When Robbie Roberge saw flames engulf his fishing vessel’s galley last August, he relied on safety drills that had saved his life offshore. Just three months earlier, he attended a workshop by Fishing Partnership Support Services (FPSS) that taught him how to don safety suits, deploy life rafts and call for help more than 100 miles from shore.
But such hands-on training for America’s most dangerous jobs—from commercial fishing and logging to farming—faces an uncertain future. President Donald Trump’s push to trim federal budgets has hit the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) hardest, threatening programs that prepare frontline workers for life-or-death emergencies.
Funding Cuts and Closures
On April 1, the administration cut 875 of NIOSH’s roughly 1,000 staff, including key advisers to a dozen Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health focused on fishing, farming and logging. While about 300 positions were restored this month, teams that oversee these regional centers remain sidelined.
Leaders at seven of the 12 centers say they’re winding down operations as grants expire. The Southeastern Coastal Center at the University of Florida plans to end its work on September 29, while the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association could lose funding as soon as July 1. FPSS expects its NIOSH grant to run out in September, which may force it to scale back training.
A High Return on Investment
"I have experience, but not dealing with emergencies," says Roberge, whose quick action kept his crew safe without injuries. John Roberts, a former U.S. Coast Guard search-and-rescue instructor, warns that losing these programs will shift more demand onto federal rescue services—and cost taxpayers more in the long run. "The return on investment is huge," he says. "Training reduces the need for expensive rescues of untrained crews."
As governments worldwide weigh budget priorities, the fate of critical safety training underscores a key question: how much is a life worth when the next emergency could be just beyond the horizon?
Reference(s):
Trump cuts threaten safety training for America's most dangerous jobs
cgtn.com
