Summer Means Heat Injuries to Kentucky Workers

As temperatures start to rise, so will heat-related workplace injuries in Kentucky.

Heat stroke kills an average of 30 workers each year, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Thousands more suffer heat-induced injuries – many of which are serious and disabling.

The following Kentucky workers are particularly at risk:

• Agricultural workers
• Construction workers
• Baggage handlers
• Roofers
• Landscapers
• Lawn maintenance workers
• Surveyors
• Commercial painters
• Other outdoor workers

What Causes Heat Injuries?

Labor-intensive activities in hot weather can raise body temperatures beyond the level that can be cooled by sweating. The initial symptoms of a heat illness are a heat rash or heat cramps. This can quickly lead to heat exhaustion – followed by heat stroke – unless preventive action is taken.

To reduce injuries and deaths, safety officials are taking steps to raise awareness of the dangers of working in the summer heat.

In one such step, OSHA has released a free mobile application that lets workers and supervisors monitor the heat index at their work sites. The app displays a risk level for workers based on the heat index, as well as reminders about protective measures that should be taken at that risk level. Available for Android-based platforms, Blackberry and the iPhone, the app can be downloaded in both English and Spanish here.

Heat-Safety Resources for Kentucky Workers and Employers

• OSHA has developed a heat-illness curriculum to be used for workplace training.
• Heat safety materials are available from OSHA in English and Spanish.
• An OSHA web page – designed for workers as well as employers – is dedicated to information and resources on heat illness, including its prevention and what to do in a heat-related emergency.
• On June 4, employers in Kentucky held a voluntary one-hour safety stand-down at construction sites and workplaces. Between 7 and 8 a.m. on that day, workers statewide participated in safety courses and training sessions.

There were a total of 1,087 new claims filed with the Kentucky Department of Workers’ Claims between January and March 2013. These included 870 injury claims, eight occupational disease claims, 108 hearing loss claims and 101 coal workers’ pneumoconiosis claims.

For more information:

• OSHA heat-illness web page http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/heatillness/index.html.
• OSHA heat-safety stand-down news release http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=24117
• Kentucky Department of Workers’ Claims http://www.labor.ky.gov/workersclaims/Periodic%20Reports/Jan-Mar%202013.pdf