On September 9, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) reminded the state’s employers to protect workers from unhealthy air due to wildfire smoke. The Line Fire is currently affecting air quality in California’s Inland Empire, the areas around San Bernardino and Riverside.
Cal/OSHA’s Protection from Wildfire Smoke standard requires employers to protect workers from unhealthy air due to wildfire smoke. The standard’s requirements include informing employees of the air quality index (AQI) for particulate matter (PM2.5) and available protective measures, providing instruction and training about wildfire smoke’s health effects and steps for protection, and providing respiratory protection for voluntary use.
California employers must monitor the AQI for PM2.5 before and throughout the work shift and modify work, if necessary, or provide N95 respirators for voluntary use.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) AirNow website tracks AQI data.
Cal/OSHA employer assistance materials for wildfire smoke safety include the following:
Last week, Cal/OSHA urged employers to protect workers from heat illness during a heat wave. The state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board adopted an indoor heat standard this summer to complement the state’s outdoor heat illness prevention standard. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a proposed heat illness prevention standard on August 30. Comments on the federal proposal are due December 30.
Cal/OSHA raising awareness of construction suicide prevention week
On September 9, Cal/OSHA also encouraged employers and workers to raise awareness of Construction Suicide Prevention Week, September 9–13.
Hundreds of thousands of construction workers throughout the country are participating this week, according to Cal/OSHA, calling attention to support and resources for work-related mental health and suicide prevention.
Construction workers’ rate of death by suicide is 5.5 times the rate of all other construction fatalities on the jobsite, according to federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. The rate of suicide in construction is more than four times higher than in the general population.
The state worker safety and health agency added new webpages about Construction Suicide Prevention Week and Mental Health Resources to provide employers and workers with information to support awareness and reduce barriers for workers to acknowledge mental health concerns related to work.
According to Cal/OSHA, employers have a unique opportunity to be leaders in making their workers feel comfortable addressing mental health concerns by providing information on mental health and discussing available resources. The agency encouraged construction industry employers to cultivate a supportive work environment that champions mental well-being as a part of their employees’ safety and health.
The agency urged employers to consider the factors that add to physical and mental stress for construction workers, including mentally or physically exhausting work and short deadlines.
“At Cal/OSHA, protecting the safety and health of all California workers is a cornerstone of who we are, but under the hard hats and safety gear are our friends, sisters, brothers–who are fighting battles we can’t always see,” Cal/OSHA Chief Debra Lee said in an agency statement. “Together, let’s help prevent suicide.”