According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), heat is the leading cause of death among all hazardous weather conditions in the United States. According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), there were approximately 1,602 heat-related deaths in the United States in 2021. This figure rose to 1,722 in 2022, and jumped to 2,302 in 2023.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 43 U.S. fatalities were specifically due to environmental heat in 2022, up from 36 in 2021. The Bureau also estimates 33,890 work-related heat injuries and illnesses involving days away from work from 2011–2020, with an average of 3,389 injuries and illnesses of this severity occurring per year during this period.
Despite these statistics, as of the summer of 2024, only the states of Washington, Minnesota, California, Oregon, and Colorado have specific heat injury and illness prevention standards. However, there is no federal OSHA occupational heat injury and illness prevention standard.
For years, OSHA has regarded development of an indoor and outdoor heat injury and illness prevention standard as a top priority. Finally, this priority has been given substance. In late April of 2024, OSHA’s Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health met to consider rulemaking options for heat injury and illness prevention in outdoor and indoor work. In July of 2024, OSHA announced that it is now issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to set forth a new standard, “Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings.”
What Are the Highlights of the Proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard?
Under the Proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard, which would apply to all employers conducting outdoor and indoor work in all general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture sectors where OSHA has jurisdiction, employers would be required to:
- Develop and implement a worksite heat injury and illness prevention plan (HIIPP) with site-specific information to evaluate and control heat hazards in their workplace
- Identify heat hazards in both outdoor and indoor work sites
- For outdoor work sites, employers would be required to monitor heat conditions by tracking local heat index forecasts or measuring heat index or wet bulb globe temperature
- For indoor work sites, employers would be required to identify work areas with the potential for hazardous heat exposure, develop and implement a monitoring plan, and seek employee input
- Implement control measures at or above the Initial Heat Trigger (i.e., a heat index of 80°F or a wet bulb globe temperature equal to the NIOSH Recommended Action Limit) that include providing employees:
- Cool drinking water
- Break areas with cooling measures
- Indoor work area controls
- Acclimatization protocols for new and returning unacclimatized employees
- Paid rest breaks if needed to prevent overheating
- Regular and effective two-way communication
- Implement additional control measures at or above the High Heat Trigger (i.e., heat index of 90°F or wet bulb globe temperature equal to the NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit) that includes providing employees:
- Mandatory rest breaks of 15 minutes at least every two hours (unpaid meal break may count as a rest break)
- Observation for signs and symptoms of heat-related illness
- A hazard alert to remind employees of key parts of the HIIPP
- Warning signs at indoor work areas with ambient temperatures that regularly exceed 120°F
- Take steps if an employee is experiencing signs and symptoms of a heat-related illness or a heat emergency, and develop a heat emergency response plan
- Provide initial and annual refresher training for supervisors, heat safety coordinators, and employees, as well as supplemental training after changes in exposure to heat hazards, policies and procedures, or the occurrence of a heat injury or illness
- Have and maintain, for a minimum of six months, written or electronic records of indoor monitoring data
- Ensure that all requirements of the Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard are at no cost to employees
What’s the Future of the Proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard?
OSHA encourages the public to participate by submitting comments when the proposed standard is officially published in the Federal Register. OSHA notes that public input will help OSHA develop a final rule that adequately protects workers, is feasible for employers, and is based on the best available evidence.
