Letters to Representatives on Extreme Heat and Protecting Workers from Heat Exposure

The Honorable Judy Chu
U.S. House of Representatives
2423 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

September 9, 2019

Dear Representative Chu,

This letter thanks you for your leadership in partnership with Representative Grijalva and House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott on the problem or heat exposure of workers on the job. Climate change is causing an increase in the number of days of extreme heat and putting many U.S. lives at risk. The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health (Consortium) – comprised of 25 American medical societies representing over 600,000 physicians and 33 Affiliate organizations representing millions of public health professionals—informs the public and policymakers about the health harms of climate change and the health benefits of climate solutions. We know that dangerous heat days are increasing around the country and will continue to increase. Members of Congress who take action to protect workers will contribute to saving lives. A new standard issued by the Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that addresses the prevention of heat-related illness related to excessive heat in the workplace for both outdoor and indoor workers could be life saving for many working people.

Heat is the leading weather-related killer, and it is becoming more dangerous; 18 of the last 19 years were the hottest on record. The National Ocean Atmospheric Administration announced recently that globally June 2019 was the hottest June in 140 years of record keeping. Excessive heat can cause heat stroke and even death if not treated properly. It also exacerbates existing health problems like asthma, kidney failure, and heart disease. Workers in agricultural and construction settings are at highest risk, but the problem affects all workers exposed to heat, including indoor workers without climate-controlled environments. This threat is projected to intensify.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) issued criteria for a heat standard in 1972, updating it in 1986 and 2016. Last summer, more than 130 organizations and former OSHA administrators petitioned OSHA for a heat stress standard that builds upon the NIOSH criteria.

OSHA has yet to issue a formal response to the petition.  Currently, the U.S. still does not have a federal heat stress standard for workers.  Meanwhile, California, Washington, Minnesota and the U.S. military have issued heat protections.  Absent a federal standard, OSHA currently polices heat-related injuries and deaths only by enforcing its “catch all” general duty clause that requires employers to provide safe workplaces.  Enforcement is scarce and, by definition, reactive rather than preventive. Notably, from 2013 through 2017, California used its heat standard to conduct 50 times more inspections than OSHA, resulting in more heat-related violations than OSHA conducted nationwide in the same time period under the general duty clause.

Protecting workers from heat also has economic benefits. In high heat, people work less effectively due to diminished ability for physical exertion and for completing mental tasks.  This reduces productivity, increases the risk of accidents, and drives up medical expenses for employers.  The costs of lower labor productivity under rising temperatures is estimated to reach up to $160 billion in lost wages per year in the U.S. by 2090 according to the 2018 National Climate Assessment. These impacts can be mitigated by heat protections.

For instance, in 2011 a central Texas municipality implemented a heat illness prevention program for outdoor municipal workers that resulted in a significant decrease in heat-related illnesses.  In fact, no heat-related illnesses were reported in 2016 and 2017.(1) The outcome data from this heat illness prevention program also showed a decrease in worker’s compensation costs by 50% per heat-related illness.

The Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act is named after a farmworker who died of a heat stroke in 2004, after picking grapes for 10 hours straight in 105-degree temperatures. Unfortunately, Mr. Valdivia’s story is not unique, and yet heat-related fatalities, injuries and illnesses are completely preventable. The bill you have introduced directs OSHA to develop a heat stress standard for indoor and outdoor workers to prevent further heat-related tragedies. Specifically, it requires employers to develop a heat-illness prevention plan that includes the following common-sense requirements:

  • Develop and implement a heat stress standard with meaningful participation of covered employees, and their representatives when applicable, and tailor it to the specific hazards of the workplace;
  • Ensure it is written in a language understood by the majority of the employees;
  • Require that workers who are exposed to high heat have paid breaks in cool environments, access to water for hydration, and include limitations on how long workers can be in extreme heat areas;
  • Create emergency response procedures for employees suffering from heat illness;
  • Provide training for employers and employees on heat stress illness and prevention;
  • Include acclimatization plans to ensure workers can adjust to their working conditions;
  • Ensure engineering and administrative controls are used to limit heat exposure, i.e. ventilation and/or protective clothing;
  • Require employers to maintain records on heat-related illnesses and deaths, and other heat data;
  • Prohibit retaliation against a covered employee for reporting violations of this standard or exercising any other rights under this bill.

As a 501C3 group based at a public university, the Consortium doesn’t endorse legislation.  However, we look forward to informing others about heat dangers to working people and measures that can be taken to protect workers from extreme heat and the climate crisis, and about this effort to create an OSHA standard.

Sincerely,

Mona Sarfaty, MD MPH FAAFP
Executive Director
Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
www.medsocietiesforclimatehealth.org

(1) McCarthy RB, Shofer FS, Green-McKenzie J. Outcomes of a Heat Stress Awareness Program on Heat-Related Illness in Municipal Outdoor Workers. J Occup Environ Med. 2019 Sep;61(9):724-728.

