Nonprofits work outside for many reasons, including summer camps, garden workdays, tabling at community events, and more. Extreme heat and wildfire smoke are common risks that can impact health and safety when working outdoors. There are important things you need to be aware of to keep your workers safe and be compliant with Washington State’s wildfire smoke and outdoor heat exposure rules. Remember to address both heat exposure and wildfire smoke safety in your Accident Prevention Program (APP).
Outdoor Heat Exposure
Heat-related illness is a danger to workers. The outdoor heat exposure rule applies year-round to all employers with employees performing work outdoors in heat above 80˚F, or above 52˚F if workers are wearing nonbreathable clothing. There are different rules for firefighters and agricultural workers.
Employers are required to provide annual training to employees and supervisors on:
- symptoms of heat-related illness
- procedures to prevent heat-related illness
- emergency procedures to respond if a worker is showing symptoms.
When workers are exposed to outdoor heat, employers must:
- Provide sufficiently cool drinking water and encourage employees to consume water to ensure hydration. Employers must ensure that all employees have at least one quart of water per hour available to them.
- Provide access to shade or other means to reduce body temperature, such as misting fans, large enough to accommodate all employees on a rest period and located as close to the work area as practicable.
- Encourage and allow workers to take paid, preventative cool down rest periods so they don’t overheat. The employer must implement the following high heat procedures when the temperature is at or above 90° F:
- When temperatures reach 90°F or hotter, employers must require workers to take paid, cool down rest periods of at least 10 minutes every 2 hours.
- When temperatures reach 100°F, employers must require rest periods of at least 15 minutes per 1 hour.
- Closely monitor employees who are not acclimatized to working in outdoor heat and monitor all employees during a heat wave.
- Ensure employees and supervisors always have a way to communicate to report heat-related illness.
Learn more about this rule and find additional outdoor heat safety resources on the Department of Labor & Industries’ Be Heat Smart! page.
Wildfire Smoke
Wildfire smoke can have negative impacts on anyone, even healthy individuals. In January 2024, wildfire smoke rules were put in place to protect the health of workers who are exposed to wildfire smoke. Employers must always allow employees who display symptoms that may potentially be related to wildfire smoke exposure to seek medical attention or follow medical advice they have been given and should monitor employees displaying symptoms to determine whether medical attention is necessary.
Employers must monitor PM2.5 concentration levels periodically to determine employee exposures. The current PM2.5 measurement or NowCast Air Quality Index (AQI) for PM2.5 may be used to monitor conditions. Please note that EPA updated the AQI breakpoints in May 2024. This post uses the updated AQI breakpoints. The levels of PM2.5 concentration did not change.
When the current PM2.5 is above 20.5 μg/m3 (AQI 72), employers must notify employees of PM2.5 conditions. The employer must establish and implement a two-way communication system for communicating wildfire smoke hazards in a form readily understandable by all affected employees. Employers must also encourage employees to report worsening air quality, issues with exposure control methods, and symptoms related to wildfire smoke exposure without retaliation. The hazard communication system must be documented in a wildfire smoke response plan in your APP.
Employers are required to provide workers with training on wildfire smoke before exposing them to a PM2.5 concentration of 20.5 µg/m3 (AQI 72) and must repeat this training annually. All requirements for training can be found in WAC 296-820-825. L&I also has resources for wildfire smoke training.
As PM2.5 concentration levels rise, employers have requirements for implementing exposure controls and providing and requiring the use of respirators. Exposure controls may include:
- Providing an area where the air is adequately filtered
- Relocating work to a location with a lower ambient air concentration of PM5
- Changing work schedules to a time with a lower ambient air concentration of PM5
- Reducing work intensity
- Providing additional rest periods
This chart summarizes requirements for protections as PM2.5 concentrations increase.
- Monitor PM2.5 concentration levels & forecasts
- Prepare a wildfire smoke response plan
- Prepare a two-way hazard communication system
- Make provisions for prompt medical attention without retaliation
- Provide wildfire smoke training to employees
- Consider implementing exposure controls – only trained employees may work outside
- Consider providing free respirators for voluntarty use
- Implement exposure controls
- Make free N95 respirators available for voluntary use
- Move workers experiencing wildfire smoke exposure symptoms requiring immediate medical attention to a location that ensures sufficient clean air
- Directly distribute free N95 respirators to all exposed employees for voluntary use
- Implement a complete required use respiratory protection program
- Provide and require respirators with an assigned protection factor (APF) of 25 or more
Find more information about this rule and wildfire smoke safety and health resources on the Department of Labor & Industries’ Wildfire Smoke page.
In June of 2024, NAWA partnered with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries for a one-hour webinar on wildfire smoke and outdoor heat exposure rules. You can watch the webinar recording here.