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handle is hein.crs/govepqi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) Regulation of
Employee Exposure to Heat
Updated June 20, 2024
Employees who work outdoors, including those in industries such as construction and agriculture, may be
exposed to extreme heat conditions. Similarly, certain indoor work situations-such as bakeries,
warehouses, and steel mills-may also expose employees to unsafe heat levels. The lead federal agency
that regulates worker safety and health, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), does
not have any standards that specifically address outdoor or indoor heat exposure. However, in June,
OSHA submitted a proposed standard for regulatory review.
Heat-Related Illnesses
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has identified several illnesses that
are related to heat exposure, including heat stroke, which can result in permanent disability or death.
Other heat-related illnesses include heat exhaustion, rhabdomyolysis, heat syncope, heat cramps, and heat
rash. Research published in 2020 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that
between 2004 and 2018 there were an average of 702 annual deaths in the United States due to heat
exposure, with an average of 415 deaths in which heat exposure was the underlying cause and 287 deaths
in which heat exposure was a contributing cause. (This includes employment-related and non-
employment-related deaths.) In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries reported 43 employment-related deaths due to environmental heat exposure and an average of 40
annual environmental heat exposure employment-related deaths between 2011 and 2022. Since 1972,
NIOSH has recommended that OSHA promulgate a heat exposure standard. While Section 22 of the
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act, 29 U.S.C. §671) authorizes NIOSH to develop
recommended occupational safety and health standards, OSHA is not required by law to promulgate
standards based on these recommendations.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN11701
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress

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