COMPLETE HEALTH, ENVIRONMENTAL AND SAFETY SERVICES (C.H.E.S.S.)
It’s Getting Hot By Janet L. Keyes, CIH and Carol A. Keyes, CSP
Buffalo, New York is no more Didn’t he know better? Why did tropical than St. Paul, Minnesota. It he allow himself to get into such a isn’t a place where you think people bad state? will die from heat. But a 35-year-old That’s the scary part of heat man died from heat exposure just stress and heat stroke – people don’t two years ago. He had just started realize how dangerous a situation it a job as a laborer, working for a is. Victims don’t know that they might subcontractor installing guardrails be close to death. This man worked on a state bridge. Because he was quietly alone, with no one paying new at the job, his foreman gave attention to him – until he collapsed. him an easy job – sorting bolts and OSHA fined the company a paltry nuts into five-gallon buckets, then sum, $7,557. More critically, the delivering them to the folks installing company began taking heat seriously. the guardrails. But it was hot, with They trained their employees temperatures reaching 95F, relative and developed an acclimatization humidity of 31 percent, little wind and program. sunny. And he was1a6/18/20 diligent worker, Your employees don’t work AASP0720_CHESS.qxp_Layout 1:13 PM Page 1 not taking breaks and not taking the outside. But are they in cars that time to get the water he left in his have been sitting outside? Cars car, at the other side of the bridge. act like greenhouses. According to
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the National Weather Service, the temperature inside a car can go up by 40F in only 60 minutes, with most of that rise in the first 30 minutes. If it’s 90F outside, it could be over 130F in the car! Employees may not be in the vehicle for long, but doing that repeatedly can take its toll. Is your shop air-conditioned? The offices probably are. Ironic, as people sitting at desks or standing at counters are less at risk of heat stress than a painter wearing a spray suit or a mechanic struggling to loosen a recalcitrant nut. They may not have the sun beating down on them, but they can still be exposed to too much heat. Outside of the torrid weather, three factors led to the Buffalo
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CHESS, INC
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10 | July 2022
AASP-MN News
ANSWER: That's not Peach Tea Snapple in that bottle. What it really is is a mystery.
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