21 minute read
Infographic Corner
overnment awareness of, and action on, heat stress is rising fast. As National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator, Dr. Rick Spinrad, said in his opening remarks at the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) National Meeting on April 26 this year: “Extreme heat is the deadliest weather-related event in the United States.”
Spinrad said July 2021 was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth. Climate change projections indicate that summers will continue to get hotter—and thus potentially become more deadly.
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on average each year in the U.S., heat is responsible for: • 67,512 emergency department visits • 9,235 hospitalizations • 702 deaths
Those insights are sobering and serve to frame the stakes for safety professionals. The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) is especially concerned with heat stress in the workplace. Now is the time for employers in the U.S. to develop a heat stress program.
Time to Act
Noting that, “rising temperatures pose an imminent threat to millions of American workers exposed to the elements, to kids in schools without air conditioning, to seniors in nursing homes without cooling resources, and particularly to disadvantaged communities,” President Biden said in a September 2021 statement* that he was, “mobilizing an all-ofgovernment effort,” to protect vulnerable Americans.
The Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) has already begun exploring regulatory action. In October 2021, OSHA issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings in the Federal Register. And in April 2022, OSHA announced its National Emphasis Program to protect millions of workers from heat illness and injuries.
As part of the program, OSHA plans to proactively initiate inspections in both indoor and outdoor work settings of 70+ high-risk industries when the National Weather Service has issued a heat warning or advisory for a local area. On days when the heat index is 80 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, OSHA inspectors and compliance assistance specialists will engage in proactive outreach and technical assistance to help stakeholders keep workers safe on the job.
Four states have also acted on workplace heat stress so far, although each has taken a different approach. • California: Title 8 §3395 of the California Code of Regulations applies to outdoor places of employment in the agriculture, construction, landscaping, oil and gas extraction, and transportation industries.
DID YOU KNOW?
Cal/OSHA updated its comprehensive heat illness prevention special emphasis program document in
April 2022. • Minnesota: Minnesota
OSHA’s heat exposure standard applies to indoor workspaces, focusing primarily on workroom ventilation and temperature. (ISEA notes that this standard’s
Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) reading requirement poses a challenge. It is a difficult measurement to accurately obtain and requires continuous readings in each work zone.) • Oregon: In 2021, Oregon
OSHA held listening sessions and stakeholder meetings to gather information and begin drafting new occupational health standards pertaining to both outdoor heat-related illness and unhealthy levels of wildfire smoke.
Oregon OSHA also adopted a temporary amendment to its
Agricultural Labor Housing and Related Facilities regulation (437-004-1120), requiring agricultural employers to minimize heat in worker housing units and provide heat illness educational information.
(Fact sheet)
•Washington: The
Washington State
Department of Labor and
Industries requires employers to take steps to protect employees working outdoors and in agriculture jobs from heat illness, from May 1 through September each year.
The Division of Occupational
Safety and Health (DOSH) is conducting an ambient heat exposure rulemaking process, gathering information that will apply to both an emergency rule (planned for summer 2022) as well as a permanent rule.
Safety Equipment Industry Responds
In January 2022, ISEA submitted comments in response to OSHA’s request for information on heat stress. We particularly focused on best practices for protecting workers from hazardous heat exposure, including: • Engineering controls (such as air conditioning or increased ventilation) to increase evaporative cooling and keep body temperatures at safe levels in indoor environments. In outdoor settings, providing shade is important to reduce heat and sun exposure. • Administrative controls (such as changes to workloads or work schedules, work rest cycles, water breaks, buddy system, education on heat stress prevention) can help prevent heat illness and reduce heat exposure. • Access to water (for example, providing workers with hydration packs and water stations where workers can refill their own water bottles) is vital so workers can drink as needed. For environmental reasons, ISEA recommends against employers placing pallets of plastic water bottles at worksites.
International Safety Equipment Association's Heat Stress infographic
•Cooling PPE (when worn correctly and usage instructions are followed) can reduce the surface of the skin temperature and maintain core body temperature. (Note best practices for use of cooling
PPE later in this article.)
