Weather forecasts for this summer predict above-average heat for our part of the country. See, “July-September Outlook: Coolest Summer Since 2017, But Central US Likely To Be Hotter Than Average,” published by The Weather Channel on June 21, 2023. Outdoor workers in Indiana and Illinois, particularly those involved in our local construction and agri-business industries, need to be particularly vigilant in protecting against heat-related injuries on the job. Heat can kill.
Of course, heat exposure is a risk facing workers year-round in many of our worksites. Indoor exposure to excessive heat is also a tremendous danger for those who work inside a facility.
These are categorized among safety agencies and those advocating for worker-victims and their loved ones as “non-weather dependent hot work environments.”
What is a non-weather dependent hot work environment? According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), this is a workplace where “… the heat generated and/or contained within the environment, due to the task being performed, or both. These include places where heat-generating equipment is used, such as bakeries, foundries, etc., or workers are wearing heavy, protective clothing that holds in heat, such as that worn by welders, hazmat crews, firefighters, and others.”
They are defined by the work that is being done (“the nature of the job itself”). Employers have a tremendously important responsibility to monitor their workers who are on task in any non-weather dependent hot work environment.
Why? Explains OSHA:
Take for example, a worker making repairs on a very large, hot, metal tank. The radiant heat from the tank itself may literally pull moisture away from the worker’s body. Because the worker’s clothes do not show significant signs of sweating, to others, the worker may not appear to be hot, when in fact his body temperature may have risen to a dangerous level. Dehydration in this type of situation can also rapidly occur.
Industries Where Workers Can Be Injured or Die from Indoor Exposure to High Heat
Here in Illinois and Indiana, there are a number of industries where workers are employed in these types of non-weather dependent hot work environments.
Workers may be inside a building or facility, away from the outside heat and summer sun, and still at risk of catastrophic or deadly heat injury.
These industries include:
- Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing
- Sawmills and Wood Preservation
- Basic Chemical Manufacturing
- Glass and Glass Product Manufacturing
- Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing
- Nonferrous Metal (except Aluminum) Production and Processing
- Foundries
- Architectural and Structural Metals Manufacturing
- Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
- Motor Vehicle Manufacturing
- Motor Vehicle Body and Trailer Manufacturing
- Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing
- Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing
- Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing
- Ship and Boat Building
- Other Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
- Household and Institutional Furniture and Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturing
- Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers
- Paper and Paper Product Merchant Wholesalers
- Drugs and Druggists’ Sundries Merchant Wholesalers
- Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers
- Grocery and Related Product Merchant Wholesalers
- Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers
- Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers
- Petroleum and Petroleum Products Merchant Wholesalers
- Beer, Wine, and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers
- Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods Merchant Wholesalers
- Warehousing and Storage
- Automotive Repair and Maintenance
- Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment (except Automotive and Electronic) Repair and Maintenance.
How Workers Are Injured from Heat Exposure
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 702 workers die and another 67, 512 need emergency medical treatment because of heat injuries resulting from what the industry terms “environmental heat exposure” on the job.
Employers have a duty to recognize that workers are human beings who must be protected from extreme temperatures, regardless of the source and across all industries.
Employers, not employees, control the workplace conditions. Workers must be protected from high heat.
This is because the human body is designed to regulate itself with a safe internal body temperature. If things get too hot, people will start to sweat. Blood will flow faster, making the skin flushed. This is called the body’s “dissipation” of the heat. However, if the body cannot battle the exterior temperatures quickly, then the internal body temperature will rise. If the worker is not helped here, severe or deadly bodily injury can result.
This can be a direct injury from the heat exposure itself, including heat-related injuries like heat stroke. It can also be an indirect injury, where the worker’s abilities to think or move are compromised.
Work accidents can happen when an overheated worker is confused, dizzy, light-heated, having slowed reactions, etc.
Employers, including supervisors on the floor, as well as others with custody or control of the site, need to understand how heat harms humans and how to recognize when someone is being injured from the heat.
