Blog Post
Construction Worker Heat Illness Injury Prevention: Know Your Rights
July 29, 2020
Construction work can be a dangerous job. You are familiar with the risks and endeavor to perform your job safely. Your employer must do their part and make each job site as safe as possible. Some significant construction dangers are the summer heat, humidity, and sun exposure. Know the risks and your rights to a safe summer work environment.
Summer Heat and Sun Exposure Risks
If you are a construction worker, you know summer can be the most brutal time to do your job. You know summer can be uncomfortable. Summer can also be dangerous.
Each year, heat sickens thousands of workers, and heat-related factors even tragically claim lives. Extreme temperatures cause fatigue and discomfort. Prolonged heat and sun exposure put you at risk for escalating symptoms which can include dehydration, heat stress, and even heat stroke. Extreme sluggishness, headache, and even loss of consciousness can occur.
Not only does the heat pose health risks, but also it can cause you to make dangerous errors. Heat fatigue causes your reaction time to decrease and makes trips and falls more common. You may have a difficult time wearing the necessary Personal Protection Equipment, (PPE) such as hard hats, gloves, and goggles. Injury due to the removal of PPE is more common in the heat.
The federal government is aware of these risks and has taken steps to hold employers accountable. At the fourth annual
Heat Illness Prevention Campaign kick-off, Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez emphasized, "heat-related illnesses can be fatal, and employers are responsible for keeping workers safe."
OSHA Heat Illness Prevention Campaign
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) helps ensure safe work environments. You should be familiar with the mandated OSHA posters at your workplace. OSHA is your advocate for safe and comfortable work.
In 2011, OSHA released guidelines for summer work through the Heat Illness Prevention Campaign. This campaign stressed three crucial components for safe summer work: water, shade, and rest. These concepts seem basic, but consider each in detail to determine if your employer is in full compliance.
Water
You know that staying hydrated is important, but you might ignore your thirst when you focus on getting the job done. Sustained physical labor in the heat makes you perspire more and puts you at greater risk for dehydration. Dehydration signs like dry mouth, lack of perspiration, headache, and fatigue can make you more injury-prone.
Your employer must provide you with water and adequate breaks for water. You should also be trained to notice signs of dehydration and heat stress.
Shade
Sun exposure causes the heat index to rise, which increases your risk for dehydration and for sunburns and skin damage. Your job site needs to take these risks into account. Workers should rotate for adequate rest periods in the shade. When natural shade is not available, employers must supply canopies and umbrellas for shelter.
Employers should also move shifts to cooler parts of the day, and mandate break periods of rest in the shade.
Rest
In combination with water and shade, rest is important. The physical demands of outdoor labor can be too much to handle, especially at the beginning of a heat spell. OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels, claimed that "lack of acclimatization was the cause in 74 percent of heat-related citations issued." Your employer needs to ease into outdoor work and allow adequate rest and the chance to adjust to the heat.
Employers must also recognize the various health concerns of employees, who may have varying degrees of heat sensitivity. No matter your health status, you have a right to be safe and protected from heat strain.
OSHA launched a free application for mobile devices that allows you to monitor the heat index at your work site. The app shows your risk level based on the heat index and gives reminders about ways to protect you from this risk.
Take control of your right to a safe and comfortable summer job site. Evaluate your workplace. Download the app. If you feel your workplace does not meet the standards for summer safety and heat illness prevention, and if you feel you've suffered an injury on this account, contact
Wegner & Associates for a free consultation.
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