Heat-Injury Link Found in Analysis of OSHA Data

A study examining a worker injury dataset has linked 28,000 annual injuries to exposure to high temperatures.
David Michaels, the longest-serving chief of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), led a team of researchers from George Washington and Harvard universities, along with Barrak Alahmad, director of the occupational health and climate change program at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
“Extreme heat can result in fatal heatstroke. But before we get to these levels, we found that even moderate hot conditions can subtly increase the risk of workplace injuries,” Alahmad said in a statement. “A finding that was remarkably consistent in almost all industries we examined.”
Researchers analyzed all 2023 injury cases reported to OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application by establishments with 100 or more employees, primarily in high-hazard industries.
In 2023, OSHA put a final rule in place requiring large establishments (with 100 or more employees) in specific high-hazard industries to electronically submit detailed records of every work-related injury and illness, regardless of whether it resulted in a workers’ compensation claim.
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OSHA has reduced the fines initially issued after a worker was killed repairing power lines on Wisconsin’s Washington Island in May 2024.
James Terrill, 27, of Fond du Lac, was working for Michels Underground Cable when he contacted an energized line while assisting with recovery efforts after storms went through the area.
OSHA initially issued four violations with fines of $39,179, but the contractor appealed.
OSHA records show that was reduced to three violations — two “serious” and one “other” — and the penalty was reduced to $27,426.
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