Protecting farm employees from smoke: What to do
ByBryanLittle California’shot summer growingseason and an ongoing drought feeding out-of- control wildfires pose challenges for farm
Employers covered by the night-work standard must furnish employees with high-visibility garments (referred to as “Class 2” garments), which couldbe a vest, jacket, T-shirt or other itemdepending on conditions, and ensure employees wear themwhenworkingatnight.Employersare also required toconduct a safetymeetingat the start of eachnight-work shift to inform employees about the locationof restrooms, drinkingwater,designatedbreakareas,near- bybodiesofwater andhigh-trafficareas. Meanwhile,whenitcomes toheat, farm- ers have worked with employees over the last 15 years to provide enhanced protec- tion through implementation of the Heat IllnessPreventionStandard, frequentlybe- ginningworkveryearly inthemorningand concluding theworkdaybefore thehottest afternoon temperatures. They have also discoveredbenefits of working at night. In addition to simplifying compliance with the Heat Illness Prevention Standard due tocooler temperatures at night,workingat night canprotect thequalityof somecom- modities, particularlywinegrapes. As a service to FELS Newsletter read- ers, this month’s issue includes FELS Tailgate SafetyTraining sheets covering all three of these topics. You can learnmore about subscribing to the FELS Newsletter at www.fels.net/1/fels-services/annual -subscription-services.html. While there is no substitute for thor- ough training—which we hope you con- ducted before the onset of hot weather, thewildfire seasonandundertakingnight work—these tailgate safety training sheets are a valuable resource that we’repleased tomake available. (Bryan Little is director of employment policy forCaliforniaFarmBureauandchief operating officer of FarmEmployers Labor Service, a FarmBureau affiliate.)
employers. The 700,000-acre-and- countingDixieFire andthedevastating Caldor Fire have conspired to fun- nel smoke in agri- culturalproduction areas just as sum- mer temperatures have soared into
The 2020 Caldwell Fire impacted farmers in the Klamath Basin.
Bryan Little
triple digits. These conditions invoke two regulations that farmemployers—perhapspreoccupied withCOVID-19mandates imposedby our state government—may have lost sight of. Theymust follow regulations designed to protect employees fromthe dangers of ex- cessiveheat andwildfire smoke. No California farmemployer should be surprised that Cal/OSHAcompliance offi- cers are actively enforcing a standard that shouldbeat topof themindwhentempera- tures routinely exceed 90 degrees. We’ve keptour regular readersofFarmEmployers Labor Service’s FELS Newsletter , which I edit and FELS produces as a service to our subscribers and clients, informed. And I weighed in recently on this page on han- dling the sweltering summer (“Summer heatmeans time for shade,water andrest,” Ag Alert® , Page 2, July 14). Additionally, theCal/OSHAsmokestan- dard requires remedies when employees are exposed to air quality of 151 or greater on the air quality index (AQI) for the pres- ence of PM2.5 for more than one hour. Theymust move work into environments with filtered air if possible. Or, if feasible, employersmust reschedulework toa time
shouldbeawareof.They include thenight- work regulation (or as Cal/OSHA desig- nates it, “OutdoorAgriculturalOperations DuringHours of Darkness”). The night-work standard applies be- tween sunset and sunrise. The basic rules are not complicated, but they will require some verification and recordkeeping to demonstratecompliance, procurement of a lightmeter (thesearewidelyavailable for less than$100) andhigh-visibility clothing for employees. Employers must provide minimum levels of light, and this can be done through area lighting or lighting on an employee’s person (like a headlamp). Herearesomesituational examples for the amount of light required: •Three foot-candles inmeetingareasor areaswhere employees takemeal periods or rest breaks. • Five foot-candles for tasks not involv- ing theuse of knives or other cutting tools. • Ten foot-candles for tasks involving knives or cutting tools or working around movingmachinery ormachinery parts. • Twenty foot-candles for equipment maintenance.
of better air quality or provide employees with approved particulate respirators un- der voluntary-use rules. The voluntary-use requirements mean it is not necessary to fit-test andmedically evaluate employees who choose to use a provided N95 respirator. That’s a reason- able recognition on the part of the stan- dard’sproponentsof thepractical impossi- bilityof fit-testingandmedicallyevaluating 400,000 farm employees at work during California’s peak agricultural seasons. However, employers must train em- ployees using information provided in the standard’s Appendix Babout proper respi- ratoruseandthehazardsofwildfiresmoke, presumablytoencourageemployees touse employer-provided respirators when the AQI exceeds 150. And if the AQI for PM2.5 exceeds 500, employers are required to provide respi- rators in accordancewith requirements of thegeneral industryrespiratoruserule(in- cluding fit-testing andmedical evaluation of respirator users). Unrelated tosmoke, thereareotherCal/ OSHA regulations that farm employers
VOL. 48, NO. 31
August 25, 2021
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