Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: HEAT

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to heat related illnesses such as heat stress, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat fatigue, heat syncope and heat cramps due to high heat levels during work performed while collecting chickens: a.On or about June 4, 2002, employees who were collecting chickens in a chicken barn located on the Cypress R Farm (Route 4, Box 471, Starke, Fl.) were exposed to heat stroke. At this site, there was no work regime with rest periods, no cool area for rest, and no trained personnel to recognize the symptoms of heat stress and treat workers. This resulted in an employee sustaining a heat stroke, a serious heat-related illness, and subsequently dying the next day. The ambient air temperature recorded by the Gainesville Municipal Airport between the hours of 12:53pm and 2:53pm was 93.2 F. Among other, feasible and acceptable abatement methods to correct this hazard include: 1. Acclimate employees to the heat through short exposures followed by longer periods of work in the hot environment to reduce heat stress. New employees and workers returning from an absence of two weeks or more should have 5-day period of acclimatization. This period should begin with 50 percent of the normal workload and time exposure the first day and gradually building up to 100 percent on the fifth day. 2. Provide engineering controls such as cooling fans to increase evaporative cooling in hot conditions and a cool area for heat-affected employees to rest and cool down when symptoms of heat illness are recognized or reported by employees. 3. Provide personal cooling devices or cooling garments to reduce the hazards of heat exposure for workers. 4. Provide training on a heat stress prevention program to ensure that workers are aware of the need to replace fluids and salt lost through sweat and can recognize dehydration, exhaustion, fainting, heat cramps, salt deficiency, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke as heat disorders. The training should include information that some types of medication put employees at greater risk for heat illnesses. Supervisors should be trained to detect early signs of heat stress and should permit workers to interrupt their work if they are extremely uncomfortable. ABATEMENT CERTIFICATION IS REQUIRED.TION