Operations involving high air temperatures, radiant heat sources, high humidity, direct physical contact with hot objects, or strenuous physical activities have a high potential for inducing heat stress. in employees engaged in such operations. Such places include: iron and steel foundries, nonferrous foundries, brick-firing and ceramic plants, glass products facilities, rubber products factories, electrical utilities (particularly boiler rooms), bakeries, confectioneries, commercial kitchens, laundries, food canneries, chemical plants, mining sites, smelters, and steam tunnels.

Heat stress hazards are addressed in specific standards for the general industry.

OSHA Standards

This section highlights OSHA standards, Federal Registers (rules, proposed rules, and notices), and standard interpretations (official letters of interpretation of the standards) related to heat stress.

Note: Twenty-five states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have OSHA-approved State Plans and have adopted their own standards and enforcement policies. For the most part, these States adopt standards that are identical to Federal OSHA. However, some States have adopted different standards applicable to this topic or may have different enforcement policies.

General Industry (29 CFR 1910)

Federal Registers

• Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements. Final Rules 66:5916-6135, (2001, January 19).
  
  
• Search all available Federal Registers.

Standard Interpretations

• Wearing short-sleeved shirts while performing a thermal spray operation with exposure to hexavalent chromium fumes. (2007, January 25).
  
  
• Reiteration of Existing OSHA Policy on Indoor Air Quality: Office Temperature/Humidity and Environmental Tobacco Smoke. (2003, February 24).
  
  
• Acceptable methods to reduce heat stress hazards in the workplace. (2001, October 17). Identifies feasible and acceptable methods that can be used to reduce heat stress in workplaces.
  
  
• Interpretation of OSHA requirements for personal protective equipment to be used during marine oil spill emergency response operations. (1995, September 11). 29 CFR 1910.132(d) mandates the employer to perform a hazard assessment of the workplace to determine if the use of PPE is necessitated; select and mandate employee use of the necessary PPE; communicate selection of PPE decisions to employees; and select PPE that properly fits the employees.
  
  
• Landscaping employees working in extreme temperatures. (1992, July 14).
  
  
• Search all available standard interpretations.

Hazards and Possible Solutions

Many workers spend some part of their working day in a hot environment. Workers in foundries, laundries, construction projects, and bakeries -- to name a few industries -- often face hot conditions which pose special hazards to safety and health. The following references aid in identifying hazards and possible solutions for heat stress in the workplace.

• OSHA Technical Manual (OTM). OSHA Directive TED 01-00-015 [TED 1-0.15A], (1999, January 20). Identifies heat stress as part of the evaluation process in the following:
  • Heat Stress. Contains useful sections on the signs and symptoms of heat stress, sampling methods, control suggestions, and guidelines for investigating heat stress in the workplace.
    • Heat Stress: General Work-Place Review. Contains a list of factors that should be considered when investigating heat stress in the workplace.
    • Heat Stress-Related Illness or Accident Follow-up. Includes a brief list of questions to answer when investigating a heat stress illness or accident.
    • Measurement of Wet Bulb Globe Temperature. Provides a brief overview of how to measure and calculate the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature.
      
      
• Protecting Workers from the Effects of Heat [180 KB PDF^*, 2 pages]. OSHA Fact Sheet, (2011, April).
  
  
• Protecting Workers from Heat Stress [3 MB PDF^*, 2 pages]. OSHA Quick Card, (2010).
  
  
• Working Outdoors in Warm Climates [26 KB PDF^*, 2 pages]. OSHA Fact Sheet, (2005, September).
  
  
• Protecting Yourself in the Sun. OSHA Publication 3166, (2003). A Spanish version is also available. Contains suggestions to protect employees from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
  
  
• Protecting Workers in Hot Environments. OSHA Fact Sheet 95-16, (1995). Provides a simple, easy-to-read discussion of heat stress in the workplace.
  
  
• Beating the Heat. OSHA. Contains links to information on avoiding heat stress, protecting against UV radiation, Lyme Disease, and general information.
  
  
• Protecting Workers from Heat Illness [132 KB PDF^*, 3 pages]. OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Heat Illness Info Sheet, (2011).
  
  
• A Guide to Heat Stress in Agriculture. OSHA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), (1993, May). Offers practical, step-by-step guidance for nontechnical managers on how to set up and operate a heat stress control program.
  
  
• Wildfires. OSHA. Includes links to OSHA fact sheets & QuickCards, related Safety and Health Topics Pages, training programs, and other resources.
  
  
• Hurricane Preparedness and Response. OSHA. Includes information such as news releases, public service announcements, fact sheets, frequently asked questions, and more.
  
  
• Gulf Oil Response and Heat. OSHA's Deepwater Horizon Response Heat Illness Page.
  • Heat Stress Management Plan [110 KB PDF^*, 13 pages]
  • Heat Stress Safety Alert [65 KB PDF^*, 4 pages]
    
    
• Heat Stress in Construction [24 KB PDF, 2 pages]. Center to Protect Workers' Rights (CPWR), (2005). Instructs workers on how to protect themselves from heat stress.
  
  
• Ramsey, J. D., F. N. Dukes-Dobos, and T. E. Bernard. "Evaluation and control of hot working environments: Part I -- Guidelines for the practitioner." International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 14(1994): 119-127. Provides a review of guidelines for practitioners in the evaluation and control of hot working environments.
  
  
• Ramsey, J. D., F. N. Dukes-Dobos, and T. E. Bernard. "Evaluation and control of hot working environments: Part II -- Knowledge base for guide." International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 14(1994): 129-138. Includes a review of the scientific basis of the guidelines for the evaluation and control of hot working environments.
  
  
• Working in Hot Environments. US Department of Health and Humans Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 86-112, (1986, April). Provides employers and workers with an overview of the health hazards associated with work in hot environments and to alerts them to the precautions that should be taken to prevent injuries and other health problems caused by heat stress.
  
  
• Heat: A Major Killer. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administation (NOAA), National Weather Service. Links to landing page with NWS's heat index description and chart.
  
  
• Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Hot Environments. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 86-113, (1986, April).
  
  
• Migrant Farm Worker Dies From Heat Stroke While Working on a Tobacco Farm - North Carolina. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) FACE Report 2006-04, (2007, August).
  
  
• California campaign to protect outdoor workers for heat illness. CAL-OSHA, (2011).
  
  
• Heat Stress Plan [33 KB PDF, 11 pages]. Michigan OSHA heat-related illness prevention plan.
  
  
• Heat Injury Prevention & Sun Safety. US Army Public Health Command.
  
  
• Prevention and Treatment of Heat and Cold Stress Injuries [2 MB PDF, 124 pages]. Navy Environmental Health Center Technical Manual NEHC-TM-OEM 6260.6A, (2007, June).

Additional Information

Related Safety and Health Topics Pages

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
  
  
• Ventilation

Other Resources

• TLV/BEI Resources. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). Provides guidelines designed for use by industrial hygienists in making decisions regarding safe levels of exposure.
  • ACGIH Heat Stress and Strain TLV
    
    
• Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene. 5th ed. National Safety Council (NSC), 1996. Discusses temperature extremes.
  
  
• "Special Issue: Heat Stress Indices." Ergonomics 38:1(1995, January). Includes articles dedicated to various aspects of heat stress.

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^*These files are provided for downloading.