Updated on 12/28/2021
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has extending the deadline for submitting comments on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings to January 26, 2022. The 30-day extension will provide stakeholders more time to review the notice and collect information and data necessary for comment.
With heat-related illnesses become an ever-increasing health risk for many workers, OSHA issued the notice on Oct. 27, 2021, in an effort to protect those at risk of exposure to hazardous heat conditions both indoors and out. Currently, OSHA does not have a specific standard for hazardous heat conditions and this action begins the process to consider a heat-specific workplace rule.
The comment period is used to gather diverse perspectives and expertise on topics such as heat-stress thresholds, heat-acclimatization planning and exposure monitoring, and likely marks the initial step toward a formal standard. Those wishing to submit comments should identify them by Docket No. OSHA-2021-0009 and submit them electronically via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal at www.regulations.gov.
“While heat illness is largely preventable and commonly underreported, thousands of workers are sickened each year by workplace heat exposure, and in some cases, heat exposure can be fatal,” said Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Jim Frederick. “The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings is an important part of our multi-pronged initiative to protect indoor and outdoor workers from hazardous heat.”
“As we continue to see temperatures rise and records broken, our changing climate affects millions of America’s workers who are exposed to tough and potentially dangerous heat,” said U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. “We know a disproportionate number of people of color perform this critical work and they, like all workers, deserve protections. We must act now to address the impacts of extreme heat and to prevent workers from suffering the agony of heat illness or death.”
The notice closely followed OSHA's announcement that it would implement enhanced and expanded efforts to address hazards associated with extreme heat exposure, indoors and outdoors, in concert with the Biden-Harris administration’s interagency effort and commitment to workplace safety, climate resilience, and environmental justice.
A Preventable Risk
Heat illness is largely preventable and commonly under-reported, OSHA notes, with thousands of workers sickened each year by workplace heat exposure. Forty-three workers died from heat illness in 2019, and at least 2,410 others suffered serious injuries and illnesses, though the actual figures may be significantly higher.
"Every year dozens of workers die and thousands more become ill while working in extreme heat or humid conditions," noted Cari Elofson, Assistant Director of the OSHA Training Institute Education Center at Chabot-Las Positas Community College District. "More than 40% of heat-related worker deaths occur on construction jobsites. Most heat-related illnesses and deaths are totally preventable."
3 Essentials Define Effective Heat Illness Prevention Plan
The potential costs of heat illness are also substantial to both workers and employers in the form of lost work hours and productivity. According to “The Cost of Heat Stress and Heat Related Injuries” by Portacool, just a single case of “heat prostration” can have a direct cost of more than $23,000 with indirect costs doubling that amount. It adds that productivity declines roughly 14% during workdays exceeding 86° F.
The Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center estimates the overall economic loss from heat to be at least $100 billion annually – a number that could double by 2030 and quintuple by 2050 under a higher emissions scenario, the Department of Labor points out.
“As we continue to see temperatures rise and records broken, our changing climate affects millions of America’s workers who are exposed to tough and potentially dangerous heat,” said U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. “We know a disproportionate number of people of color perform this critical work and they, like all workers, deserve protections. We must act now to address the impacts of extreme heat and to prevent workers from suffering the agony of heat illness or death.”
To combat the risks, OSHA initiated enhanced measures to better protect workers in hot environments and reduce the dangers of exposure to ambient heat. They include:
- implementing an enforcement initiative on heat-related hazards,
- developing a National Emphasis Program on heat inspections,
- launching a rulemaking process to develop a workplace heat standard,
- and forming a National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Work Group to provide better understanding of challenges and to identify and share best practices to protect workers.
“Throughout the nation, millions of workers face serious hazards from high temperatures both outdoors and indoors. Amid changing climate, the growing frequency and intensity of extreme heat events is increasing the dangers workers face, especially for workers of color who disproportionately work in essential jobs in tough conditions,” said Marty Walsh, U.S. Department of Labor Secretary, in a statement issued today. “As Secretary of Labor, my priority is to make sure we are taking appropriate action to keep workers healthy and safe on the job.”
Intervention and Enforcement
As part of this effort, OSHA implemented a nationwide intervention and enforcement initiative that prioritizes heat-related interventions and inspections of work activities on days when the heat index exceeds 80° F. The initiative applies to indoor and outdoor worksites in general industry, construction, agriculture and maritime where potential heat-related hazards exist.
“While agricultural and construction workers often come to mind first when thinking about workers most exposed to heat hazards, without proper safety actions, sun protection and climate-control, intense heat can be harmful to a wide variety of workers indoors or outdoors and during any season,” said Jim Frederick, Acting Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health.
Western Specialty Contractors
- Regular breaks for water, rest and shade
- Training workers on how to identify common symptoms and what to do when a worker suspects a heat-related illness is occurring
- Taking periodic measurements to determine workers’ heat exposure
In addition, OSHA Area Directors across the U.S. will institute the following:
- Prioritize inspections of heat-related complaints, referrals and employer-reported illnesses and initiate an on-site investigation where possible.
- Instruct compliance safety and health officers, during their travels to jobsites, to conduct an intervention (providing the agency’s heat poster/wallet card, discuss the importance of easy access to cool water, cooling areas and acclimatization) or opening an inspection when they observe employees performing strenuous work in hot conditions.
- Expand the scope of other inspections to address heat-related hazards where worksite conditions or other evidence indicates these hazards may be present.
A National Emphasis Program on heat hazard cases is also being established that will target high-risk industries and focus agency resources and staff time on heat inspections. The program will build on the existing Regional Emphasis Program for Heat Illnesses in OSHA’s Region VI, which covers Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Read the statement by President Biden on Mobilizing the Administration to Address Extreme Heat.
Information provided by the U.S. Department of Labor and edited and enhanced by Becky Schultz.
