Workplace heat illness standards set as deadly ‘heat season’ ends in Maryland

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Long-awaited regulations to protect workers from heat have been finalized and will go into effect on Monday – two days after the official end of the deadly “heat season” that claimed the lives of dozens of Marylanders this summer.

With just days left until the annual Heat-Related Illness Surveillance Report monitoring period – the so-called heat season – the Maryland Department of Health has recorded 25 deaths and nearly 1,200 emergency room visits due to heat-related illnesses this year.

This is a sharp increase from the nine heat-related deaths recorded last year and the largest increase since 2018, when 28 people died from heat illnesses. The highest number of annual heat-related deaths occurred in 2012, when storm-related power outages left many people without air conditioning for several days, resulting in 46 deaths.

The 2024 figures were valid until September 21, and that number could increase as the season doesn’t officially end until this Saturday, September 28.

State officials said, however, that while the heat season may end this weekend for recordkeeping purposes, heat may still persist for some time as the climate continues to warm and heat starts earlier and lasts later.

“As the climate warms, both here in Maryland and across the country, we are seeing an increase in heat-related deaths and illnesses,” said Clifford S. Mitchell, director of the Office of Environmental Health at the Maryland Department of Health.

According to a Maryland Department of Labor official, the new regulations issued by the Maryland Office of Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) have been years in the making and will formally go into effect on September 30. The regulations will ensure that employers have sufficient breaks and are able to provide water and cooling to their workers.

“As temperatures rise, there is an increased risk of people overexerting themselves and getting into trouble,” Mitchell said. “That’s why the new MOSH standard is so important, because it will help people recognize when they feel sick and prevent it.”

The regulations, officially published last week by the Maryland Department of Labor and Industry, offer a uniform standard for avoiding heat stress but provide employers with the flexibility to tailor methods and strategies to meet the needs of their workplaces.

In addition to ensuring that employers provide workers with sufficient breaks, water and cooling, the new regulations will also require more frequent and longer breaks when the heat index reaches 90 and 100 degrees. The rules will apply to both indoor and outdoor workers.

“The goal was to develop a standard that would protect workers from extreme heat while still allowing businesses to operate,” Mitchell said.

“Employee heat standards are something the Department of Labor has been working on for a long time,” he said. “It’s a very complicated standard. This involved a lot of discussion with industry, unions and workers, as well as health care providers.”

Mitchell couldn’t say how many of the 25 heat-related deaths this year were people who overheated on the job, but he said that “as temperatures rise, workers face significant risk.”

At least one of this summer’s heat-related deaths occurred on the job: Ronald Silver II died Aug. 2 of a heat-related illness while working at the Baltimore City Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Solid Waste.

The latest health department data shows that 14 of the people who died this year from heat-related illnesses were 65 or older. Nine of the people who died were between the ages of 45 and 64, and two were between the ages of 18 and 44.

The highest number of fatalities was among men, with 19 men dying this heat season compared to just six women. Twelve of the people who died were black, 11 were white, one was Hispanic, and the final victim’s race was listed as “other.”

Mitchell noted that current reports have shown no heat-related deaths among children and teenagers this year.

“As terrible as each preventable heat-related death is, the bright spot is that there appear to be no child fatalities,” he said.

At least 1,190 Marylanders have been in emergency rooms or urgent care for heat-related illnesses this heating season, breaking the previous record of 901 emergency room visits set in 2021.

Mitchell said the increase in heat incidents this year over recent years may be skewed by the fact that heat-related deaths have declined during the pandemic.

“There’s a little caveat here. Of course, heat-related deaths are related to climate and weather,” he said. “But like anything else, COVID is almost certainly responsible for some of the pattern changes we’ve seen over the last few years.”

“There have been significant disruptions to daily life, including some that may be risk factors for heat-related illness and injury,” he said.

Mitchell says the 2024 heat season coming to an end highlights “the importance of preventive interventions such as the MOSH Heat Prevention Standards.”

“What we’ve seen this year confirms a trend we continue to see, which is that the planet is warming and Maryland is warming, which is increasing the number of people at risk of serious heat-related illnesses. We are seeing an increase in emergency room visits and urgent care visits, and we continue to see that across the state,” he said.