In addition to submitting comments to OSHA: • ISEA Senior Director for
Policy Daniel Glucksman testified at an OSHA hearing on heat stress. His testimony aimed to educate members of OSHA’s National Advisory
Committee on Safety and
Health about available types of cooling PPE. • ISEA members are helping to educate employers about
OSHA’s National Emphasis
Program on heat stress and about available solutions. • The ISEA board of trustees held a high-level briefing with OSHA Administrator
Douglas L. Parker.
Within ISEA, workplace heat stress has become such an important and timely issue that we recently determined member companies serving that market niche should have their own product group within the Association. (ISEA product groups enable companies making and marketing the same product or products to work together on common interests and concerns.)
The Heat Stress Product Group will be fully operational this summer with members that manufacture equipment and products intended for both indoor and outdoor environments. The group is currently aiming to educate the workforce about the risks of heat stress. Resources and product giveaways are available at
safetyequipment.org/heatstress.
•ISEA member companies that provide cooling PPE include Ergodyne, Magid, and
National Safety Apparel. • Some products are intended for indoor environments, while others are designed for outdoor use.
ISEA is also exploring the possibility of developing a heat stress solutions standard. It would be a specification standard offering performance metrics for heat stress PPE. (For example, a particular PPE item would need to maintain a target temperature for a specific amount of time.)
What Employers Can Do
Much of the focus on workplace heat stress has spotlighted outdoor scenarios, such as construction sites, however, it’s equally important to look at indoor work environments. Here are tips for both scenarios.
Outdoor Work Environments
A heat stress prevention program for outdoor workers includes three key elements: • Heat awareness training. • Making water, rest, and shade available. • Providing heat-mitigation personal protective equipment (PPE).
Water, rest, and shade sound basic, but they take proper planning and management. • The water needs to be located near the work being done and should be cold (or at least cooler than ambient air). • Rest should suit the type of work being done. The more strenuous the work, the more breaks should be taken. • While work in outdoor settings sometimes means exposure to direct sunlight is unavoidable, providing a shade structure to block direct sunlight can reduce temperatures by 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rest breaks in vehicles are not advised unless there is always adequate space for all employees.
Indoor Work Environments
An indoor program needs to include temperature and workload monitoring. When the indoor temperature hits 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.6 Celsius), it’s time to make sure employees are able to take breaks.
Indoor workers should also have access to appropriate PPE. The two main types would be cooling towels that wrap around the neck, and vented apparel. Employers must determine which types of cooling apparel work best for their environment, such as vests with built-in pouches into which frozen gel packs can be inserted, or vests that can be dunked in cold water. The aim of both types: take heat away from the body.
A phase-change product should be worn in high-heat indoor settings with limited air flow (or if an impermeable suit is worn). Evaporative products are not ideal in such work environments. While a phase change vest adds weight and an additional layer, it can also help reduce or maintain the core body temperature, allowing for a safer work environment and increased productivity.
Another consideration for indoor workers: uniforms. If they’re required to wear a uniform, the employer needs to be intentional about the uniform’s fabric and construction. Does it have venting? Lighter and looser fabrics are better at reducing body heat.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Regardless of whether the work is outdoors or indoors, cooling PPE, when worn correctly and when use instructions are followed, can reduce the surface of the skin temperature and aid in maintaining core body temperature. • Cooling PPE should be worn on areas of the body where there are large blood vessels located near the surface of the skin (neck, arms, and core). • Studies indicate cooling
PPE coverage on the body is directly correlated to its effectiveness. (For example, a vest that covers the core is more effective at cooling the body than a towel or bandana on the neck.)
Risks of Inaction
As OSHA explained in announcing its proposed rulemaking, “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 agriculture and construction are at the highest risk, but the problem affects all workers exposed to heat, including indoor workers without adequate climatecontrolled environments.”
The extent and duration of heat will vary from region to region throughout the U.S. and around the globe. But the overall trend is upward. Workplaces, both indoor and outdoor, need to prepare now for what is likely to be a hotter future.
