Last August, nine workers in the United States between the ages of 19 and 71 died of the consequences of heat -related problems while working. Their work included everything from the grass section to unloading trucks, the repair of agricultural devices and the construction, according to the New York Times.
The professional security and health authority (OSHA) began on Monday with public hearings to a proposed rule that should help prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths at work. If the rule is adopted, it would be the first of its kind.
In view of the effects of heat on workers, it has become a particularly urgent problem, since the global temperatures continue to increase due to the climate change caused by burning fossil fuels.
The rule was proposed by the Biden Administration last summer, and employers would have to request that they provide water and rest when the temperatures exist.
Even if the OSHA is ready to say goodbye to the new rule, the Trump administration is not legally obliged to implement it by law New York Times.
Since his return to power, Trump has largely pushed to push back the environmental and safety regulations that protect employees, but can hinder productivity or in other ways into the profits of employers.
Deaths and illnesses in connection with heat have gone up in recent years due to the man -driven climate change. Last summer in the hottest year, which is in a record of a record, the hottest and kills more people than hurricanes, floods and tornados every year, according to the National Weather Service.
David Keeling, Trump's Osha boss, has given some concerns about the health guards of the workers. Previously, he worked as a health and security manager for UPS and Amazon – both companies that were punished for violations of the workplace, including problems in connection with heat.
The supporters of employee health have seen Trump's willingness to enable public hearings as a good sign, but they are still concerned that the federal government could try to enforce a weaker version of the proposed protection.
According to the proposed Osha rule, companies have to provide their workers available to their workers at a heat index of 80 degrees of fahrenheit (26.6 degrees Celsius) and break areas. With a 90f (32.2 ° C), in addition to other reduction measures of the heat disease, you have to offer workers every two hours every two hours.
The threshold values are based on a 2020 study by Osha, in which a “heat death line” was identified, in which only a few heat deaths occur.
The “heat death line” is 80f. According to the study, 96 percent of the heat -related deaths occur over this line at temperatures.
While the rule of Osha aims to determine a federal standard, at least seven states have set their own heat rules at the workplace, with other similar protective measures into account Just.
The legislators of the states in Texas and Florida – two of the hottest states in the United States – have passed laws that prevent local governments from issuing their own heat standards for jobs.