Cal/OSHA issues report on heat-illness crackdown

Oakland, CA – The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s heat illness prevention Special Emphasis Program led to 3,575 inspections in 2014 – about one-third of which resulted in heat-related citations – the agency has announced.

A vast majority of Cal/OSHA’s 2014 heat inspections occurred in either the construction (2,022) or agriculture (678) industry; the remainder took place at outdoor worksites in various industries, according to a report on the program.

From those inspections, 1,058 resulted in at least one citation for a violation of the Heat Illness Prevention Standard. The most frequently cited sections of the standard related to an employer’s written heat illness prevention program, employee training and inadequate water.

Overall compliance with the Heat Illness Prevention Standard increased slightly in 2014 from 2013, and last year had fewer confirmed heat-related fatalities and illnesses than the previous year, the report stated.

The report was released in conjunction with a March 13 Cal/OSHA Advisory Committee meeting.