Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational …

1 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESC enters for Disease Control and PreventionNational Institute for Occupational Safety and HealthCriteria for a Recommended StandardOccupational Exposure to Heat and Hot EnvironmentsCover photo by Thinkstock Criteria for a Recommended StandardOccupational Exposure to Heat and Hot EnvironmentsDEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESC enters for Disease Control and PreventionNational Institute for Occupational Safety and HealthRevised Criteria 2016 Brenda Jacklitsch, MS; W. Jon Williams, PhD; Kristin Musolin, DO, MS; Aitor Coca, PhD; Jung-Hyun Kim, PhD; Nina Turner, PhD ii Occupational Exposure to Heat and Hot EnvironmentsThis document is in the public domain and may be freely copied or of any company or product does not constitute endorsement by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

2 In addition, citations of websites external to NIOSH do not constitute NIOSH endorsement of the sponsoring organizations or their programs or products. Furthermore, NIOSH is not responsible for the content of these InformationThis document is in the public domain and may be freely copied or reprinted. To receive NIOSH documents or other information about Occupational safety and health topics, contact NIOSH atTelephone: 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) TTY: 1-888-232-6348 E-mail: visit the NIOSH website at a monthly update on news at NIOSH, subscribe to NIOSH eNews by visiting CitationNIOSH [2016].

3 NIOSH Criteria for a Recommended standard: Occupational exposure to heat and hot environments. By Jacklitsch B, Williams WJ, Musolin K, Coca A, Kim J-H, Turner N. Cincinnati, OH: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication (NIOSH) Publication No. 2016-106 February 2016 Occupational Exposure to Heat and Hot Environments iiiForewordWhen the Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-596), it established the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

4 Through the Act, Congress charged NIOSH with recommending Occupational safety and health standards and describing exposure levels that are safe for various periods of employment, including but not limited to the exposures at which no worker will suffer diminished health, functional capacity, or life expectancy because of his or her work documents contain a critical review of the scientific and technical information about the prevalence of hazards, the existence of safety and health risks, and the adequacy of control methods. By means of Criteria documents, NIOSH communicates these Recommended standards to regula-tory agencies, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), health professionals in academic institutions, industry, organized labor, public interest groups, and others in the Occupational safety and health Criteria document, Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Hot Environments, was prepared in 1972 and first revised in 1986.

5 The revision presented here takes into account the large amount of new scientific information on working in heat and hot environ-ments. This revision includes updated information on heat-related illnesses, risk factors affecting heat-related illness, physiological responses to heat, effects of clothing on heat exchange, and recom-mendations for control and exposure to heat can result in injuries, disease, death, and reduced productivity. Workers may be at risk for heat stress when exposed to hot environments. Exposure to hot environ-ments and extreme heat can result in illnesses, including heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, heat cramps, and heat rashes, or death.

6 Heat also increases the risk of workplace injuries, such as those caused by sweaty palms, fogged-up safety glasses, and urges employers to use and disseminate this information to workers. NIOSH also requests that professional associations and labor organizations inform their members about the hazards of Occupational exposure to heat and hot appreciates the time and effort taken by the expert peer, stakeholder, and public reviewers, whose comments strengthened this Howard, MD Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Centers for Disease Control and PreventionThis page intentionally left Exposure to Heat and Hot Environments vExecutive SummaryOccupational exposure to heat can result in injuries, disease.

7 Reduced productivity, and death. To address this hazard, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has evaluated the scientific data on heat stress and hot environments and has updated the Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Hot Environments [NIOSH 1986a]. This document was last updated in 1986, and in recent years, including during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response of 2010, questions were raised regarding the need for revision to reflect recent research and findings.

8 In addition, there is evidence that heat stress is an increasing problem for many workers, particularly those located in densely populated areas closer to the equator where temperatures are expected to rise in relation to the changing climate [Lucas et al. 2014]. This revi-sion includes additional information about the physiological changes that result from heat stress; updated information from relevant studies, such as those on caffeine use; evidence to redefine heat stroke and associated symptoms; and updated information on physiological monitoring and per-sonal protective equipment and clothing that can be used to control heat who are exposed to extreme heat or work in hot environments indoors or outdoors, or even those engaged in strenuous physical activities may be at risk for heat stress.

9 Exposure to extreme heat can result in Occupational illnesses caused by heat stress, including heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, heat cramps, heat rashes, or death. Heat can also increase workers risk of injuries, as it may result in sweaty palms, fogged-up safety glasses, dizziness, and may reduce brain function responsible for reasoning ability, creating additional hazards. Other heat injuries, such as burns, may occur as a result of contact with hot surfaces, steam, or fire. Those at risk of heat stress include outdoor workers and workers in hot environments, such as fire fighters, bakery workers, farmers, construction workers, miners (particularly surface miners), boiler room workers, and fac-tory 2011, NIOSH published with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) a co-branded infosheet on heat illness.

10 Through this combined effort, many recommendations were updated, including those on water consumption. In addition, factors that increase risk and symp-toms of heat-related illnesses were more thoroughly defined. In 2013, NIOSH published Preventing Heat-related Illness or Death of Outdoor Workers . Outdoor workers are exposed to a great deal of exertional and environmental heat on basic knowledge of heat balance and heat exchange largely remain unchanged, although clothing insulation factors have been updated to reflect current International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recommendations.