The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) has provided employers with a reminder to protect employees from the danger of working in hot weather. The message has three main components: water, rest and shadow.
A few months ago, a Florida lawmaker submitted a bill setting a state-wide standard for outdoors workers on hot disease prevention. This bill will require workers to be given drinking water, shade access, and 10-minute rest breaks after every two hours of external labor.
In addition to water, shade and breaks, complementary proposals in the Senate will be accompanied by training to identify signs of heat exhaustion and an air-conditioning period for workers.
Although OSHA has guidelines and recommendations for avoiding heat hazards, there is yet no standard set for heat exposure. The lack of a standard set the agenda with a petition supported by more than 130 industrial organizations.
The petition, guided by the non-profit Public Citizen organization, urged OSHA to do more than point out the recommended guidelines provided by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, and said that as climate change increases, employees experience more heat-related stress each year and this can be dangerous to the body. .
David Arkush, Managing Director of the Public Citizen Climate Program, said there is an unrecognized epidemic of temperature-related illness and death in the country, and this problem will increase much more quickly due to global warming. We need aggressive action to stop greenhouse gas pollution and climate change.
According to the government, between 1992 and 2016, 69,374 workers were severely injured by heat and 783 US workers died from exposure to heat.
Combining climate projects and census data, Public Citizen concluded that by 2050, more than 1 million agricultural and construction workers would be exposed to dangerous heat for 30 days or more per year.
Although OSHA has approved the criteria of NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health), it has not established a nationally mandated rule requiring employers to provide water, relaxation and shadow. There is no law on air conditioning programs and education to recognize heat disease symptoms.
OSHA provides visual indicators for heat index levels that form the basis of NIOSH guidelines. However, these levels were magnified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which supervised NIOSH last year.
Last summer, the CDC published the findings of a study to determine whether the temperature index limits are effective in protecting workers.
The CDC retrospectively analyzed 25 fatal open-air occupational diseases, which were investigated by OSHA between 2011 and 2016, with 14 fatal, 11 non-fatal. Research shows that heat stress exceeds exposure limits in all 14 deaths and eight out of 11 non-fatal diseases.
OSHA recommends using a heat index to protect employees and classifies temperatures into four categories. 91 fahrenheit, ie temperatures below about 33 degrees, creates a lower level of risk that must be met by basic heat and safety training.
91 to 103 fahrenheit, 33-39.5 degrees, is a moderate risk and employers need to take precautions and raise awareness. 103 to 115 fahrenheit, which means a high risk of 39.5-46 degrees, and additional measures must be taken to protect employees.
Temperatures higher than 46 degrees are considered excessive risk and require more aggressive protective measures. Although OSHA does not have an allowable exposure limit for heat stress,
OSHA guidance does not have a temperature index [less than 33 degrees] unless other factors (eg direct sun, low air movement, exhausting workload it is associated with a ‘low’ risk of heat-related illness. However, six of the 14 deaths in this report occurred when the heat index was [less than 33 degrees].
Additional evidence supports the possibility of serious illness even when the temperature index [less than 33 degrees]. OSHA pointed out the Heat Safety Tool in NIOSH, showing index levels and associated risks. In this note, OSHA stated that employers should:
• Encourage employees to drink water every 15 minutes,
• Take some rest breaks in the shade to cool off,
• Develop an emergency plan that explains what to do when a worker shows signs of heat-related illness,
• Train employees on the hazards of heat exposure and how to prevent diseases,
• Allow employees to become getting used to work under heat.