RESOURCES
Federal: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has assembled a robust collection of information resources on heat-related issues.
States: Cal/OSHA offers comprehensive heat illness prevention information for workers and employers, as does Minnesota OSHA, Oregon OSHA, and Washington (Be Heat Smart).
Nicole Randall is Director, Marketing & External Affairs, at the International Safety Equipment Association in Arlington, Virginia.
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Are You Prepared for
Heat Stress Season?
By Melissa Smith, CIH, CHMM, MPH, STS, UCOR Temperature Extremes Subject Matter Expert
Now is the time to ensure adequate preparations are underway for the heat stress season.
Are Job Specific Control and Equipment Available and Ready for Use?
Powered equipment to reduce physical demands Sunhats, sunscreen, head/neck rags Heat shielding Forearm submersion chairs Tents/Shade Hydration stations
Wet Bulb Globe Temperature monitoring Fans/air conditioning Physiological monitoring Cool vests
DID YOU KNOW?
You should use a sunscreen that has a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15.
Entering the warmer part of the year requires an increased focus on heat stress hazards and controls during work. Heat stress is a very real, very serious acute hazard. Consider job specific heat stress control implementation when the ambient temperatures are predicted to reach 80°F or greater.
You want to ensure heat stress training is conducted and received prior to work in heat stress. Are your workers knowledgeable of heat illness symptoms and how to respond? If workers are unsure, who should they ask? In your personal life, how are you adequately preparing for heat stress season? Your acclimation is beneficial in reducing your risk for heat stress. Prepare and be mindful about, ‘eating and drinking right,’ and developing/maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Staying fit is essential to good health.
During seasonal shifts, temperatures fluctuate with warm and cool days which can make heat acclimation a challenge. Heat acclimation is the process by which you become physically adjusted to the hot environment and plays an important role in how well you tolerate heat. Full acclimation requires several consecutive days of work in warm environments, and acclimation can be lost after only a few days of cooler weather or time off. During seasonal shifts, the heat acclimation you gain during warmer days, can be lost during cooler days. When warmer days come more consistently, allow gradual repeated exposure to heat and make note of how temperature fluctuations can impact your acclimation schedule.
The chart below is a sample of the acclimation schedule used at UCOR, which illustrates a 20% increase in duration each day when working in heat at ambient temperatures at or above 80°F during an 8-hour shift.
The body will acclimate to the level of work demanded of it. Simply being in a hot place is not sufficient. Doing light or brief physical work in the heat will acclimate you ONLY to light, brief work. More strenuous or longer tasks require more acclimation and should be added later in the acclimation process.
Most physically fit, hydrated, rested, and properly nourished workers should be able to safely handle a full workload after 5 days of gradual increase. Even though they may not be fully acclimated, they will continue to see beneficial improvements in heat tolerance for up to two weeks after exposure starts.
For more information related to this article, please email melissa.smith@orcc.doe.gov.
HEAT STRESS IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL OPTIONS
By Brian H. Petersen, CIH, CSP
Heat stress is a common workplace hazard especially in areas that experience high temperatures with high humidity levels. Work scope that requires non-breathable PPE can also represent an ongoing heat stress hazard. To ensure the safety of our workers, it is necessary to be able to properly identify heat stress symptoms. It is equally important to know appropriate mitigations for heat-related illnesses and what steps we need to take in advance. By knowing how to recognize heat stress conditions, worker symptoms, and how to properly mitigate the effects, we can keep workers safe from this avoidable hazard.
Heat stress can come from multiple sources. These include the environment, physical exertion, and retention of heat due to PPE. As the core temperature of the body increases, it responds by increasing circulation, which then dissipates the heat load by transferring the heat to the skin. This increase in heat load causes the skin to start sweating which removes the heat by evaporation. Anything that impedes the body’s ability to sweat, or the effectiveness of sweating, will make it more difficult for a person to handle heat load.
