OSHA advisory committee, work group on heat injury and illness to meet in February

Washington — The National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health has scheduled a public meeting for Feb. 22, followed by the initial meeting of the committee’s work group on heat injury and illness prevention on Feb. 25.

The 12-member committee advises, consults with and makes recommendations to the secretaries of labor and health and human services on matters relating to workplace safety and health.

According to a notice published in the Feb. 4 Federal Register, both meetings are slated for 1 p.m. Eastern and will be conducted via teleconference. The NACOSH meeting’s tentative agenda includes updates from OSHA and NIOSH, along with discussions on heat injury and illness prevention and risk-based safety. The deadline to submit comments and requests to speak is Feb. 15.

The work group is made up of labor and management representatives from industry stakeholders, along with governmental representatives. During its meeting, the group is expected to provide recommendations on guidance materials, as well as evaluate input from stakeholders on the development of a proposed standard on heat injury and illness prevention.

“Work group members have extensive knowledge and experience in identifying factors that cause heat injury and illness hazards in the workplace, in addition to best practices and interventions for mitigating occupational heat injury and illness,” OSHA says.