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During their first few days in warm or hot environments, employers should encourage workers to: Workers who have not spent time recently in warm or hot environments and/or being physically active will need time to build tolerance (acclimatize or, less frequently used, acclimate) to the heat. An effective heat-related illness prevention program is incorporated in a broader safety and health program and aligns with OSHA's Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs core elements. Heat-related illness is preventable, especially with management commitment to providing the most effective controls. More » How Can Heat-Related Illness Be Prevented? On the other hand, "environmental heat illness," is attributed primarily to ambient conditions, including heat and relative humidity, and is related to heat waves and death in the elderly, urban heat islands, and hot motor vehicles (Bouchama 2002). "Exertional heat illness" results primarily from exertion (metabolic heat generated by muscle activity in the body). You can learn more about these and other heat-related illnesses in Heat-Related Illnesses and First Aid.ĭuring heat waves, workers may experience a combination of two kinds of heat-related illness.
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Cool these workers immediately and call 911! Workers suffering from heat stroke experience mental dysfunction such as unconsciousness, confusion, disorientation, or slurred speech. Heat stroke is the most severe heat-related illness. If heat dissipation does not happen quickly enough, the internal body temperature keeps rising and the worker may experience symptoms that include thirst, irritability, a rash, cramping, heat exhaustion, or heat stroke. Workers cool down more rapidly if the external (environmental) heat and physical activity (metabolic heat) are reduced. Heat dissipation happens naturally through sweating and increased blood flow to the skin. In a warm environment, especially when physically active, the human body relies on its ability to get rid of excess heat (i.e., heat dissipation) to maintain a healthy internal body temperature. This Safety and Health Topics Page will help employers and workers recognize and evaluate these factors to develop effective ways to control heat risk. Manufacturing with hot local heat sources, like furnaces (e.g., paper products or concrete)Įmployers should create plans to protect workers from developing heat-related illnesses.
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Outdoorsīakeries, kitchens, and laundries (sources with indoor heat-generating appliances)Ĭonstruction – especially, road, roofing, and other outdoor workĮlectrical utilities (particularly boiler rooms) The following is a list of some industries where workers have suffered heat-related illnesses. Hazardous heat exposure can occur indoors or outdoors, and can occur during any season if the conditions are right, not only during heat waves. (See also, personal risk factors, below.) Occupational risk factors for heat illness include heavy physical activity, warm or hot environmental conditions, lack of acclimatization, and wearing clothing that holds in body heat. Lack of acclimatization represents a major risk factor for fatal outcomes. The process of building tolerance is called heat acclimatization. Most outdoor fatalities, 50% to 70%, occur in the first few days of working in warm or hot environments because the body needs to build a tolerance to the heat gradually over time. Although illness from exposure to heat is preventable, every year, thousands become sick from occupational heat exposure, and some cases are fatal. workers are exposed to heat in their workplaces.