety Specialist, COEH. 100% $33,500. (Until

2/15/93)

8. Sylvia Callender-Carter. Trainer, Hazardous Materials Worker Training
Program, COEH. 100% Salary: $33,500. (Until 1/30/93).

9. Sabina McGarrahan, MA. Research Associate. 100%. $33,000.

10. Yolanda Lora, Program Assistant. 100% Salary: $27,872.

11. Katherine Whitman, Administrator. 100% Salary: $26,500.

12. Charlotte Thomas, Secretary. 20% Salary: $4,200. (Until 6/1/93).

13. Barbara Johnson, Secretary. 30% Salary: $10,000. (Until 6/15/93).

14. Anne Lamb, Program Assistant. 40%. Salary: $8,040.

15, Research Assistant at CUNY Medical School. 40%. Salary: $6,240. (Until
6/1/93).

In the summer of 1993, COEH hired additional staff. They include:

itt Dawn Queen, Health Educator, 100%
2 Julie Quinton, Community Educator, 100%
3 Ellen Kirrane, Industrial Hygienist, 100%


VI.

STUDENTS’ INVOLVEMENT

List all students involved with the center/institute. Indicate (1) whether undergraduate or
graduate; (2) source and amount of financial support; and (3) percentage of time spent in the
center/institute.

1. Gary Hogg, Graduate Intern, and student in Hunter College Program in Community
Health Education. Volunteer on Lead Poisoning Prevention Projects, 20% from 2/93 -
8/93.

2. Debbie Carson, Graduate Intern, and student in Hunter College Program in

Community Health Education. Volunteer on Repetitive Strain Education
Program, 20%, 6/93.

3. Fitzalbert Reid, Graduate Student and Research Assistant. Volunteer on Mortality
Study, 20% from 4/93.
4. Philip Gillick, Graduate Intern, and student in Hunter College Program in Community

Health Education, 5% from 9/92 - 6/93.

In June, 1993, Hunter COEH, together with the Community Health Education Program
applied for funding from the public health service to begir paid internships and field work
in occupational health with Hunter COEH. Funding will begin in October, 1993.

FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT:

A. Describe the size and current usage of the space occupied by the center/institute
(offices, laboratories, conference rooms, etc).

COEH is housed at the Brookdale Health Sciences Center of Hunter College at 425 East 25th
Street in Manhattan. COEH now occupies 9 offices, not including those of principal
investigators and co-directors Zoloth and Kotelchuck. In the Summer of 1993, COEH was
fortunate to consolidate its offices into one area of the 7th Floor of the West Building. The
generosity of the Nutrition Department and Cooperation of Dean Everlina Holmes enabled
COEH to create a physical environment conducive to greater staff interaction and
cohesiveness. COEH also utilizes 1 storage area in the basement level of Brookdale and
maintains its equipment in a part of one laboratory in the same building. COEH uses
Brookdale conference rooms for education programs including the North Lounge, Osborne
Room in the Media Center, and Rooms 721 and 1017.

B. List major equipment used by the center/institute.

COEH utilizes 9 IBM compatible computers and 1 Apple MacIntosh, with accompanying
printers purchased from grant and contract funds. A significant amount of industrial
hygiene monitoring equipment and demonstration personal protective equipment (including
self-contained breathing apparatus and respirators) is operated and maintained by COEH
through NIEHS and other grant monies. COEH also utilizes the CUNY Academic Computer
for data storage and analysis. COEH shares in the lease of a photocopy machine located on
the 10th Floor of the Brookdale campus.



VII. BUDGET (FY 1991-1992)

*/ These figures reflect monies awarded or utilized between July 1, 1992 and June 30, 1992. Note
that a small deficit is apparent because some of our grant years end in December, September as

well as June, the end-date for this report.

Expenditures Amount | Number of Staff (FTE)

Salaries (including fringe benefits) */$ 315,914 | Approximately 8.2
(varies throughout year)

Faculty Release Time & Summer $ 12,600 | Approximately 2/9
Salary (including fringe)
Other than personal costs (includes $ 130,000
consultants)
TOTAL EXPENDITURES: $ 458,514

Income
Tax-Levy Funds (University & 0
College)
Non Tax-Levy Funds */$441,000