As scorching temperatures broke new records for the planet this summer, outdoor workers are increasingly vulnerable. In the U.S., there is no federal protections for heat and labor.
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00:00 I hope your week is starting off right.
00:04 It is a warm start.
00:07 We also have a lot of haze in the sky for today.
00:14 In July, Time and Georgia Public Broadcasting teamed up to report on the impact of heat
00:19 on outdoor workers.
00:22 We spent a day following Barkley Wimpy on his nearly 10-hour shift delivering packages
00:27 for UPS.
00:28 It is hot back here.
00:34 I'm pairing the module with the phone right now.
00:37 And now we're going to put it on you.
00:39 Before Wimpy started his route, we put a special patch on him, which took readings of his skin
00:43 temperature and motion throughout the day.
00:45 That's going to connect to the patch.
00:48 Wow.
00:49 Yeah.
00:50 Certainly, we knew it would be hot.
00:53 Like the rest of the state, summer is pretty much always hot in places like Rome, Georgia.
00:58 And climatologists had warned us that the summer of 2023 was going to be scorching.
01:03 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued an El Nino watch.
01:07 But even still, we were all caught a bit off guard by the severity of this year's heat
01:13 waves.
01:14 Brutal heat wave.
01:16 Triple digit high temperatures.
01:17 The hottest days ever recorded on Earth.
01:20 And people who work outside are especially vulnerable.
01:31 The heat's very hot already.
01:32 It's not even close to lunchtime yet.
01:34 And I'm not sure exactly what the heat index is, but it's got to be already in the 90s.
01:39 In fact, the day was actually cooler than forecast in this part of Georgia, in part
01:43 because the sun was diffused by haze from Canadian wildfires.
01:47 In itself, another reminder of the warming climate.
01:50 We're already pouring sweat.
01:51 I've been through three or four things of water already today.
01:55 We kept track of the heat and the humidity during Wimpy's shift using a wet bulb globe
01:59 temperature thermometer.
02:03 This measurement gives the most accurate sense of how the weather feels.
02:07 Wet bulb globe temperatures of 82 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit might not sound so high, but they
02:13 are dangerous.
02:15 Experts say that at those levels, workers should take a cool down break every 30 minutes.
02:22 Humidity can be particularly dangerous because it inhibits the evaporation of sweat from
02:26 the skin, which is our body's best way to cool down.
02:31 I say.
02:35 What the hell?
02:42 It's way too hot to be looking at right now.
02:48 Last year, about this time of the year, it was very hot like it's going to turn out to
02:53 be today.
02:54 I got very sick because of the heat.
02:56 I had a heat stroke.
02:58 I get this headache and I don't have migraines.
03:00 I don't really get headaches, but I had what, if I were to guess, would be a terrible migraine.
03:04 I mean, it was awful.
03:05 I couldn't wear my sunglasses.
03:07 It hurt my eyes.
03:08 Couldn't take them off.
03:09 The sun hurt me.
03:10 I wasn't sweating at all, but I was starting to get cold chills.
03:14 I started off the day with a full charge and by lunchtime, my battery was on E and I wasn't
03:19 talking right, wasn't computing, wasn't making any sense.
03:21 I wound up going to the hospital and apparently, and I didn't know that this could even be
03:26 a thing.
03:27 And I've now seen it since then with several other drivers.
03:30 Unfortunately, your kidneys begin to shut down.
03:32 If not treated properly, heat stress can lead to cramps, dizzy spells, and fainting, or
03:36 even heat stroke.
03:38 And long-term heat exposure can lead to kidney failure.
03:45 We learned from the skin patch readings that at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., Wimby's skin temperature
03:50 reached what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration considers the extreme caution
03:55 zone.
03:58 Within this range, people are more susceptible to sunstroke, muscle cramps, and heat exhaustion.
04:04 In the U.S., there's no federal OSHA standard for protecting workers from the heat.
04:09 California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado do have laws around heat and labor.
04:15 But in most states, it's up to individual employers.
04:19 Some 50 million American workers are vulnerable because they work outside.
04:23 Official records show about 40 worker deaths from the heat each year.
04:26 But the actual number is likely much higher.
04:30 Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group, says that heat is one of the three
04:34 main causes of death and injury in the American workplace.
04:38 The driver nearly collapsing while trying to do his job.
04:41 In late July, Texas Congressman Greg Kassar led a protest at the U.S. Capitol, calling
04:46 for OSHA to adopt federal heat standards as soon as possible.
04:50 We remember those we've lost.
04:52 We respect one another.
04:54 And we hope and demand much better.
04:56 Two days later, President Biden announced the administration is committed to creating
05:00 protections for outside workers.
05:02 The number one weather-related killer is heat.
05:06 We should be protecting workers from hazardous conditions, and we will.
05:10 And those states where they do not, I'm going to be calling them out.
05:15 Some business owners are against federal regulations.
05:18 But heat is increasingly at the center of labor issues in the U.S., including during
05:22 this summer's tense negotiations between UPS and its drivers.
05:27 UPS trucks are not currently air-conditioned.
05:30 But the company has agreed that new vehicles will have AC beginning in 2024.
05:35 But workers say they also need more breaks to help their bodies cope on hot days.
05:40 I'm feeling tired.
05:44 It's hot.
05:46 It's only Monday.
05:48 I got four more days of this after today to go.
05:52 It's not the hottest it's going to be this summer.
05:54 At this point in the day, our wet-bulb globe temperature readings showed it was 88.2 degrees
05:59 Fahrenheit.
06:00 Once temperatures reach over 80 degrees with high humidity, it's already dangerous to work.
06:06 As the temperature climbs above 90 degrees in those same conditions, experts say humans
06:11 reach the limit of what they can tolerate without long, consistent breaks.
06:18 Wimpey told us he'd already heard about another colleague who'd had trouble with the heat
06:21 that same day.
06:23 He came into work today only to have a supervisor have to go out there and assist him getting
06:27 done with the route today because he was suffering from the heat.
06:31 Once you go through that, the heat stroke spell, your body is never the same when it
06:36 comes to heat.
06:37 Heat's hard on you.
06:41 The summer of 2023 has set new heat records for the planet and raised alarm bells around
06:46 general human safety.
06:49 And scientists say there is every expectation that next year will be even hotter.
06:55 It's been very difficult for me.
06:58 The heat has totally changed the dynamic of this job.
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