Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Heat Kills (Again)

I just reported that four California workers had been killed by heat related illnesses, and one in North Carolina. Now there’s been another in NC:
A Mexican migrant worker was found dead near a Person County soybean field on Friday of an apparent heart attack or heat stroke, according to the Person County's Sheriff Department. This marks the second time in less than a week that a migrant worker has died under similar circumstances.

According to the National Weather Service, it was 98 degrees in Raleigh last Tuesday. The Weather service does not collect data for Roxboro. Ordaz, who was to turn 40 last Wednesday, was found dead about 15 feet from a soybean field on Friday after 4 p.m. It appeared he had been dead for some time.
Given that it's 2005, given that OSHA has been in existance for 35 years, and given the prospects for global warming, isn't it time that federal OSHA issue a heat standard?