"Response to the program has been overwhelming," said Director of Education and Safety Rick Inclima. BMWE has received well over 400 applications from interested members although we only have been allocated 40 slots for the 1997 training season."

"BMWE continues to secure the highest number of training slots allocated among the rail unions due both to the nature of our work and the BMWE's substantial involvement in course curriculum development and presentation," said President Fleming.

The program is in its seventh year and consists of 32 hours of advanced classroom instruction and extensive hands-on training, including a simulated hazmat response in full safety gear. The goal of this training is to provide information and resources to our members who face potential exposure from hazardous materials releases.

"We want our members in the field to have confidence in ascertaining whether or not safety and health issues have been properly addressed with regard to hazardous materials. The rail workers hazmat training program has been an extremely successful vehicle for providing this information to BMWE and other rail union members," said Fleming.

Under a grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the program is conducted in cooperation with rail unions, the AFL-CIO, and the George Meany Center for Labor Studies. Participants are provided with round trip transportation, room and board, and a daily stipend under terms of the grant.

"While there has been a tremendous amount of interest in our program, we can only provide training to a limited number of participants each year," said Inclima. Due to the overwhelming volume of applicants, only those selected to attend will be notified. Those who could not be selected due to space limitations are encouraged to apply again next season.