Wildfires have significantly impacted the San Francisco Bay Area in recent years. These fires have forced employees to evacuate their primary homes. Wildfire-mitigating Public Safety Power Shutoff events have cut power to employees' homes, sometimes for multiple days. Smoke from area fires has required additional precautions for our workers.
Documents
This Air Quality Guidance provides a system for determining which levels of AQI are dangerous and how to take precautions during unhealthy and hazardous air events, including the level of concern, potentially affected employees, and guidance for employees working both indoors and outdoors.
This Heat-Related Illness Guise provides both a description of the symptoms of heat-related illnesses in addition to recommended treatment for each of the conditions, including heat rash, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.
The guidance includes procedures for the provision of water, access to cool-down areas, measuring the temperature and heat index, and acclimatization, as well as emergency response procedures during extreme heat. However, prisons, local detention facilities, and juvenile facilities are excluded.
This Indoor Heat Illness Prevention Policy provides guidance to departments when indoor temperatures in their respective operations reach levels that may be unhealthy for employees and includes a table of recommended actions to take during different levels of heat exposure. This policy will be updated soon pending new state guidance.
This Wildfire Smoke Notice provides a description of the Cal/OSHA regulations required to protect outdoor workers from the effects of Wildfire Smoke and includes a description of the health effects of wildfire smoke, employees rights to be protected from wildfire smoke, and the methods for employers to protect employees from wildfire smoke.