Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: CHEMICAL

North Carolina General Statute 95-129(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina: The employer did not furnish each of his employees conditions of employment and a place of employment free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to heat stressors without adequate provisions to protect them: a)site - employer failed to provide a heat stress management program for sawmill employees exposed to high heat and humidity from June 21, 2006 through August 16, 2006. Examples of these feasible and acceptable abatement methods include, but are not limited to: implementation of a heat stress management program which incorporates guidelines from a recognized authority such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Heath (NIOSH) or the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). A minimum program would include, but not be limited to: 1. Acclimatization of employees beginning work in a hot environment or those returning from absent periods of three or more days. 2. Developing appropriate work/rest regimens based on temperature indexes and metabolic rate. 3. Providing cool water and encouraging employees to drink 5 to 7 ounces of fluid every 15 to 20 minutes. 4. Providing for a cool area for rest or first aid. 5. Providing motivational training for employees regarding the health effects associated with heat stress, individual risk factors, symptoms of heat-induced illnesses, methods of preventing such illnesses, methods of first aid and summoning emergency medical attention. 6. Maintaining means to provide first aid, emergency cooling and prompt transport to a physician or other licensed health care professional. REFERENCE: US Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Hot Environments (Revised Criteria 1986) DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No 86!113. Accessed 30 Nov 2006 at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/86-113.html American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists, 2006 Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents and Biological Exposure Indices, ACGIH Signature Publications, Cincinnati, OH.cinnati,