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INDUSTRY NEWS
Are your employees ‘cool’ according to OSHA?
OSHA initiated the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
(SBREFA) process on June 20, 2023.
This next step in the rulemaking process
will include the convening of a Small
Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel
to gain input from small entity representatives
(SERs) on the potential impacts
of a heat-specific standard. More
information on the Heat Injury and Illness
SBREFA can be found at: https://
www.osha.gov/heat/sbrefa.
For more information on how to engage
with this stage of the rulemaking
process, visit: https://www.osha.gov/lawsregs/rulemakingprocess#tab2.
Advance Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking
On October 27, 2021, OSHA (Occupational
Safety and Health Administration)
published an Advance Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for
Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in
Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings in the
Federal Register, according to OSHA.
gov. With this publication, OSHA has
begun the rulemaking process to consider
a heat-specific workplace standard. A
standard specific to heat-related injury
and illness prevention would more clearly
set forth employer obligations and the
measures necessary to more effectively
protect employees from hazardous heat.
The ultimate goal is to prevent and reduce
the number of occupational injuries,
illnesses, and fatalities caused by
exposure to hazardous heat.
The publication of the ANPRM initiated
a public comment period allowing
OSHA to gather information, diverse perspectives
and technical expertise on issues
that might be considered in developing a
heat standard. These issues include the
scope of a standard, heat stress thresholds
for workers across various industries, heat
acclimatization planning, and heat exposure
monitoring, as well as the nature,
types, and effectiveness of controls that
may be required as part of a standard.
The publication of this ANPRM has
no impact on OSHA's current enforcement
policies. The ANPRM is available
on the Federal Register web page and at
www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal
e-Rulemaking Portal.
The comment period closed on January
26, 2022. OSHA received 965 unique
comments from stakeholders, which are
available at www.regulations.gov/document/OSHA-2021-0009-0001.
According to OSHA: Heat is the leading
weather-related killer, and it is becoming more dangerous
as 18 of the last 19 years were the hottest
on record. Excessive heat can cause heat stroke and
even death if not treated properly. It also exacerbates
existing health problems like asthma, kidney
failure, and heart disease. Workers in agriculture
and construction are at highest risk, but the problem
affects all workers exposed to heat, including indoor
workers without climate-controlled environments.
Essential jobs where employees are exposed to high
levels of heat are disproportionately held by Black
and Brown workers.
Heat stress killed 815 US workers and seriously
injured more than 70,000 workers from
1992 through 2017, according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics. However, this is likely a vast
underestimate, given that injuries and illnesses are
underreported in the US, especially in the sectors
employing vulnerable and often undocumented
workers. Further, heat is not always recognized as
a cause of heat-induced injuries or deaths and can
easily be misclassified, because many of the symptoms
overlap with other more common diagnoses.
To date, California, Washington, Minnesota,
and the US military have issued heat protections.
OSHA currently relies on the general duty
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14 | AUTO DETAILING NEWS | VOL. 8, NO. 3 • FALL 2023