The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission recently vacated four Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citations of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for letter carriers in Benton, Arkansas; Houston and San Antonio, Texas; and Martinsburg, West Virginia, exposed to excessive heat. The commissioners concluded that OSHA failed to identify economically and technically feasible prevention […]
California employers must provide potable water as close as possible to employees to encourage outdoor workers to consume water frequently, a California review panel decided, establishing a new precedent that clarified the state’s heat illness prevention standard’s requirement for drinking water, the Department of Industrial Relations announced February 27. “This decision provides clarity and should […]
Episode 138 of EHS On Tap looks back at some highlights of the show from 2022.
As the year comes to a close, we’re taking a look back at some of our highlights from 2022. Today, we’re sharing some of our favorite Back to Basics articles from this year. The Fundamentals of ESG The modern workplace is changing because of many different factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Resignation, and […]
The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), along with 37 other organizations, 35 individuals, and the Maryland Heat Illness Prevention Coalition (MHIPC), urged Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) in a letter to withdraw its draft heat stress standard. MOSH published its proposed standard October 7. The proposed state rule “is completely inadequate and will not […]
As heat stress increasingly becomes a focus for the federal government, it’s still incumbent upon businesses to understand how to properly protect their workers from the heat. Speaking at the National Safety Council’s 2022 NSC Safety Congress & Expo in San Diego last month, two experts detailed heat stress prevention strategies, staff education and training, […]
With the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) National Emphasis Program (NEP) on Outdoor and Indoor Related Hazards being effective as of April 8, 2022, employers are advised to take note of the program’s instructions to avoid “largely preventable” heat-related illnesses. “Despite widespread under-reporting, 43 workers died from heat illness in 2019, and at least […]
On episode 124 of EHS On Tap, Dan Glucksman, Senior Policy Director at the International Safety Equipment Association, talks about using PPE to mitigate heat stress.
On August 17, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Region 3 office announced a regional emphasis program (REP) of outreach, inspection, and enforcement for warehouse operations that includes a focus on ergonomic and heat hazards. In response to the ongoing growth of e-commerce, the REP focuses on employers in Delaware, the District of Columbia, […]
Construction work is labor intensive and most often it is done in non-climate-controlled spaces. Studies show that 50% to 70% of most outdoor fatalities occur in the first few days of working in warm or hot environments. With temperatures soaring into the triple digits, construction workers face threats of extreme heat and heat-related illnesses and injuries on […]