Symptoms of worker injuries from heat include:
- Anxiety
- Breathing is short or rapid
- Cold, clammy skin
- Cool, moist skin, which may have goose bumps
- Confusion
- Convulsions
- Cramps in the hands, calves, feet, or stomach
- Delirium
- Dizziness
- Fainting
- Fatigue
- Heart Rate is rapid
- Headache
- Heavy sweating
- Irritability
- Light headedness
- Muscle aches or cramps
- Nausea
- Shallow breathing
- Skin is Hot, dry
- Skin is flushed or reddened
- Slowed or weakened heartbeat
- Temperature is 104F or higher
- Thirst
- Vomiting
- Weakness.
For more, read Supervisors, Safety, and Work Accidents on the Job in Illinois and Indiana.
General Duty Clause Protection for Workers on the Job in Indoor High Heat Environments
There is a federal law that protects workers from harm on the job by creating a legal duty for employers to keep their people safe. This is found in the “general duty clause” of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. § 654(a)(1)). For more, read What is the Employer’s General Duty Clause?
In 2021, OSHA published its intention to create a specific regulation for high heat work environments.
On October 26, 2021, OSHA announced its Proposed Rulemaking to initiate a “Heat Injury and Illness in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings” standard with specific criteria. This new heat safety law is still in process and is not effective in 2023. The comment period closed in January 2022.
Accordingly, until this new regulation takes effect, workers in Illinois and Indiana must look to the general duty clause as their protection against heat-related injuries on the job.
For more on the state OSHA plans of Illinois and Indiana, read Workplace Safety and OSHA Regulations in Indiana and Illinois.
Workers Alert: OSHA Tells Employers How to Meet Duty of Care Against Heat Injury
There is no mystery in how workers are to be protected from heat injuries on the job in work environments like factories, foundries, commercial bakeries, or manufacturing plants. Research and safety studies into heat protection has been done for decades.
Companies need only to look for the direction given by OSHA on how to meet the duty of care regarding indoor high heat environments, which includes:
- Understand symptoms of heat injury
- Identify heat hazards on the jobsite
- Control high temperature hazards to minimize risk
- Monitor interior temperatures over site
- Monitor interior temperatures in designated high heat areas
- Establish work breaks allowing escape from high heat
- Monitor work exertion levels of all workers
- Make sure all workers have easy access to cool water
- Make sure workers are drinking water
- Make sure workers are taking rest breaks
- Have equipment in good repair to help workers who are injured (first aid, etc.)
- Know procedures for getting medical treatment for workers as fast as possible (who to call, etc.)
- Provide emergency medical care for heat-injury
- Have a safety plan in place for the entire site that protects against heat injuries
- Provide proper and reliable Personal Protective Equipment for workers against heat harm
- Train all workers in the signs of a co-worker being harmed by heat.
Work Injuries or Accidents Caused by Indoor Heat Exposure on the Job
For workers in Illinois or Indiana who suffer from an on-the-job accident related to heat exposure or for victims of on-the-job injuries suffered from high heat, there are avenues for justice under state laws as well as federal regulations. Claims can be made on behalf of the worker-victim and their loved ones for damages that can include disability under workers’ compensation laws as well as wrongful death claims.
The investigation of some cases may reveal civil claims based upon negligence, product liability, defective products, premises liability, and more which can involve one or more third parties, as well. Work accident investigations on behalf of any worker-victim should include an assessment of how indoor high heat environments may have contributed to the incident.
For more, read:
- Premises Liability and Workplace Accidents: Third Party Injury Claims
- Workers Beware: BLS Reports Highest US Worker Death Rate in 5 Years
- Extreme Heat on the Job: Danger of Severe Worker Injuries or Death.
High heat is a hazard faced by many workers year-round, not just in the summer months. Indoor heat exposure is a serious danger in many different jobsites. Employers have a duty to protect these workers against injury or death from the high heat. Please be careful out there!
