June 5, 2002—The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a reminder that taking simple precautions can prevent many heat-related deaths and injuries from summer temperatures, which increase the risks to workers in such hot environments as construction projects, laundries, foundries, and bakeries.
The combination of heat, humidity, and physical labor can lead to fatalities. In 2000, 21 workers died and 2,554 others experienced heat-related occupational injuries and illnesses serious enough to miss work.
The two most serious forms of heat-related illnesses are heat exhaustion (primarily from dehydration) and heat stroke, which could be fatal. Signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke need immediate attention. Recognizing those signs—dizziness, nausea, weakness, dry, pale skin or hot red skin, seizures, mood changes—can make a difference in preventing a fatality.
OSHA’s Heat Stress Card lists tips and precautions that can prevent many heat-related deaths and injuries. Available in English and Spanish, this laminated fold-up card is free to employers to distribute to their workers. It offers a quick reference about heat-related injuries, including warning signs, symptoms, and early treatment:
How to Protect Workers
- Train all workers to recognize and treat the signs of heat stress. Be sure all workers know who has been trained to provide first aid. Also train supervisors to detect early signs of heat-related illness and permit workers to interrupt their work if they become extremely uncomfortable.
- Consider a worker’s physical condition when determining fitness to work in hot environments. Taking certain medications, lack of conditioning, obesity, pregnancy, and inadequate rest can increase susceptibility to heat stress.
- Help workers adjust to the heat by assigning a lighter workload and longer rest periods for the first 5 to 7 days of intense heat. This process needs to start all over again when a worker returns from vacation or absence from the job.
- Encourage workers to drink water—about 1 cup of cool water every 15 to 20 minutes, even if they are not thirsty, and to avoid alcohol, coffee, tea, and caffeinated soft drinks that dehydrate the body.
- Encourage workers to wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.
- Use general ventilation and spot cooling at points of high heat production.
- Alternate work and rest periods, with rest periods in a cooler area. Shorter, more frequent work-rest cycles are best. Schedule heavy work for cooler times of the day and use appropriate protective clothing.
- Monitor temperatures, humidity, and workers’ responses to heat at least hourly.
OSHA’s Heat Stress Card in English or Spanish is available from OSHA. For copies of the laminated card, available without charge, call OSHA Publications at 202/698-1888 or write to: US Department of Labor/OSHA, OSHA Publications, PO Box 37535, Washington, DC 20013-7535.
