Climate Change Raises Risk For Outdoor Workers

Speaker 1: 00:00 A recent study of the planet's warming climate predicts working outside will become riskier as communities endure more extreme heat days, more often KPBS environment reporter Eric Anderson says that has implications for the nation's economy. Speaker 2: 00:17 Josh Middleton scans a project blueprint in the shadow of a trolley platform at the university town center. Speaker 3: 00:24 We have to run a pipe from here to here. 33 dash one Speaker 2: 00:31 Middleton runs C electric. The firm is a subcontractor on the mid coast trolley extension. One of San Diego county's largest public works projects. His workers Visel Chan and Brandon Short Reed are up in a cherry picker under a track platform. They're drilling holes into the underside of the trolley bridge, installing electrical lines to connect to an electrical box just across the street. Only select columns under trolley stations will be lit. So passengers can find the platforms at night and Middleton says this work is fortunately in the shade, but that's not the case for every job. In fact, sun and heat can be brutal without special gear. Speaker 3: 01:15 They make certain visors your, your, your sunglasses, um, different types of cooling packs. Speaker 2: 01:22 Sometimes he isn't enough as hot spells get more intense happen more often. And last longer Middleton says the key is finding ways to cope. Speaker 3: 01:32 Like I said, it's really based on the circumstances of the job environment. We would increase water intake and we would probably allow more time for break periods. Speaker 2: 01:42 Rules require extra attention for people working in hot conditions Middleton, make sure his employees have plenty of shade and at least two gallons of water per worker. The climate scientists warn making simple adjustments may not be enough. A recent report, too hot to work from the union of concerned. Scientists finds outdoor workers face higher risks as the number of extreme heat days goes up. And the intensity of heat spells increases Speaker 4: 02:10 Now in the middle of the century, outdoor workers are going to increasingly lose work time because it's too hot to work. And in many cases that's going to mean that they will lose out on potential earnings as well. Speaker 2: 02:23 The group's climate researcher, Christina doll says those lost earnings could total more than $55 billion a year by the middle of the century. And communities of color will suffer. Speaker 4: 02:35 People who identify as black African-American Hispanic or Latino make up about 32% of the population in the U S but they make up about 40% of outdoor workers. And in some different occupations, those numbers are even higher. Speaker 2: 02:51 The analysis concludes that more than 7 million workers could lose up to 10% of their pay because of extreme heat conditions that keep them doing their job. Employers can provide extra protection and more breaks, but a report coauthor, Rachel licker says avoiding work in the middle of the day. Doesn't always have Speaker 5: 03:09 Shifting work schedules to cooler parts of the day can in and of itself have implications that are negative for outdoor workers. So, you know, not everyone wants to work nighttime shifts. Um, it can have implications for your ability to see your family, your mental health Speaker 2: 03:25 Liquor says the federal government can take action to keep workers from suffering in the heat. As it protects their pocket books. She says, all those lost wages could have negative effects on local regional and national economies. But liqueur says slowing climate change remains the best strategy for avoiding extreme heat Speaker 5: 03:43 And save tens of billions of dollars in after worker earnings. If we take action now, and those solutions to climate change, we have in hand into these are measures like, you know, investing in more renewable energy resources. We can get off fossil fuels, electrifying or of our energy systems. Speaker 2: 04:02 You a United nations climate report found that moderating climate change may be a good strategy, but climate change is already here and companies and workers will have to find ways to cope with the extra eight. Speaker 1: 04:15 Joining me is KPBS environment reporter Eric Anderson, Eric. Welcome. Speaker 2: 04:20 Thank you, Marine. This Speaker 1: 04:22 Warning about outdoor work. Doesn't seem to me like the usual climate change warnings about drought or sea level rise, because this is an issue all of us can understand by simply stepping outside. Did the workers you spoke with say they noticed that it's getting hotter? Speaker 2: 04:39 I don't think they've noticed a big change. Uh, up to this point, I talked with some folks who are working on the trolley extension project up in the UTC area. Um, and they kind of have a benefit of being able to work in the shade because a lot of their work right now is underneath that trolley elevated trolley platform. Um, and, and so there