 Hard work and a blazing sun, a potentially dangerous combination which can cause heat-related illnesses and even death. Heat-related illnesses can strike anyone, at any time, anywhere. While hot weather is more common in eastern Washington, heat waves do happen in western Washington as well. If it is hot out, you can be at risk. You need to plan ahead to protect yourself from heat-related illness. This video will inform you of your rights and responsibilities as an employee in Washington State. This includes what you need to do to protect yourself and your fellow employees from the deadly effects of heat-related illness. In June of 2008, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, better known as DOSCH, of the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries adopted an outdoor heat exposure rule to protect Washington State workers from the effects of heat-related illnesses. When the temperature is 89 degrees Fahrenheit or above, your employer must provide an adequate supply of clean, safe water for you to drink and the time for you to drink it. Your employer must also implement a plan to treat employees who experience heat-related illness. If you have to wear two layers of clothing for your work, like coveralls over regular work clothes, your employer must provide water when the temperature reaches 77 degrees Fahrenheit or above. The first thing everyone must recognize is that the effects of heat-related illness can occur fairly quickly. Symptoms of heat-related illness can't be ignored. Immediate action is required to prevent heat stroke, which can be fatal. Even the initial effects of heat-related illness can result in accidents or injuries. Take our friend the painter for instance. Disorientation is one of the symptoms of heat-related illness. After working on the hot roof for a couple of hours without water, his judgment became impaired, combined with the fact that he neglected to wear his fall protection equipment. He didn't fall directly from not drinking an adequate amount of water, although it certainly was a contributing factor. He fell from being dehydrated, which affected his ability to think correctly and from not wearing his fall protection equipment a dangerous combination. The good news is that heat illness is preventable. In fact, it is easily prevented. In this video, we'll show you what you can do to protect yourself from the illness, how to recognize the symptoms and how to treat your fellow workers who are showing signs of it. Simply, you will suffer serious heat illness. If your body becomes so overheated, it no longer has the ability to cool itself. There are various levels of heat illness, and we'll examine each level after we look at what we need to do to keep our body cool. The good news is that even if you have a job that requires you to work in the sun, it doesn't mean you're going to get sick. Heat illness is preventable, but heat illness can affect anyone and everyone. You must be proactive in combating heat illness. Let's look at the factors that contribute to the risk of heat-related illnesses. There are the environmental factors. The most obvious is the sun. The more you have to work in the direct sun, the greater the risk. Mix lots of sun and high temperature with a high relative humidity and you can be in extreme danger. For instance, if it is 95 degrees Fahrenheit outside and the relative humidity is 80%, the apparent temperature or how hot the combination makes you feel is 136 degrees. If you have to work in that temperature-humidity combination without drinking an adequate amount of water, you are in extreme danger of experiencing heat-related illness. Remember, your employer must provide you with all the water you need to be safe, free. There is no excuse for not drinking it. From experience, you know that adding wind makes the temperature feel colder than the thermometer shows. This is true in both winter and summer, so if there is almost no wind, the blistering sun will seem even hotter. If you are working with or near engines, they add heat to the environment. Also beware of heat reflected from the ground or objects, such as roofs, asphalt paving, or even water. They can greatly intensify the impact of the sun. What kind of work you are doing and how hard you are working and how long you have been doing it plays a very important role in how heat will affect your body. Some jobs require that you wear personal protective equipment, which can prevent your body from self-cooling through the evaporation of your sweat. Heavy clothing, multiple layers, or dark-colored clothes will also work against your body's self-cooling mechanism. Drink extra water and remove the protective equipment during breaks. That's if you are away from the hazards that require you to wear the protective clothing. If you have not worked in hot temperatures recently, it takes about a week for your body to adjust to the heat. It's called becoming acclimated. That's why sudden heat waves can be very deadly. Now let's talk about you and what personal factors can increase your sensitivity to heat. The most important factor is how much water you drink during hot weather, even for jobs with incidental or limited outdoor exposure. If you don't drink enough, you will become dehydrated and develop heat-related illness. So if it's hot out, drink more water, a little bit at a time, but all the time. Other personal factors that make you more susceptible to heat-related illness include your age, your weight, and your personal fitness. Also, certain medications can make you more sensitive to the effects of heat. Check with your doctor or your pharmacist. During the hot time of the year, it is important that you watch what you eat and drink on and off the job. Caffeine, soft drinks, and alcoholic drinks need to be limited since they dehydrate the body. Heavy foods are an extra burden on your body and nicotine adds to the problem. There are some other personal risk factors that are the result of being a good employee with a right attitude and positive work motivation. But they can be the most deadly of all. If you're a good employee, you probably have these thoughts yourself. I'm tough. I don't need a water break. I'm not thirsty. I don't need to drink. I'll lose pay if I take a water break. I'm letting my team down. I'm new here. I need to prove myself. They sound good, but they are deadly. Don't fall for them. You need to stay healthy. Take your breaks and drink your water. But if there's still work to be done, and even if it's still hot outside and hot or not, the work must be done, then work smart. Sometimes it's possible to schedule work for the cooler parts of the day and work in the shade, or at least out of the direct sun, and alternate heavy work with light work when you can. If you haven't worked in hot weather for a while or there's a sudden heat wave, take it easy to allow your body to adjust to the heat. In a week or so, you'll be able to tolerate the heat much better. If the heat is extreme or the work is tough, or you have to wear protective or heavy clothing, take more