Oregon adopts rules to protect workers from excessive heat and smoke from wildfires
Oregon adopts rules to protect workers from excessive heat and smoke from wildfires
Oregon adopts rules to protect workers from excessive heat and smoke from wildfires
The rules are the most comprehensive in the nation and are welcomed by environmental groups and farmworker advocates.
New rules that go into effect in Oregon in June and July are expected to protect tens of miles of workers from illness and death when temperatures rise above 80 or when the air becomes clogged with smoke from wildfires.
Heat protections require employees to allow workers to take paid breaks to relieve heat, provide access to outdoor shaded areas and an adequate supply of potable water, have a heat illness prevention plan and Gradually introduce workers to high temperatures.
The smoke rules, which take effect July 1, require proportions of N95 masks to protect workers when air quality worsens and make masks mandatory when the air becomes dangerous to breathe. Employees also have to provide checks to doctors.
“As we enter what we hope will be another hot, dry summer, all workers, including Oregon farm and farm workers, deserve health and safety protections from extreme heat and wildfire smoke,” Brown said. . “With these new Oregon OSHA rules, I am proud that Oregon is a national model of wildfire heat and smoke protection for all workers.”
The rules will affect thousands of construction workers, forestry professionals, highway workers, utility personnel and others. But the largest group of people who will be protected will be the 87,000 farmworkers in Oregon.
source: oregoncapitalchronicle.com