There are many environmental and personal factors associated with heatrelated illness. Environmental factors include high ambient temperature, high humidity, radiant heat from either a hot process or the sun, and air movement. Personal factors that can have important impacts include age, weight, fitness level, drug or alcohol use, medical conditions, personal illness or dehydration, and previous occurrence of heatrelated illness. Knowledge of the job scope, work area, a worker’s background and history, are important in accounting for these risk factors.
As heat rises in the body it can produce a myriad of symptoms. These include lack of concentration, irritability, and nausea. Failure to respond to a person experiencing these symptoms can lead to permanent disability and even death. The most common types of heat-related illnesses include heat rash, heat syncope, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.
Heat exhaustion is when the core temperature of the body has reached a point at which it can no longer cool itself adequately. This means that the heart cannot pump quickly enough to dissipate heat in an effective manner. Symptoms include heavy sweating, feeling faint or fatigued, headache, a weak, rapid pulse, muscle cramps, and nausea or vomiting. Summon immediate medical attention if a worker is exhibiting any of these symptoms.
Heat stroke is the most severe form of heat-related illness. This occurs when the body can no longer regulate incoming heat and sweating ceases. If a worker has been sweating profusely and then stops sweating while still performing the same level of metabolic effort, they may be in heat stroke. Other symptoms include high body temperature, flushed skin, which is red and dry, lack of sweating, a strong, fast pulse, throbbing headache, and nausea. Summon immediate medical attention if a worker is exhibiting any of these symptoms.
There are a variety of methods that can be used to anticipate and monitor workers for heat-related illnesses. OSHA advocates the use of the Heat Index. This is a tool that uses ambient temperature and relative humidity to inform a site manager about the potential for heat stress. It is color-coded
to indicate the relative risk from yellow to dark red. When working in the yellow area, hydration and rest breaks are advocated. When environmental conditions become more severe and proceed from yellow, through light and dark orange and into the red level, the anticipated response should increase. This can include things such as providing cooling areas, increasing water and shade breaks, and rotating work crews.
A more comprehensive environmental method for anticipating heat stress is the wet bulb globe thermometer, often referred to as the WBGT. This can be calculated using inputs such as the dry bulb temperature, which is what we are used to reading on a thermometer. It also requires a globe thermometer reading which consists of a thermometer located in the center of a black globe. This is effective in picking up radiant heat sources such as the sun. Finally, it requires a wet bulb thermometer. This is a thermometer that is encased in a cloth filament that wicks water from a reservoir. As the temperature rises it accounts for a person sweating as well as the impact of humidity, as the wick doesn’t evaporate as readily in high humidity situations.
With those elements, a WBGT temperature can be ascertained. If using PPE, a clothing adjustment factor would be applied to the base WBGT value providing an adjusted WBGT value which can then be compared to a work/rest schedule. An example of such a schedule is provided by the ACGIH, a consensus standard, in their TLV/BEI booklet. An example of a work/rest schedule would be 75% work/25% rest. This would mean that in any given hour a work crew would work for 45 minutes and then rest in a cool shaded area for 15 minutes. The WBGT more accurately accounts for local environmental conditions and is a more accurate measure of potential worker exposure to heat. Devices are manufactured and readily available for purchase and use.
A good analogue for core temperature reading is measuring a worker’s heart rate. Multiple technological solutions for this have already been produced via the fitness industry. Such options include wrist watches and chest straps which relay heart rate information over Bluetooth to a smart phone or tablet. With heart rate monitoring information, the heart rate guidance in the ACGIH TLV can be used. The main control limits include a TLV of 180 minus the worker’s age. This is the beat per minute limit which should not be exceeded for several minutes of sustained heart rate.
The other heart rate information that should be monitored is that when a worker enters a rest phase of a job task, their heart rate should be less than 120 bpm. Using real time monitoring can provide personalized information on the state of your work force in areas with heat stress potential. A downside of using this kind of system is that some job-related tasks require greater amounts of physical exertion which can cause a natural increase of the heart rate. Administrative controls must be developed to account for such activities such as exertion windows and rest periods where lower heart rate limits would be monitored and potentially enforced.
