Today is National Heatstroke Prevention Day (July 31st), a good time to focus attention on precautions that should be taken against extreme heat and humidity.
Employees who are new to outdoor work at at greatest risk for heat-related illnesses. Cal/OSHA found that of 25 incidents of heat-related illness they investigated, almost half of the cases involved a worker on their first day of work. It’s also important to slowly increase the workload for new workers and workers who may be returning to a job after time off, building up tolerance slowly and safely to hot conditions.