Heat Illness Prevention

Did you know that California employers are required to take four steps to prevent heat illness? The steps are:

• Training employees and supervisors about heat illness prevention.
• Provide enough fresh water for each employee to drink at least 1 quart per hour, and encourage them to do so.
• Provide access to shade for at least 5 minutes of rest for an employee who believes they need a preventative recovery period.
• Develop and implement written procedures for complying with the Cal/OSHA Heat Illness Prevention Standard.

Further information can be found at the California Department of Industrial Relations Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/HeatIllnessInfo.html. Main topics for further heat related information are:

• Heat illness training – including seminars and PowerPoint training in English and Spanish.
• Heat illness regulation.
• Heat illness prevention publications – many available in English and Spanish.
• Additional heat illness links.

The University of California has heat stress information as well as many other safety tips at http://groups.ucanr.org/ehs/Safety_Notes/.