A recent study from Harvard University and George Washington University examined 2023 data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Injury Tracking Application for businesses with 100 or more employees—mainly in high-hazard industries—and found 28,000 injuries were linked to hot weather, according to Safety+Health magazine.
The study said each injury “was geocoded and matched with high-resolution weather data for the specific injury date.”
Researchers also found the risk of injury increased when the heat index was around 85 F and even more when the heat index was 90 F or higher; injuries connected to extreme heat exposure were seen across almost all industry sectors, including jobs performed indoors; and employees in states with workplace heat exposure regulations appeared to have a lower risk of injury on hot days.
Senior study author David Michaels, environmental and occupational health professor at George Washington University and former OSHA administrator, said there likely are more than 28,000 injuries per year because “most heat-related injuries are not recorded as such.”
Check out NRCA’s Heat Illness Prevention webpage, which provides resources to help keep workers safe in the heat.
