Heat Makes Outdoor Work Dangerous

TIME

As scorching temperatures broke new records for the planet this summer, outdoor workers are increasingly vulnerable. In the U.S., there is no federal protections for heat and labor.

Transcript

00:00 I hope your week is starting off right.

00:04 It is a warm start.

00:07 We also have a lot of haze in the sky for today.

00:14 In July, Time and Georgia Public Broadcasting teamed up to report on the impact of heat

00:19 on outdoor workers.

00:22 We spent a day following Barkley Wimpy on his nearly 10-hour shift delivering packages

00:27 for UPS.

00:28 It is hot back here.

00:34 I'm pairing the module with the phone right now.

00:37 And now we're going to put it on you.

00:39 Before Wimpy started his route, we put a special patch on him, which took readings of his skin

00:43 temperature and motion throughout the day.

00:45 That's going to connect to the patch.

00:48 Wow.

00:49 Yeah.

00:50 Certainly, we knew it would be hot.

00:53 Like the rest of the state, summer is pretty much always hot in places like Rome, Georgia.

00:58 And climatologists had warned us that the summer of 2023 was going to be scorching.

01:03 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued an El Nino watch.

01:07 But even still, we were all caught a bit off guard by the severity of this year's heat

01:13 waves.

01:14 Brutal heat wave.

01:16 Triple digit high temperatures.

01:17 The hottest days ever recorded on Earth.

01:20 And people who work outside are especially vulnerable.

01:31 The heat's very hot already.

01:32 It's not even close to lunchtime yet.

01:34 And I'm not sure exactly what the heat index is, but it's got to be already in the 90s.

01:39 In fact, the day was actually cooler than forecast in this part of Georgia, in part

01:43 because the sun was diffused by haze from Canadian wildfires.

01:47 In itself, another reminder of the warming climate.

01:50 We're already pouring sweat.

01:51 I've been through three or four things of water already today.

01:55 We kept track of the heat and the humidity during Wimpy's shift using a wet bulb globe

01:59 temperature thermometer.

02:03 This measurement gives the most accurate sense of how the weather feels.

02:07 Wet bulb globe temperatures of 82 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit might not sound so high, but they

02:13 are dangerous.

02:15 Experts say that at those levels, workers should take a cool down break every 30 minutes.

02:22 Humidity can be particularly dangerous because it inhibits the evaporation of sweat from

02:26 the skin, which is our body's best way to cool down.

02:31 I say.

02:35 What the hell?

02:42 It's way too hot to be looking at right now.

02:48 Last year, about this time of the year, it was very hot like it's going to turn out to

02:53 be today.

02:54 I got very sick because of the heat.

02:56 I had a heat stroke.

02:58 I get this headache and I don't have migraines.

03:00 I don't really get headaches, but I had what, if I were to guess, would be a terrible migraine.

03:04 I mean, it was awful.

03:05 I couldn't wear my sunglasses.

03:07 It hurt my eyes.

03:08 Couldn't take them off.

03:09 The sun hurt me.

03:10 I wasn't sweating at all, but I was starting to get cold chills.

03:14 I started off the day with a full charge and by lunchtime, my battery was on E and I wasn't

03:19 talking right, wasn't computing, wasn't making any sense.

03:21 I wound up going to the hospital and apparently, and I didn't know that this could even be

03:26 a thing.

03:27 And I've now seen it since then with several other drivers.

03:30 Unfortunately, your kidneys begin to shut down.

03:32 If not treated properly, heat stress can lead to cramps, dizzy spells, and fainting, or

03:36 even heat stroke.

03:38 And long-term heat exposure can lead to kidney failure.

03:45 We learned from the skin patch readings that at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., Wimby's skin temperature

03:50 reached what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration considers the extreme caution

03:55 zone.

03:58 Within this range, people are more susceptible to sunstroke, muscle cramps, and heat exhaustion.

04:04 In the U.S., there's no federal OSHA standard for protecting workers from the heat.

04:09 California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado do have laws around heat and labor.

04:15 But in most states, it's up to individual employers.

04:19 Some 50 million American workers are vulnerable because they work outside.

04:23 Official records show about 40 worker deaths from the heat each year.

04:26 But the actual number is likely much higher.

04:30 Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group, says that heat is one of the three

04:34 main causes of death and injury in the American workplace.

04:38 The driver nearly collapsing while trying to do his job.

04:41 In late July, Texas Congressman Greg Kassar led a protest at the U.S. Capitol, calling

04:46 for OSHA to adopt federal heat standards as soon as possible.

04:50 We remember those we've lost.

04:52 We respect one another.

04:54 And we hope and demand much better.

04:56 Two days later, President Biden announced the administration is committed to creating

05:00 protections for outside workers.

05:02 The number one weather-related killer is heat.

05:06 We should be protecting workers from hazardous conditions, and we will.

05:10 And those states where they do not, I'm going to be calling them out.

05:15 Some business owners are against federal regulations.

05:18 But heat is increasingly at the center of labor issues in the U.S., including during

05:22 this summer's tense negotiations between UPS and its drivers.

05:27 UPS trucks are not currently air-conditioned.

05:30 But the company has agreed that new vehicles will have AC beginning in 2024.

05:35 But workers say they also need more breaks to help their bodies cope on hot days.

05:40 I'm feeling tired.

05:44 It's hot.

05:46 It's only Monday.

05:48 I got four more days of this after today to go.

05:52 It's not the hottest it's going to be this summer.

05:54 At this point in the day, our wet-bulb globe temperature readings showed it was 88.2 degrees

05:59 Fahrenheit.

06:00 Once temperatures reach over 80 degrees with high humidity, it's already dangerous to work.

06:06 As the temperature climbs above 90 degrees in those same conditions, experts say humans

06:11 reach the limit of what they can tolerate without long, consistent breaks.

06:18 Wimpey told us he'd already heard about another colleague who'd had trouble with the heat

06:21 that same day.

06:23 He came into work today only to have a supervisor have to go out there and assist him getting

06:27 done with the route today because he was suffering from the heat.

06:31 Once you go through that, the heat stroke spell, your body is never the same when it

06:36 comes to heat.

06:37 Heat's hard on you.

06:41 The summer of 2023 has set new heat records for the planet and raised alarm bells around

06:46 general human safety.

06:49 And scientists say there is every expectation that next year will be even hotter.

06:55 It's been very difficult for me.

06:58 The heat has totally changed the dynamic of this job.

07:01 [music]

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