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Between 50% and 70% of outdoor fatalities occur in the first few days of working in warm or hot environments because the body needs to build a tolerance to the heat gradually over time, a process called heat acclimatization. Here’s what you need to know about heat acclimatization.
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine how to prepare your workers for another hot summer. Are you ready for the above-normal heat predicted for this coming summer? Do you have heat illness prevention and heat illness response programs […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Belle Glade, Florida, farm labor contractor McNeill Labor Management Inc. in the heatstroke death of a migrant sugar cane farmworker, the agency announced April 15. Because there’s no federal standard for heat exposures or heat illness prevention and the agency cites employers under the General Duty Clause […]
A measure signed into law recently by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that prohibits local workplace standards requiring drinking water and cooling measures increases the risk of worker deaths from heat exposure, according to worker safety advocates. “The bill in Florida threatens to strip millions of workers of fundamental heat protection measures, such as access to […]
The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) has published the first national voluntary consensus standard addressing heat stress for workers in construction and demolition operations. “This new industry consensus standard is an important development because there is no federal regulation focused on heat stress,” said ASSP President Jim Thornton, CSP, CIH, FASSP, FAIHA, in a […]
As we near the end of the year, we’re taking a look back at some of our highlights from 2023. For our latest EHSDA Shorts feature, we are sharing some insights from some of our favorite guests this year. Leading By Example On this episode of EHSDA Shorts, we hear from Christina Roll, Casualty Risk […]
As we near the end of the year, we’re taking a look back at some of our highlights from 2023. Here are some of the EHS On Tap episodes that stand out from the past 12 months. E147: Overcoming Generational Differences to Improve Workplace Safety On episode 147 of EHS On Tap, Jill James, Chief […]
The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB), which sets workplace safety and health standards for the state, released revised text of its draft standard for heat illness prevention in indoor spaces. The board updated its draft standard in response to comments made in an earlier draft. Changes to the proposed regulation include: Comments […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is busy on several rulemaking fronts, but it’s devoting considerable resources to heat illness prevention, according to OSHA officials speaking at the NSC Safety Congress and Expo in New Orleans this week. Andrew Levinson, director, OSHA Directorate of Standards and Guidance, said OSHA’s regulatory agenda includes an update […]
It’s September and the kids are back to school, but the summer heat persists. We just went through the hottest summer since records began in 1940, and the current heat wave has forced school closings and early dismissals throughout the Midwest and the Northeast. Given these sweltering conditions, this week’s EHSDA Song of the Week […]