Stimulus funds to train people to clean up Brownfield sites

[Guest guest]

They are going to train unemployed and underemployed people St. Louis residents

to clean up toxic sites.

St. Louis Community College gets stimulus

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has selected St. Louis Community

College to receive $500,000 in stimulus funding to help train students to clean

up brownfield sites.

St. Louis Community College plans to train 120 students, graduate

102 students and place at least 77 students in environmental technician

and other green jobs.

The training program will consist of 240 hours of technical training in

hazardous materials and remediation techniques.

Graduates will receive training certifications in hazardous waste

operations and emergency response, Occupational Safety and Health

Administration safety, mold remediation, weatherization, ecosystem

restoration and lead and asbestos abatement. The college will target

unemployed and under-employed residents of the St. Louis metropolitan

area.

Since 1998, the EPA has awarded more than $25 million in brownfields

job training funds. More than 5,000 people have completed EPA-funded

training programs, with more than 3,250 obtaining employment in

environmental fields, earning an average wage of $13.81 per hour.

Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be

complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous

substance, pollutant or contaminant.

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2009/08/03/daily26.html