Summer Heat Wave Safety 101: What to Know Before Working in Scorching Conditions
As the beginning of summer approaches, the Northeast is experiencing its first heat wave. We expect high temperatures to disclose beyond the 1990s and reach the years 100. As people around the world adapt to the sweltering heat wave of this summer and take measures to protect their health, or avoid the heat, people whose work keeps them outside (or inside in an overheated room) can be more at risk of thermal disease.
In the United States, heat is the largest killer with regard to environmental effects on health. The health, mobility, mobility or age of a person can influence the way they react to heat, but people working in construction, agriculture or other jobs outside have always had a higher risk of heat disease – the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 436 people have died of heat exposure to work since 2011.
But the demand for food, construction and more does not stop when the extreme heat is triggered. If your work exerts you at a higher risk of heat disease, outside or inside, here is what you need to know and advice on staying healthy.
How hot it is to work?
There is no exact number or federal standard for heat that it must be “too hot” to operate, although more specific federals to work in the heat have been in progress for a few years.
After the announcement of the summer of 2023 by the Biden administration, the administration of occupational safety and health can “the intensity of its application” of thermal safety in industries such as construction and agriculture. In the past, the OSHA has cited employers “under the general clause of duties for the violations of thermal stress”, according to the law firm Venable.
But states and cities can also establish their own workers’ safety rules: consult the work plans for workers approved by the OSHA. As the Wall Street Journal reports, states such as California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Minnesota have rules forcing companies to provide things like regular breaks and free water access. Texas, according to WSJ, has a rule that will take effect in September which will prohibit cities like Austin and Dallas from imposing their own heat regulations within companies.
In general, the heat is harmful to the human body or when heat becomes a danger to work, depends on a combination of factors in addition to the real number of Fahrenheit degrees, the temperature strikes, according to the safety and administration of health at work. It is these combinations of factors that contribute to heat and risk of disease or heat stress, that OSHA requires workplaces to be considered when managing workers’ safety.
These factors can be summed up in the sources of heat -related diseases in the workplace: environmental heat (like temperature, humidity or if there is an air flow or a wind) and Metabolic heat (become hot because of your workload or the physical work you do).
This means that the duration, it is sure that you are at work by extremely hot days – or if it is safe – will depend on things like what you do physically, the clothes or the equipment that you need to wear to do your job and if you have access to shadow breaks and frequent water. Above all, it also depends on whether you have been “acclimatized” to heatthat the United States Centers for the control and prevention of diseases describe as gradually increasing a tolerance at work in heat over a period of a few weeks. According to the OSHA, most outdoor deaths occur during the first days of someone who works in hot weather because his body needs time to strengthen tolerance.
As part of its explanation of “too hot” heat, the OSHA recommends that the workplaces take into account the level of thermal stress according to the temperature markers of the humid globe, which takes into account things such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and sunlight. The heat index, which is what we generally see by looking at the heat opinions, is actually a reading based in the shade, according to the National Weather Service.
Signs of heat disease and when to get out of heat
Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are what we think about heat disease. The exhaustion of heat usually comes before heat, but not always. Certain symptoms of thermal exhaustion, according to the CDC, include: Heavy perspiration, nausea, cold and moist skin, muscle cramps, fatigue or weakness and a quick impulse. If you live these signs of heat exhaustion at work, it is important that you work and cool as soon as possible. Access the shade or inside, drink water and loosen your clothes, depending on the CDC.
Heatstroke is a medical emergency and can lead to death if someone does not get help. While certain symptoms of heat stroke overlap with the exhaustion of heat, such as headaches and nausea, The heat stroke will overheat a person’s body (103 degrees of temperature or more) and can make them lose consciousness or start acting confused. If you or someone you work with, you can have a heat stroke, call 9-1-1.
While you wait for the arrival of medical services, bring the overheated person to shade it and cool them by all means: put cold towels on their skin, pour cold water on them and loosen or remove parts of their clothes. The CDC did not recommend that you give someone with a heat stroke anything to drink, because it can be unconscious or unable to swallow, which makes it a risk of suffocation. If they are aware and reactive, however, the Mayo clinic recommends giving them small sips of water while waiting for the emergency services to get there.
Advice to stay safe when you work in hot weather
Even if your workplace does not require breaks or automatically provides a framework to reduce the risk of heat disease, there are things you can do to reduce your risk.
Wear the right clothes: Try to wear less breathable clothing or clothing, loose and light -colored adjustments (lighter colors absorb less sun). Read everything about clothing that can help you keep cool.
Stay hydrated: You should drink water frequently throughout the day, preferably before ensuring, according to an information sheet on heat disease for OSHA employers and the National Institute of Public Security and Health. Some reusable bottles of water can help keep water for cooling longer, if your work does not have a water station nearby with cold water.
A good way to check that you drink enough is to monitor the color of your urine: it must be light or almost clear when you are adequately hydrated, depending on the information sheet. If you want to get additional hydration by food during your lunch break or your snacks (eating can help you avoid things like dizziness also), also consider eating these moisturizers.
Check your medication and know your individual health risks: The elderly and people with underlying health problems, including heart disease and diabetes, can be more sensitive to heat disease. The drugs that people take to manage health problems can also make someone more difficult for someone to regulate the temperature, so check with your doctor or pharmacist if you take daily drugs but also work in heat.
Consider your individual workload risk: The more physical activity at work, the higher your body, the higher your risk of heat disease. The same goes for clothing (more clothes is equivalent to higher body heat and higher risk) air flow (less air flow means a higher risk), and the list continues.
