‘Huge success’ declared in annual health, safety confab

The Northern Marianas Alliance for Safety and Health’s Governor’s 2nd Annual Health and Safety Conference, held Aug. 17-21 at the Saipan Dai-Ichi Hotel, was termed a “huge success” by NMASH members, OSHA officials, Guam OSHA Consultation officials and conference participants.

NMASH attendants counted 399 total conference participants during the weeklong general sessions, training tracks in general industry, construction, and public sector, which qualified 165 attendees for OSHA training accreditation, 86 attending longshoring requirement training and an additional 63 attending CPR/ first aid training in English, Mandarin Chinese and Tagalog. Another 79 received NMASH conference certification.

After opening ceremony deliveries by CNMI Gov. Juan N. Babauta and OSHA Region IX administrator Frank Strasheim, the week’s conference highlights included a fully simulated fire rescue demonstration by CNMI Department of Public Safety-Fire Division with full respiratory equipment, CNMI Public Health’s presentation on food-borne illnesses, Weapons of Mass Destruction training by John Scott of AMPRO, DPS safety personnel’s panels on vehicle safety, neighborhood crime watches, drug abuse and violence in the workplace.

A panel comprised of officials from the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., Division of Environmental Quality and Environmental Protection Agency offered Responsibilities in Safe Drinking Water, and DEQ’s Dave Hodges outlined a federal grant award that creates the Green Garments Partnership between DEQ and SGMA to perform environmental audits in Saipan garment factories.

Labor Secretary Jack Tenorio and Ray Guerrero from the CNMI OSHA Consultation Program Office outlined its services to CNMI small businesses.

Babauta, after signing a CNMI proclamation declaring August 16-22, 2004 as CNMI Health and Safety Week at the conference’s opening ceremonies, noted that change has occurred in occupational safety as a result of conflict, and that the spirit of cooperation between the public and private sectors and federal officials has created a new image for the CNMI.

The governor also announced plans to hold the 3rd Annual Governor’s Health and Safety Conference as a regional conference with invitations going to all U.S. affiliated island entities, including Guam, American Samoa, Palau, the FSM, Marshall Islands and the state of Hawaii.

OSHA Region IX’s Strasheim noted tremendous progress in the conference’s offerings, island- and CNMI-wide safety and health situations, changes in occupational safety and health, changes in public health, and changes in infrastructure, which is critical to safety and health.

Strasheim remarked that he would hold up the SGMA Excellence 2000 Partnership members as models to any garment factories in the U.S. mainland and in Asia.

NMASH is comprised of OSHA Region IX, OTI Education Center in San Diego, the Northern Marianas College, the Division of Environmental Quality, CNMI Department of Labor, CNMI Department of Public Safety, CNMI Department of Public Works, the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association, the Hotel Association of the Northern Marianas, the Saipan Contractors Association and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce.