Welcome to the Safety and Health Department’s Environmental Health and Safety webpage. Here you will find information on the various programs, workshops, and services offered by the Environmental Health and Safety unit as well as relevant forms and contact information. Our mission is to provide information about environmental health and safety hazards and how to avoid them and to ensure that your right to a safe and healthy workplace is enforced.

What do we do?

We strive to increase awareness of risks, promote injury prevention, take action against unsafe and/or unhealthy conditions, and advocate for staff. We also assist school staff with any school building and/or environmental issues and work closely with both the School Construction Authority and the Department of Education (DOE) Division of School Facilities to address environmental health and safety issues such as mold, asbestos, construction and renovation activities, indoor air quality, and other environmental concerns.

How do we do it?

By encouraging the formation of – and providing support to – workplace health and safety committees and through collaboration with a number of city and state health and environmental agencies. These agencies include the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York State Department of Health, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the New York State Department of Labor Public Employees Safety and Health Bureau (PESH), which conducts school site inspections to assess DOE compliance with occupational safety and health regulations.

We also provide our members with on-site training, workshops and conferences, technical assistance in building inspections, PESH enforcement, fact sheets on health and safety topics, information on standards and regulations, and “Right to Know” information.

What topics do we cover?

Communicable Diseases; Bloodborne Pathogens (HIV, HBV, HBC, TB); Needlestick Prevention; Violence in the Workplace/Injury Prevention; Ergonomics; Right-to-Know / Chemical Awareness; Laboratory Standards; Personal Protective Equipment; Emergency Preparedness; Indoor Air Quality; Asbestos; Lead; Mold; Workers' Compensation; and other relevant topics.

Training Courses

The UFT Environmental Health and Safety unit offers training and workshops to our members relating to environmental issues on staff development days and extended days and at union meetings and other forums. Topics include bloodborne pathogens, communicable diseases, ergonomics, lab specialist training, and several other areas. If you would like to have one of these workshops offered to your school, please have your chapter leader contact us. Alternatively, you may call us at (212) 598-7739 or fax a request form to (212) 510-6434.

Contact Us

For further information about Environmental Health and Safety or to report an environmental safety hazard, please call your borough UFT Health & Safety Representative:

• Bronx: (718) 379-6200
• Brooklyn: (718) 852-4900
• Manhattan: (212) 598-6800
• Queens: (718) 275-4400
• Staten Island: (718) 605-1400

In the event of an emergency, please call (212) 701-9407.