Lawmakers Urge Federal Worker Protections During Extreme Heat
Over 100 congressional Democrats are urging President Joe Biden to task OSHA with establishing stronger heat safety regulations for people who work both indoors and outside as the nation wrestles with record heat. Separately, new research links heat and pollution to higher heart attack risks.
Reuters:
Congressional Democrats Call On Biden For Workplace Heat Safety Steps
A group of 112 Democratic members of Congress on Monday called on U.S. President Joe Biden's administration to establish heat safety regulations for indoor and outdoor workplaces as a persistent and deadly heatwave spreads across the country. The group asked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue new standards on adequate water and sheltered rest breaks, medical training to identify heat-related illness and a plan for workplaces to adjust their operations during times of dangerously high heat. (Walker, 7/25)
Fox Weather:
Doctors See More Heat-Related Illnesses In Outdoor Workers As Heat Wave Drags On
Every summer, as temperatures rise, Phoenix-area doctors begin seeing more patients with heat-related symptoms but a deadly heat wave entering its fourth week with temperatures above 110 degrees is taking its toll on even the most heat-acclimated populations. (Speck, 7/25)
Meanwhile, research links extreme heat and heart health —
The Wall Street Journal:
Heart Attack Risk Rises Significantly On Extremely Hot, Polluted Days
Extreme heat and air pollution can be dangerous for the heart. Enduring both at the same time can be especially deadly, new research shows. (Mosbergen, 7/24)
CBS News:
Risk Of Fatal Heart Attack May Double In Extreme Heat With Air Pollution, Study Finds
Risk of a fatal heart attack was 18% higher during 2-day heat waves with heat indexes at or above the 90th percentile, ranging from 82.6 to 97.9 degrees Fahrenheit, the study found. The risk was 74% higher during 4-day heat waves with heat indexes at or above the 97.5th percentile, ranging from 94.8 to 109.4 degrees. (Moniuszko, 7/24)
On other environmental health news from across the country —
Vox:
How Do Heat Waves Affect Mental Health?
Extreme heat impacts everything it touches — the body, infrastructure, plant life — and even things it doesn’t. It’s hard to ignore the physical sensations of discomfort and sweat on a hot day, but high temperatures can have a negative effect on mental health, too. Given the record-breaking heat bearing down on the US, Europe, China, and Iran, millions of people may be feeling a change in their mood. (Volpe, 7/25)
Los Angeles Times:
Extreme Heat In California Is Dangerous For Homeless People Living Outside
At a homeless encampment dubbed the Lost City, hidden behind a cluster of pine trees off Highway 95, Charles Johnson was sweltering. He was drenched in sweat, worsening the heat rash on his back and arms. His sunburned skin ached. He was hungry. He was desperate for water. And he yearned for ice — which he can’t keep from melting while living outside, under the unforgiving desert sun. (Vives and Dillon, 7/24)
The 19th:
Los Angeles Is Spending Millions To Protect Kids From Extreme Heat
The clouds that blanket Los Angeles in the late spring, keeping temperatures cool and skies overcast, dissipate by the first weeks of summer. The months known in the city near the ocean as “May Gray” and “June Gloom” give way to an exposed July sun that blazes relentlessly until well after the school year starts. It is not unusual for Angelenos to contend with triple-digit heat until shortly before Halloween. When the mercury rises, many students can’t take refuge. They attend campuses with more cement than greenery, unreliable air-conditioning and drinking fountains that go unused due to water quality concerns. (Nittle, 7/21)
The heat waves hitting the US and Europe seem linked to climate change —
NBC News:
Heat Waves Hitting U.S. And Europe 'Virtually Impossible' Without Climate Change, Researchers Say
The heat waves simultaneously broiling the southwest United States and southern Europe would have been “virtually impossible” if not for climate change, according to a group of scientists who study the probability of extreme weather events. A third heat wave, in China, could have been expected about once every 250 years if global warming weren’t a factor. (Bush, 7/25)
