CA workers could get 'ultrahigh' heat conditions protections if bill passes

[quaint]

KTLA

A bill making its way through the California state legislature could potentially set new protections for employees working in “ultrahigh” heat outdoors.

If passed, Assembly Bill 2243 would require that the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board consider revising the heat illness standard for workers in industries like agriculture and construction when outdoor temperatures exceed 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

Employers could also be required to distribute their heat illness prevention plans, which they are already required to have, to workers when they are first hired and when temperatures first exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit or on an annual basis.

Assembly Bill 2243 would also require the standards board to consider lowering the limit the quality of the air must exceed before “respiratory protective equipment becomes mandatory.

Passed the Assembly 47-19...

[Probatim]

1. It's just a matter of time before significant number of outdoor workers

drop dead due to higher temps/humidity.

Wet bulb temps above 95 will weed a lot of people out of the workforce and the population. Since it's unlikely we'll ever do anything related to climate change, we might see more work completed at night - highway construction has gone down that path, but that's due to traffic conditions - but other industries may need to follow.

My son is an auto mechanic and works in a relatively modern shop. He's wiped out after a 12 hour shift and I know he's drinking 5-6L of water a day.

It's going to be brutal.

[quaint]

2. Definitely need indoor standards.

Twelve hours in unnatural positions added to chemicals in the air sounds like something out of Dickens.
The new bill is inadequate. I can't believe that is the best we can do.