OSHA Launches National Emphasis Program to Protect Indoor and Outdoor Workers from Heat Hazards

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced in April that it had launched a National Emphasis Program (NEP) to protect millions of workers from heat illness and injuries. Through the program, OSHA is conducting heat-related workplace inspections before workers suffer completely preventable injuries, illnesses or even worse, fatalities.
 
This is the first time that OSHA has launched a National Emphasis Program to protect workers from heat illness and injuries. The NEP began on April 8, 2022, and will remain in effect for three years unless canceled or extended by a superseding directive. It encourages employers to protect workers from heat hazards by providing employees with access to water, rest, shade, adequate training, and implementing acclimatization procedures for new or returning employees.
 
The NEP targets over 70 high-risk industries based on:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on incidence rates of heat-related illnesses and number of employee days away from work rate;
• Elevated numbers of fatalities or hospitalizations reported by employers to OSHA; and
• Highest number of heat-related general duty clause 5(a)(1) violations and Hazard Alert Letters over a 5-year period (1/1/2017 thru 12/31/2021), or highest number of OSHA heat inspections since 2017.

“All employers are responsible for providing a safe work environment for their workers,” said Franco Seif, President of Clark Seif Clark (CSC). “OSHA reports that heat illness affects thousands of indoor and outdoor workers each year and can tragically lead to death. In fact, the three-year average of workplace deaths caused by heat has doubled since the early 1990s. To assist employers in creating and maintaining a safe work environment, as required by law, CSC offers industrial hygiene consulting, monitoring and training services. CSC’s professionals offer programs to help minimize worker exposures to temperature extremes and many other occupational hazards.”
 
CSC also recently sponsored an educational video about heat stress and the work environment that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/25NUviXBpTc
 
To learn more about this or other industrial hygiene, indoor air quality, environmental, health and safety services, please visit www.csceng.com, email csc@csceng.com or call (800) 807-1118. 
 
About Clark Seif Clark
CSC was established in 1989 to help clients in both public and private sectors address indoor air quality, occupational, environmental, and health and safety (EH&S) issues. CSC is a leading provider of these services with multiple offices along the western seaboard and southwest. The company believes in science-based protocols and has a strong background in engineering, making them the preferred environmental consultants to industrial clients, healthcare facilities, architects, schools, builders, contractors, developers and real estate professionals.

Contact Information

Paul Cochrane

President

Cochrane & Associates, LLC

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