Oregon OSHA plans clearer, safer guidelines for outdoor workers in heat, smoke
Addressing heat illness, possible wildfire smoke exposure
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) --Oregon OSHA is planning to propose safer guidelines for employees who work in extreme heat conditions.
Employers are expected to make sure those who work in extreme heat are doing so under safe conditions, but these new proposed rules will target how to prevent heat illness and wildfire smoke exposure while on the job.
This stems from an executive order by Governor Kate Brown, which charged state agencies with addressing climate change in work environments and finding a way to adapt to it.
"For us, it’s about addressing a potential for heat illness on the job, and for the potential of wildfire smoke exposure, because we are seeing these extreme events in the context to climate change," Oregon OSHA spokesman Aaron Corvin said Tuesday.
Corvin said there are already a number of protocols expected of employers when it comes to keeping their workers safe during very hot readings.
"They need to be providing ample water, shade, extra breaks. They need to be focusing on prevention. That would include gradually getting workers used to working in a hot environment," Corvin said.
Clarissa Bonneru, the marketing coordinator of Central Oregon Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, said her business has always been taking precautions to keep its employees safe during dangerous heat.
"We are trained to ask our customers to see where their units are located, if it's in the attic, we do schedule in the morning," Bonneru said Tuesday.
Bonneru added that if technicians do have to have to work in an attic during high temperatures, more than one worker will be scheduled.
"They will actually have two installers switching back and forth, so they're not stuck in the heat that much," Bonneru said.
A technician working in the record heat Tuesday afternoon said high temperatures in an attic have injured him before.
"The first time I went down, I left my tools up there. And when I went back, the tools had actually got so hot they burned my hand," he said.
OSHA's Corvin wanted to remind that working under hazardous weather conditions is dangerous.
"You have a right to raise concerns to your employer and you have a right to file a complaint with Oregon OSHA if you don't feel like your concerns are being addressed,” Corvin said.
He said Oregon OSHA plans to formally propose the new regulations in September and hopes they will be implemented by next summer.