The Honorable Raul Grijalva
U.S. House of Representatives
1511 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

September 9, 2019

Dear Representative Grijalva,

This letter thanks you for your leadership in partnership with Representative Chu and House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott on the problem or heat exposure of workers on the job.  Climate change is causing an increase in the number of days of extreme heat and putting many U.S. lives at risk.  The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health (Consortium) – comprised of 25 American medical societies representing over 600,000 physicians and 33 Affiliate organizations representing millions of public health professionals—informs the public and policymakers about the health harms of climate change and the health benefits of climate solutions.  We know that dangerous heat days are increasing around the country and will continue to increase.  Members of Congress who take action to protect workers will contribute to saving lives.  A new standard issued by the Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that addresses the prevention of heat-related illness related to excessive heat in the workplace for both outdoor and indoor workers could be life saving for many working people.

Heat is the leading weather-related killer, and it is becoming more dangerous; 18 of the last 19 years were the hottest on record. The National Ocean Atmospheric Administration announced recently that globally June 2019 was the hottest June in 140 years of record keeping. Excessive heat can cause heat stroke and even death if not treated properly. It also exacerbates existing health problems like asthma, kidney failure, and heart disease. Workers in agricultural and construction settings are at highest risk, but the problem affects all workers exposed to heat, including indoor workers without climate-controlled environments. This threat is projected to intensify.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) issued criteria for a heat standard in 1972, updating it in 1986 and 2016. Last summer, more than 130 organizations and former OSHA administrators petitioned OSHA for a heat stress standard that builds upon the NIOSH criteria.

OSHA has yet to issue a formal response to the petition.  Currently, the U.S. still does not have a federal heat stress standard for workers.  Meanwhile, California, Washington, Minnesota and the U.S. military have issued heat protections.  Absent a federal standard, OSHA currently polices heat-related injuries and deaths only by enforcing its “catch all” general duty clause that requires employers to provide safe workplaces.  Enforcement is scarce and, by definition, reactive rather than preventive. Notably, from 2013 through 2017, California used its heat standard to conduct 50 times more inspections than OSHA, resulting in more heat-related violations than OSHA conducted nationwide in the same time period under the general duty clause.

Protecting workers from heat also has economic benefits. In high heat, people work less effectively due to diminished ability for physical exertion and for completing mental tasks.  This reduces productivity, increases the risk of accidents, and drives up medical expenses for employers.  The costs of lower labor productivity under rising temperatures is estimated to reach up to $160 billion in lost wages per year in the U.S. by 2090 according to the 2018 National Climate Assessment. These impacts can be mitigated by heat protections.

For instance, in 2011 a central Texas municipality implemented a heat illness prevention program for outdoor municipal workers that resulted in a significant decrease in heat-related illnesses.  In fact, no heat-related illnesses were reported in 2016 and 2017.(1) The outcome data from this heat illness prevention program also showed a decrease in worker’s compensation costs by 50% per heat-related illness.

The Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act is named after a farmworker who died of a heat stroke in 2004, after picking grapes for 10 hours straight in 105-degree temperatures. Unfortunately, Mr. Valdivia’s story is not unique, and yet heat-related fatalities, injuries and illnesses are completely preventable. The bill you have introduced directs OSHA to develop a heat stress standard for indoor and outdoor workers to prevent further heat-related tragedies. Specifically, it requires employers to develop a heat-illness prevention plan that includes the following common-sense requirements:

  • Develop and implement a heat stress standard with meaningful participation of covered employees, and their representatives when applicable, and tailor it to the specific hazards of the workplace;
  • Ensure it is written in a language understood by the majority of the employees;
  • Require that workers who are exposed to high heat have paid breaks in cool environments, access to water for hydration, and include limitations on how long workers can be in extreme heat areas;
  • Create emergency response procedures for employees suffering from heat illness;
  • Provide training for employers and employees on heat stress illness and prevention;
  • Include acclimatization plans to ensure workers can adjust to their working conditions;
  • Ensure engineering and administrative controls are used to limit heat exposure, i.e. ventilation and/or protective clothing;
  • Require employers to maintain records on heat-related illnesses and deaths, and other heat data;
  • Prohibit retaliation against a covered employee for reporting violations of this standard or exercising any other rights under this bill.

As a 501C3 group based at a public university, the Consortium doesn’t endorse legislation.  However, we look forward to informing others about heat dangers to working people and measures that can be taken to protect workers from extreme heat and the climate crisis, and about this effort to create an OSHA standard.

Sincerely,

Mona Sarfaty, MD MPH FAAFP
Executive Director
Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
www.medsocietiesforclimatehealth.org

(1) McCarthy RB, Shofer FS, Green-McKenzie J. Outcomes of a Heat Stress Awareness Program on Heat-Related Illness in Municipal Outdoor Workers. J Occup Environ Med. 2019 Sep;61(9):724-728.