The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration reminded Great Lakes-area employers they must protect workers from the dangers of heat illness in hot indoor and outdoor environments.
OSHA also reminded those Midwest employers that “Water. Rest. Shade.” can be the difference between ending the workday safely or suffering serious injuries or worse, according to a June 14 release.
“In the past several years, OSHA’s heat safety campaign has focused intently on raising awareness of the related dangers,” William Donovan, OSHA regional administrator in Chicago, said, according to the release. “Now, our recent national emphasis program is reaching out to unions, employers in target industries and other organizations to protect workers most often exposed to heat illness and injuries.”
Reports published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2011 to 2019 showed 344 worker-related deaths in the United States were due to environmental heat exposure, the release said. The Department of Labor reported safety experts think the actual number of heat-related fatalities may be underreported or misreported as another cause.
The department offers the OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety Tool, which is a free, downloadable app that calculates a worksite’s heat index and displays the associated risk levels, the release said. Precautionary recommendations that match heat index levels can be sent to help protect employees from heat-related illness.
