LAW OFFERS PROTECTIONS AGAINST HEAT STROKE
Preventing heatstroke was always a good idea. Now it is the law in California.
Heatstroke is a summertime threat to many Local 1245 members who work outdoors, including Local 1245 line clearance tree trimmers. State law now requires employers to train their employees on how to minimize the risk of heatstroke, and how to respond if an employee shows signs of heatstroke.
Perhaps the most important protection concerns water. The Heat Illness Prevention regulation (Title 8, Section 3395) states that, “Water shall be provided in sufficient quantity at the beginning of the work shift to provide one quart per employee per hour for drinking for the entire shift.” Employers are permitted to begin the shift with smaller quantities if they are able to replenish supplies as needed to allow employees to drink one quarter per hour. The frequent drinking of water “shall be encouraged,” the regulation states.
Training for employees is supposed to include:
• Environmental and personal risk factors for heat illness.
• The employer’s procedures for identifying, evaluating, and controlling exposures to the environmental and personal risk factors for heat illness.
• The importance of frequent consumption of small quantities of water, up to 4 cups per hour under extreme conditions of work and heat.
• The importance of acclimatization, that is, giving the body time to adapt to working in the heat.
• The different types of heat illness and the common signs and symptoms of heat illness.
• The importance of immediately reporting to the employer, directly or through the employee’s supervisor, symptoms or signs of heat illness in themselves, or in co-workers.
• The employer’s procedures for responding to symptoms of possible heat illness, including how emergency medical services will be provided should they become necessary.
• Procedures for contacting emergency medical services, and if necessary, for transporting employees to a point where they can be reached by an emergency medical service provider.
• How to provide clear and precise directions to the work site.
What makes heatstroke so dangerous is that the body’s normal mechanisms for dealing with heat stress, such as sweating and temperature control, are lost, according to MayoClinic.com. The main sign of heatstroke is a markedly elevated body temperature—generally greater than 104 F—with changes in mental status ranging from personality changes to confusion and coma. Skin may be hot and dry, although in heatstroke caused by exertion, the skin is usually moist.
Other signs and symptoms may include:
• Rapid heartbeat
• Rapid and shallow breathing
• Elevated or lowered blood pressure
• Cessation of sweating
• Irritability, confusion or unconsciousness
Protect yourself against heatstroke. By law, that is your right.