Heat puts Kentucky workers at risk; avoidable with proper safety precautions
Elevated summer temperatures put Kentucky workers at risk, and without dedicated heat standards in place, education about heat safety is key to making sure workgroups understand the dangers, Olivia Evans and Connor Giffin report for the Louisville Courier Journal.
They report in depth about the thousands of Kentucky workers in industries like construction, agriculture, shipping and more, who work in “brutal” heat conditions that, without proper precautions, can overwhelm the body’s defenses.
“Heat-related injury sent Kentucky workers to the hospital more than 500 times from 2019-24, according to a report from the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center. Nationally, thousands of cases are documented in workplaces each year. These figures are likely underreported by a considerable margin, according to medical experts and occupational safety professionals who spoke to the Courier Journal,” they report.
Further, Evans and Giffin write that the threat to worker safety is growing with time because of climate change, resulting in warmer summers and increased humidity.
“But experts say heat-related injury, illness and death are entirely preventable,” they report.
Need for heat safety standards
One way to protect workers from heat-related injury is through legislation, which so far has proven unsuccessful.
The Courier Journal reports that this was the intent of a “first-of-its-kind nationwide rule,” put in place in July 2024 under former President Joe Biden’s administration, “that would provide heat protections for some 36 million indoor and outdoor workers with a goal to substantially reduce heat injuries, illnesses and deaths in the workplace.”
However, Evans and Gifin report that following President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the proposed heat-safety standard has stalled for months and is expected to be heavily revised or altogether abandoned.
Meanwhile, they report that the Kentucky General Assembly passed a law last year to agree to cap the state’s occupational safety standards at federal levels. Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed the measure, but the supermajority of Republican lawmakers overrode the veto ― “in effect, blocking Kentucky-specific protections on issues like heat exposure, and largely leaving the issue up to employers and putting the onus on Kentucky workers to look out for one another.”
Limited tools to protect workers
The Courier Journal adds that without official heat safety standards, the state’s Occupational Safety and Health program has limited tools to protect workers.
Lynn Whitehouse, the division director for KYSAFE, told the Courier Journal that starting May 1 of each year, KYSAFE and its 27 consultants start making rounds across Kentucky to thousands of employers, offering free recommendations and guidance on heat safety.
“It is totally preventable if employers put things in place to monitor employees, give them water, rest, shade, rotate in and out, work during the cooler times of day,” she said. “Heat injury and illness is totally preventable.”