FARMINGTON HILLS, Michigan – That’s it hot and getting hotter for workers and all other outdoor people as the first heat wave of the year heads east across the United States. More than 70 million people were under extreme heat warnings Monday.
What’s more, heat will get in and stay. Excessive humidity will make it feel even more oppressive. “The duration of this heat wave is remarkable and potentially the longest experienced in decades in some locations,” the National Weather Service said over the weekend.
This is dangerous. Emergency medical services in the U.S. have already deployed to heat-related emergencies more than 2,400 times between June 1 and 14, according to a government data tracker.
From gardeners to builders, not everyone can stay at home. Here’s some advice from some people who will be working away this week on how to handle the situation.
Last year, the US had the biggest heat waves — abnormally hot weather lasting more than two days — since 1936.
Now, “we’re going to see record temperatures daily in some locations,” said Andrew Orrison, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Temperatures will be close to 100 degrees in the Boston, New York and Philadelphia corridor.
On Monday afternoon, Jose Orozco and about a dozen other workers rested under a tree near their water works in Farmington Hills, a suburb of Detroit. The temperature was already above 80 degrees and rising.
The work of maintaining public water supplies in a heat wave is crucial. But this needs to be done in the safest way possible. This means observing signs of heat exhaustionor worst.
“All we do is drink water and take 15-minute breaks,” Orozco said. “You might see someone slowing down and it’s time to take a break.”
Tuesday will be even more challenging, he said. They will work with asphalt.
Spilled hot-mix asphalt can reach temperatures of up to 300 degrees, said Chris Engelbrecht, director of safety and emergency management for the Missouri Department of Transportation. On any given summer day, 2,000 or more workers will be on Missouri roads performing maintenance.
The Illinois Department of Transportation has been preparing for the heat for weeks. There are “tailgate” sessions in mid-spring to prepare crews on what precautions to take, said Joseph Monroe, operations engineer. He spent part of Monday on a road outside St. Louis in temperatures in the mid-90s, with the pavement much warmer.
From Southern California to parts of New England and from the Canadian border south to the Florida Keys, temperatures this week are expected to exceed 90 degrees and even over 100 in some places, according to the National Weather Service.
Chris Sander operates Powder Monkey Fireworks, which is already gearing up for the Fourth of July in Missouri. Sales start this week and workers have already started distributing the goods.
Sander said his employees do their heaviest physical work early in the morning, before the heat rises. The tents are ventilated but do not have air conditioning.
“We have a lot of fans, so you pour bottled water on your head and stand in front of a 30-inch fan every five or 10 minutes, taking lots of breaks,” Sander said. Workers can also go to an air-conditioned trailer. Sander encourages lunch at a restaurant to help them cool off.
If necessary, he will send them home.
“If you see someone a little lethargic or otherwise, tell them, ‘The day is over. Come back tomorrow,’” he said.
Urban areas will sizzle. Chicago is expected to reach 95 degrees on Monday. The Detroit area could see 97 degrees on Thursday. Knoxville, Tennessee, could be 96 degrees by Friday.
Work supervisors at the Oakland County Highway Commission in southeastern Michigan try to restrict workers’ hours exposed to direct sun, said spokesman Craig Bryson.
Greg Brooks, director of safety and compliance for the Michigan Transportation and Infrastructure Association, said the state requires construction companies to take necessary precautions. In addition to providing drinking water and extra breaks, many companies rotate workers so that no one is exposed to the heat all day.
In some jobs, shifts are staggered. Crews work during the cooler mornings and resume in the evening to avoid the hottest part of the day.
It’s also important to teach workers to recognize that there’s a problem in each other, Brooks said: “Generally, people who suffer from heat exhaustion won’t recognize it as heat exhaustion because they have tunnel vision.”
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Salter reported from O’Fallon, Missouri.
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