"The long overdue federal heat standard proposal gets many things right but will take years to enact, and enforcement will be key, says climate health expert Juanita Constible."
"The Biden administration finally proposed federal heat protection standards last week, more than half a century after federal experts first outlined the need for such rules.
The Nixon administration proposed detailed recommendations to safeguard workers in hot environments in 1972, a few years after Congress established the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, tasked with research and training on heat illness, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, charged with enforcing standards.
The 1972 NIOSH report warned that high heat can cause accidents on the job and exacerbate the harms of toxic exposure, citing multiple reports, including a 1928 study of coal miners showing higher rates of sickness and death in hotter mines.
“Increased bodily temperature and discomfort increase irritation, anger and other emotional states which may induce workers to commit rash acts or divert attention from hazardous tasks,” the report noted, “setting the stage for accidents.”"
Liza Gross reports for Inside Climate News July 10, 2024.
SEE ALSO:
"Here’s What Seems To Work In Miami To Keep Deaths Down As Temperatures Soar" (AP)
"The U.S. Has A Plan To Protect Workers From Heat. Employers Are Fighting It." (Washington Post)
"How Death Valley National Park Tries To Keep Visitors Alive Amid Record Heat" (Los Angeles Times)
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