What to Do When It's Too Hot for PPE?

H5N1, or bird flu, has infected five farmworkers working on the same farm in Colorado this month. Temperatures above 104 °F at that farm made PPE like full-body suits, goggles, and masks difficult for workers to wear.

Farmworkers already have "disproportionately high rates of heat-related illnesses and deaths" due to physically demanding work and high external temperatures. Tack on the risk of viral infection and the need for full-body PPE, and workers can find themselves between a rock and a hard place—between two competing risks.

"The more encapsulating the PPE that workers must wear, the greater their risk of experiencing heat stress and physiological strain."

Heat Stress Imposed by PPE Worn in Hot and Humid Environments, NIOSH

Limiting Heat Burden While Wearing PPE

Wearing PPE and certain clothing ensembles can often increase your risk for heat-related illnesses.

PPE reduces the body’s normal way of getting rid of heat by sweating and other means and increases the physical effort to perform duties while carrying the extra weight of the PPE.

Wearable PPE that protects against heat exposures are called auxiliary cooling systems or personal cooling systems (e.g., water-cooled garments, air-cooled garments, cooling vests, and wetted overgarments) and can range in simplicity, cost, and maintenance. Personal cooling systems have limitations. Learn more about this kind of PPE with the Department of Homeland Security’s TechNote on personal cooling systems.

Wearable personal cooling systems could also be used during a rest period to reduce the time required to lower a worker’s core body temperature. For a simpler solution during rest breaks, apply cold packs, cool, wet towels, or take those breaks in an air-conditioned room or shaded area if possible.

Heat Stress Recommendations from NIOSH

Training

Employers should provide a heat stress training program for all workers and supervisors that covers the signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses, causes and steps to reduce risk, the added heat load caused by exertion, clothing, and PPE, the importance of acclimatization, the importance of report symptoms and signs of heat-related illness, and procedures for responding to symptoms of possible heat-related illness and for contacting emergency medical services.

Supervisors should also be trained on the following:

• Implementing appropriate acclimatization.
• What procedures to follow when a worker has symptoms of heat-related illness, including emergency response procedures.
• Monitoring weather reports.
• Responding to hot weather advisories.
• Monitoring and encouraging adequate fluid intake and rest breaks.

The Hierarchy of Controls

Employers should reduce workplace heat stress by using engineering and administrative controls.

Engineering controls might include using heat-absorbing shields and reducing indoor humidity. Administrative controls might include limiting time in the heat, increasing recovery time spent in a cool area, and/or instituting a heat acclimatization plan.

Acclimatization

Acclimatization is the result of beneficial physiological adaptations (e.g., increased sweating efficiency) that occur after gradual increased exposure to a hot environment. Employers should ensure that workers are acclimatized before they work in a hot environment. The ramp-up for new workers should be slower than for workers with previous experience, and employees should be closely supervised until they are fully acclimatized.

Hydration

Employers should provide the means for appropriate hydration of workers. That means access to cool, potable water, and encouraging workers to hydrate themselves.

For moderate activities in the heat that last less than 2 hours, drink 1 cup (8 oz.) of water every 15–20 minutes. If sweating lasts for several hours, drink sports drinks containing balanced electrolytes. Avoid alcohol and drinks with high caffeine or sugar. Generally, fluid intake should not exceed 6 cups per hour.

Rest

Employers should ensure and encourage workers to take appropriate rest breaks to cool down and hydrate. Permit rest and water breaks when a worker feels heat discomfort. Modify work/rest periods to give the body a chance to get rid of excess heat. Assign new and unacclimatized workers lighter work and longer, more frequent rest periods.

Protect Your Workers from Heat Hazards

Lion offers online OSHA Heat Illness Prevention training for supervisors and employees, in English and Spanish. The courses prepare individuals to recognize and protect themselves from the effects of heat stress, heat stroke, and heat exhaustion, and other heat-related injuries and illnesses.

Tags: heat exposure, heat safety, PPE