Brian H. Petersen has been an Industrial Hygienist at the Idaho Cleanup Project since 2005. He is a Certified Industrial Hygienist as well as a Certified Safety Professional. Brian currently serves as the Industrial Hygiene Technical Lead for Idaho Environmental Coalition, the current contract owner of the Idaho Cleanup Project.
The Importance of Quality Cooling Products
By John Heniff, Safety Writer for Magid
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 4,000 workers are seriously injured or die from heat stress every year. Additionally, the average cost of a heat safety incident is over $53,000, bringing the annual financial toll into the hundreds of millions of dollars. While these statistics are grim, the good news is heat illness is 100% preventable with the right planning and care.
You can protect workers from the heat by taking a few simple and inexpensive heat safety measures, such as: • Offering them cool water and electrolyte-replacing beverages before, during, and
after their shift
•Acclimatizing them to the heat on their jobsite over the course of 7–14 days to improve heat tolerance • Scheduling proper workto-rest ratios based on air temperature and level of workload
But what else can be done to protect workers in hot conditions, especially those who wear heavy PPE that can trap heat
against the body?
For hazards like welding that require heavy protection that’s primarily needed at the front of the worker’s body, manufacturers like Magid® offer jackets and chaps with mesh or open backs to keep workers safe while still allowing airflow. For other applications, new Magid innovations in gloves, sleeves, and clothing provide the lightest material on the market that still offers protection up to ANSI Cut Level A9 to keep workers protected from hazards while keeping them as cool as possible in lightweight PPE.
But keep in mind that, while lighter PPE will help, you also need to do something to actively cool workers in hot conditions. This has been tough in the past, but new technology in cooling PPE helps your workers stay cool while working in the heat for hours.
The Trouble with Typical Cooling Garments
The goal of cooling gear is to prevent the wearer’s temperature from rising to dangerous levels and to help them feel comfortable enough to be productive. Traditional cooling garments don’t stay cool for long. Instead, they tend to become warm and feel like a hot, wet rag that fails to lower the wearer’s core temperature and may even increase it.
Many garments are designed to reactivate for extended use. But using an inferior cooling material means your workers will need to dip the item in cold water throughout their shift to keep it cool. This is not only tiresome and annoying to an overheated worker, but it disrupts their productivity, too.
Other garments are treated with chemicals to help them stay cool for long periods of time. While they work well, they can feel slimy after a while in the heat.
The Latest Cooling Fabric Technology
To build the best solution for industrial workers, Magid has partnered with Mission® to make lightweight and portable cooling PPE that helps keep workers both comfortable and safe on the job. Magid Cool Powered by Mission® activates in roughly a minute, cools to 30° F below the average body temperature and stays cool for up to 2 hours. The material is chemical-free, machine washable, and can be reactivated anytime throughout the day for renewed cooling. This means they can stay cool and still feel refreshing unlike some chemically treated garments.
Activation is easy—simply wet the garment thoroughly with any temperature of water, wring the excess water out, then snap and wave a few times to activate the cooling properties. The material’s outer layers are absorbent to enhance the natural evaporation process while the inner layer is designed with a unique micro-groove construction to retain more water. And since the material can activate with any temperature of water, your workers can save cool water to drink and use lukewarm or even hot water to activate and reactivate the garments. Though it’s useful for any hot jobs, whether outdoors or indoors, this makes Magid Cool especially useful for workers in remote settings away from air-conditioning and refrigerators like in the agriculture, construction, or oil and gas industries.
Available in navy blue as well as eye-catching hi-vis lime yellow, this proprietary cooling technology is available in durable cooling towels as well as skull caps that fit under hard hats, bandanas that can be worn skinny or wide, and neck gaiters/face covers that can be worn 12 different ways if your workers can’t wear loose garments on the job.
Why waste your time or money on something that’s not the latest and greatest cooling technology? The latest technologies are unlike anything you’ve ever seen before and do an incredible job at keeping your crew safe in the heat. Don’t settle for less!
