Source: EM Update | Vol. 11, Issue 12; Wayne McKinney | March 26, 2019

Instructor Billy Edington and an oral interpreter discuss how to don personal protective gear during the training.
Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) cleanup contractor UCOR and the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9-288 have partnered for the last three years to cultivate a new generation of environmental cleanup workers by providing free training to east Tennessee high schools.
This year, UCOR and USW supplemented that training with a new course: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) General Industry Outreach Training. The class is drawing people interested in training for the challenging hazardous waste response field.
Students from the Tennessee School for the Deaf in Knoxville, Tennessee were among the first members of the class and completed the training earlier this month. The school provides an inclusive learning environment for deaf and hard-of-hearing students from toddlers through age 22.
While the class required oral interpreters to sign to the students, the classroom environment differed little from classes in past years.
“The interpreters did an amazing job, and the students were very engaged and receptive,” said class instructor Billy Edington, who works for UCOR and is also the USW Local 9-288 president.