The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention has issued a report on OSHA's review of 20 heat-related enforcement
cases from 2012 to 2013. OSHA's analysis, described in the CDC's Aug. 8 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report, suggests that the primary risk factor for heat fatalities is the
lack of acclimatization programs.
Acclimatization is a critical part of
preventing heat illnesses and fatalities that enables workers to gradually
increase workloads and exposure to heat by taking frequent breaks for water,
rest and shade. Of the 13 enforcement cases that involved worker fatalities,
nine of the deaths occurred in the first three days of working on the job, and
four on the worker's first day. In all 20 cases, heat illness prevention
programs were found to be incomplete or absent, and no provision was made for
acclimatizing new workers to the heat. For more information on the findings of
OSHA's review, see the
news release.
For free resources and educational
materials about the dangers of working in the heat, visit OSHA's Heat Campaign Web page.
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