Stepped Up Worker Protections Called for Due to Wildfire Smoke

WASHINGTON — As long swaths of smoke from Canada’s wildfires made a second pass over the eastern seaboard this week, workforce advocates were again calling for urgent action to be taken to protect the nation’s workers from the growing effects of climate change.

“This is not a one-time crisis,” said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, in a written statement. 

“Dangerous pollution in the air we breathe will be a fact of life for years to come, because climate change has greatly increased the occurrence of wildfires and other extreme weather events,” Goldstein-Gelb said.

A particulate-laden haze settled over Washington, D.C., and metropolitan areas extending up through Baltimore, Maryland, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York on Monday at the same time that all of these cities were under excessive heat warnings.

Though conditions began to moderate Tuesday, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow.gov Smoke and Fire map, the particles, known as PM2.5, remain in the air.

They are tiny enough to get deep into the lungs and cause short-term problems like coughing and itchy eyes, and in the long run, can affect the lungs and heart.

The EPA advises keeping outdoor activities light and short when air quality indexes reach above 150 on the agency’s AirNow.gov map.

At its height late Monday, at least a dozen cities were in the poor air quality zone.

When that happens, sensitive individuals, including people with heart and lung disease, older adults, children and pregnant women, should consider staying inside, advisories warn.

Compounding the situation, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health says, is the fact that only two states — California and Oregon — have specific safety rules that protect workers from wildfire smoke.

While there are differences between the two state’s regulations, both include requirements that employers ensure their workers receive training on the health and safety risks associated with wildfire smoke, and allow for workers to take steps to reduce their exposure when the amount of particulate matter in the air is high and the air quality is itself low.

In jobs where employees cannot be rescheduled or moved indoors, the states’ rules mandate that employers provide high-quality masks, such as N95 respirators.

And if conditions truly deteriorate, the regulations mandate when employees are obligated to wear masks.

Still, some advocates think even these conscientious states could do better. For instance, California requires employees to report violations, a situation that could stoke fears they will be retaliated against.

A third, the state of Washington, has proposed safety standards for wildfire smoke, but has yet to finalize the regulations. 

“We urgently need nationwide, federal standards to protect workers from smoke, heat stress and extreme weather events,” Goldstein-Gelb said. “Paid sick leave, a basic and humane standard for all workers, is more important than ever at a time when daily life and work activities are exposing hundreds of millions of people to the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.”

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue