Public Citizen Formally Petitions OSHA To Develop Regulation on Heat Stress

A citizen advocacy organization petitioned the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Sept. 1 to develop a standard to protect workers, both indoors and outdoors, from heat-related deaths and injury.

The 50-page petition by Public Citizen, a left-leaning advocacy group, wants OSHA to develop a standard that applies year-round to outdoor and indoor workplaces, regardless of the ambient temperature.

A standard is needed because, although 523 workers have died and more than 43,000 have been seriously injured over the past 20 years from heat exposure, OSHA has not drafted a regulation, Sammy Almashat, a staff researcher with Public Citizen’s Health Research ...