Southern California heat wave reminder of state’s heat illness prevention regulation

As Southern California grapples with a severe heat wave, collision repairers should keep in mind a fairly new Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board regulation on heat illness prevention.

The National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts very hot conditions this week, with a high risk of heat-related illness for the region. Isolated showers are possible Thursday and Friday. Significant cooling is likely over the weekend, but NWS says it will remain warm. Heat warnings and advisories were issued.

NWS adds that significant relief from the heat is expected by early next week. On Wednesday, Burbank was forecast to reach 111 degrees, with six other cities reaching 100 degrees or higher.

“The extra clouds expected for Thursday and Friday will likely have little effect on the temperatures because of their tropical origin and likely embedded breaks of sunshine,” NWS said Wednesday. “Not only that, but even if temperatures lower a little, the mugginess feeling will rise.”

A CBS article, published Wednesday, states that this week’s conditions in Southern California have been nearly unprecedented for this time of year, according to its Los Angeles meteorologists.

“If forecasts hold, it could be the first time triple-digit temperatures are felt in Los Angeles for three consecutive days since the 1880s,” the article states.

Effective July 23, 2024, the California Code of Regulations, Title 8, section 3396, “Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment,” was adopted to prevent employee exposure to heat illness.

The board says the regulation applies to most workplaces where indoor temperatures reach 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

Businesses, including collision repair shops, must measure the temperature and heat index and record whichever is greater when either reaches 87 degrees, or 82 degrees for workers working in clothing that restricts heat removal or high-radiant-heat areas, according to the regulation.

The regulation also requires access to free, clean, and cool potable water and at least one cool-down area kept below 82 degrees. The cool-down area must be blocked from direct sunlight and other high-radiant heat sources, large enough to accommodate all workers on rest breaks at the same time while sitting without touching each other. It must also be as close as possible to work areas.

The board also says the following are environmental risk factors for heat illness:

• • Air temperature
  • Air movement
  • Relative humidity
  • Radiant heat from the sun and other sources, like machinery, for example
  • Conductive heat sources, like the floor
  • Workload severity and duration
  • Protective clothing and personal protective equipment worn by workers

The board’s FAQs on the regulation state that the temperature can be measured with a thermometer as long as it’s freely exposed to the air but shielded from radiant heat sources, such as the sun, hot objects, hot surfaces, hot liquids, and fire. It must also be measured in the immediate area where workers are located and recorded in degrees Fahrenheit.

To measure heat index, the board says to use a heat index monitor that measures temperature and relative humidity, utilizing the National Weather Service’s heat index equations.

“Calculate the heat index by measuring the indoor temperature with a thermometer… and relative humidity with a hygrometer, then use the chart found in Appendix A of Title 8, section 3396,” the FAQ answer states.

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