rest breaks to cool off and to drink more water. If you have to wear non-breathing clothing, your employer must provide you with water if it's 52 degrees Fahrenheit or above. Where protective clothing or chemical suits are not required, you should wear light-colored, lightweight clothes made from natural fibers and a lightweight hat with a brim. When there is a significant risk of heat-related illness, here's a real good idea for everyone. Establish a buddy system. Keep an eye on your fellow workers for symptoms of heat-related illness. If your buddy becomes cranky or pretends there is no problem, notify your supervisor and try to get your buddy cooled down. If they don't know where they are or who they are, it's an emergency. Get medical help immediately and notify your supervisor. We said earlier in this program that drinking water was the most important thing you could do to prevent heat illness. How much and when should you drink? If you do it slowly, it's hard to drink too much. A cup of water about every 15 minutes is right most of the time. If it is super hot, you'll have to drink more. But never guzzle it down. Do not drink a quart of water all at once. Your body just won't be able to handle it. Start drinking water before you feel thirsty and start work well hydrated and stay hydrated all day. Sports drinks and food help to replace the electrolytes you lose from sweating. Bottled water is convenient and can be refilled by the potable water provided by your employer. Stores that cater to hikers sell water bottles that can be fastened on your belt or individual sized water coolers that can help keep your water cool all day. These can also be refilled from the large water containers supplied by your employer. Your employer may have a truck or mobile equipment close to where you work with a large water container with a tap. It must have a closeable lid to protect the water from contaminants and individual disposable cups to drink from. It is there for your use and protection. Be sure to take advantage of it. Even if you follow the actions we just laid out to prevent or greatly reduce your chances of experiencing heat illness. You still need to learn to recognize the symptoms in yourself and your fellow workers and what to do about each one. There are five main kinds of heat illness starting from the least to the most severe. The least serious is heat rash. This generally occurs under clothing and manifests itself in red blister like eruptions that will itch like crazy. To treat it, allow the skin to dry by removing the offending clothes and rest a while in a cool location. The next most severe illness is heat cramps in the arms and legs. It can feel like you're getting a Charlie horse. It hurts like gangbusters. There's no way of hiding the symptom from fellow workers. Watch your buddy for abnormal body posture or grasping the affected area. Get yourself or your buddy to a cool place to rest. They should drink water or a heavily diluted sports beverage. If the cramping is especially severe or does not go away, seek medical attention. Fainting is the next type of heat illness. This most happens when the person is not used to working in hot environments. Of course, any type of fainting is dangerous in many work situations. If the person falls and sustains bodily injuries, those injuries need to be treated, plus cooling the person with a portable mister or sprayed with water. If they regain consciousness and are alert, they can drink small amounts of water. If they don't need to be taken to a medical center, your coworker can rest in a cool location until they recover enough to return to work or go home as appropriate. Heat exhaustion is a serious illness and help must be immediate. Untreated heat exhaustion may progress to heat stroke, which may be fatal. The symptoms for either may develop quickly or over several consecutive days of working in hot temperatures. Be aware of these symptoms. Weakness, fatigue, headache, blurred vision, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, high pulse rate, extreme sweating, pale face or a red face. Unsteady gait and clammy and moist skin with normal or just slightly elevated temperature. If you or your coworker has any of these symptoms, there are steps to take to relieve the symptoms. If it is you, immediately move to a cooler shaded area to rest and if possible lay down or help your coworker to do this. Whatever you do, don't leave a coworker alone, but send someone to get your supervisor or a person trained and certified in first aid. Loosen and remove heavy clothing that doesn't allow their sweat to evaporate. Spray the person with a cool mist or apply a wet cloth to their skin and fan the person. If they start to shiver, stop the cooling. If they're alert and not nauseated, give them fluids to drink a little at a time. If you or your coworker aren't feeling better in 15 minutes, tell your supervisor, keep yourself or your coworker cool, rested and taking liquids. And don't let the person who is suffering from heat exhaustion go back to work. The heavy protective clothing added to the firefighters problem. But if the conditions are right, you can be overcome with heat exhaustion wearing a t-shirt. During hot weather, be alert to the symptoms in yourself and in others. Get the victim to a cool area and help them cool off. Never leave them alone and notify your supervisor. But if the person is suffering from heat stroke, they need immediate attention because seconds count. How does a layman know when it is heat stroke when the symptoms are almost identical with heat exhaustion? The main difference is their mental confusion or disorientation in all heat stroke victims. You can ask them three questions. What is your name? What day is this? And where are we? If the victim can't answer these questions, assume the worst. Immediately call for emergency help and notify your supervisor. While waiting for help to arrive, start working to cool the person with whatever means you have. Don't be timid about it. Put them in a tub of cool water or in a cool shower. Or spray them with cool water from a garden hose or a mister. If none of these measures are available, have the person lie down with their feet elevated and sponge the person with cool water. Buy ice packs under their arms and to the groin area and fan them. If they are alert and not feeling sick to their stomach, give them sips of cool water. Never give fluid to an unconscious person. A person suffering from heat stroke is in a critical condition. If the ambulance is delayed for any reason, it's a good idea to call the hospital emergency room and ask for further instructions. This victim is very fortunate to have friends like you who know what to do and do it. But you also have to be alert that you don't become another victim. If you become lightheaded, confused, weak, faint, or have a pounding heart or trouble breathing, take a break and rest in a cool area or shade and sip water a little at a time. All the time. Take care of yourself. You never know when a fellow worker may need your help to survive.