266884 Cal/OSHA—successes and challenges of outreach, education and enforcement of heat illness prevention

Wednesday, October 31, 2012 : 12:48 PM - 1:06 PM

Amalia Neidhardt, MPH, CIH , Department of Industrial Relations, Cal/OSHA, State of California, Sacramento, CA
     
The Cal/OSHA Heat Illness Study was initiated in 2005 at the request of the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to support the development of a heat illness prevention standard for the state. The study gathered data from the Cal/OSHA enforcement investigations of medically confirmed heat related illnesses. This presentation will describe findings from that study and the role the study played in supporting subsequent standard development and enforcement efforts. I will discuss the common risk factors identified in the medically confirmed heat related incidents investigated by Cal/OSHA. Although cases were observed in a variety of industries, agriculture and construction showed the highest number of heat-related incidents. Lack of acclimatization was found to be an important risk factor; in fact data from 2006 showed that 80% of the cases occurred during periods of heat associated with heat waves. Other risk factors, such as dehydration (which was present in a large percentage of heat illness cases) and lack of training will be described and compared against the most commonly cited violations. To conclude, I will discuss Cal/OSHA's successes and challenges in raising awareness about heat illness prevention standard, particularly among non-English speaking supervisors and workers.

Learning Areas:
Occupational health and safety

Learning Objectives:
Identify effective measures utilized to educate low wage non-English speaking workers about heat illness prevention Explain the need for a regulation to prevent heat illness among workers laboring in industries like agriculture and construction

Keywords: Outreach Programs, Latino

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a Research and Standards member for DOSH (the parent agency of Cal/OSHA), a Cal/OSHA heat illness prevention bilingual trainer, and one of the lead researchers of the Cal/OSHA Heat Illness Study. I have worked for the DOSH-Cal/OSHA for 15 years. I am a certified Industrial Hygienist and graduate of UC Berkeley’s Pubic Health/Industrial Hygiene master’s program.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 5200.0: Protecting Workers from Outdoor Heat: the California Experience