are some breaks there, but you definitely know from talking to them that, uh, they know that, um, kind of respecting that heat, uh, while they're doing their work is important. There's a lot of extra water on hand. They have areas, uh, where they can rest outside of the rays of the sun. Uh, and so it's definitely something that's part of their, their daily routine, Speaker 1: 05:23 Our outdoor workers already threatened by heat-related illnesses or even death from heat exposure. Speaker 2: 05:30 Absolutely a 35 times higher. That's the risk of dying from heat exposure. If you're an outside worker, as opposed to someone who does their job inside of a building. So yeah, the risk of death, uh, is, is much higher. Uh, people who work in agricultural fields in California are very well aware of what it's like to be out in the middle of the day when the sun is beating down the back of your neck and you're trying to do this work. Um, and that's something that, uh, uh, state legislation has attempted to account for. Uh, there have some been some bills that, uh, require certain safety standards for workers there to make sure that they get the rest, that they need, make sure that they get the shade and additional water so that they can avoid any, any sort of, uh, death from heat exposure in California. Speaker 1: 06:23 Now, California just experienced its hottest summer on record. Is there any sign that employers are taking note of this new hazard for their workers? Speaker 2: 06:34 Sure. The workers I talked to, uh, in the course of the past week, uh, or union workers, uh, international brotherhood of electrical workers, and that's something that their union is very well aware of. They have requirements in their contract that require, uh, the employers to provide, uh, certain things like water hydration stations and, and have a plan for dealing with extreme heat conditions. So yes, it's, it's something even in temperate San Diego, where are the conditions are not as hot as say in the Imperial valley where we're looking at, you know, long stretches of triple digit heat, even here in San Diego, uh, workers are aware of the, of the danger of working out. Speaker 1: 07:16 And you mentioned Imperial county, that's one area where more than 25% of the workforce are outdoor workers. And that's also an area where hot weather is expected to increase, isn't it? Speaker 2: 07:29 Yeah. And increased pretty dramatically. Uh, MOCAD jumped 30 to 50 days a year, uh, with unsafe heat conditions. Um, you look at the temperatures out there this week in the triple digits all through the week in the middle of the day. Um, and that also reduces your productivity and that has an impact on economics. Speaker 1: 07:52 And as you mentioned, that there's this huge projected economic impact of it becoming too hot to work. Is there a concern that outdoor workers though, we'll just keep working in increasingly hot and unsafe conditions so they can bring home a paycheck? Speaker 2: 08:08 I think that's where the union of concerned scientists, places, a lot of their concern. That's a pretty big pressure point for an employee. If they're going to lose a week's worth of work, because it's just too hot to work outside, they still have to provide for their family. Um, and that creates a pressure to perhaps work in an unsafe condition. And that's something that they're concerned about, but even if you do take that time off, protect yourself from the extreme heat and miss out on that work, um, you know, that's a big economic chunk. Uh, they estimate that by 2050, um, if some of the worst global warming, uh, conditions, uh, arrive here, it could represent somewhere in the neighborhood of $55 billion worth of lost wages. So it's a pretty significant chunk there, uh, as the climate warms Speaker 1: 09:03 And Eric, does this report predict different outcomes? If more action or less action is taken to mitigate climate change? Speaker 2: 09:11 Well, what the report's authors say is that if we do nothing and we continue on the current course that we are on, we're going to see some of the worst outcomes, some of the harshest outcomes, more heat days, more intense heat days, longer heat spells. They say there's still a chance to influence that outcome by doing some common sense things, which is reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, uh, boosting our reliance on renewable energies like solar and wind, uh, things that are environmentally friendly. Uh, we still have a chance to, to affect the outcome so that the worst of those climate changes won't happen. And we won't see as severe an impact on the workers. And they say that's really actually, uh, the best, uh, strategy is, uh, if you can keep those outcomes from happening, then you don't have to worry so much about economic, uh, support, uh, legislation or, or safety legislation to keep workers safe. Speaker 1: 10:13 I've been speaking with KPBS environment reporter Eric Anderson, Eric. Thank you. Speaker 2: 10:18 My pleasure.