Considerations for Worker Safety

Many of you are now regularly dealing with wildfire smoke—another byproduct of rapidly changing climate conditions. For those who live and work in the western or northern U.S. and Canada, smoke is certainly now a regular part of our reality during the dry summer and early fall months, and is an issue that many other locations are also experiencing.

Smoke from wildfires is a mixture of gases and fine particulates that can be harmful to the health of many individuals. The state of Washington's Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) recently mandated the implementation of safety policies to protect those who must work outdoors during smoke events.

My institution, Washington State University (WSU), published our Working During Wildfire Smoke Events policy in April 2024 in our administrative Safety Policies and Procedures Manual. I thought I'd share some of the requirements that L&I asked us to include, along with those WSU decided to also implement, for your consideration.

What are the Definitions of Any Technical Terms Involved?

As with many safety and technical related policies, there's industry terminology that it's advisable to define for users who are new to the subject. We found two terms, “air quality index (AQI)” and “particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5),” that needed definitions to increase clarity.

"Air quality index" communicates air quality for several pollutants, including PM 2.5. PM 2.5 measures the amount of solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in the air in micrograms per cubic meter.

Who's Responsible and What are They Responsible For?

State regulations specify required actions when wildfire smoke affects outdoor air quality at five different AQI values and action levels. WSU had to determine which administrative offices would be responsible for managing and performing the various actions needed to deal with smoke events:

• Campus Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) offices: Monitoring air quality; notifying departments/units, workers, and students by email of air quality risks; and providing applicable information resources.
• Campus Facilities Services offices: Operating facility heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to reduce indoor PM 2.5 concentrations whenever feasible; work with building occupants to keep all windows, doors, and other exterior openings closed as much as possible.
• Research and Extension Centers (RECs): Notifying REC facilities, farms, and workers of air quality, risks, and applicable information resources.
• Departments/Units: Enforcing the policy; establishing effective methods of communicating air quality risk notifications to workers who don't have access to email.

What Actions are Required?

Departments and units with outdoor workers are required to encourage workers to report worsening air quality, report on their own and other workers' possible symptoms of wildfire smoke exposure, and seek medical attention as needed without fear of retaliation.

As smoke levels increase, the different PM 2.5 concentrations require different levels of response. The policy outlines the various PM 2.5 concentration levels and the responses—from providing N95 masks for voluntary use, to requiring distribution of N95s to workers, to requiring the use of full powered air purifiers (which requires another level of fit-testing and training).

Why is Wildfire Smoke Exposure a Concern?

We decided that providing a description of the health effects of wildfire smoke exposure would help to emphasize the seriousness of these events and fully inform WSU community members, and especially those who work outdoors, of the risks involved.

General symptoms which may be related to smoke exposure include, but are not limited to, cough, irregular heartbeat, headache, scratchy eyes, and fatigue. These symptoms are uncomfortable but not necessarily life-threatening.

We also provide a list of symptoms that require immediate medical attention, including but not limited to, symptoms indicating possible heart attacks, breathing difficulties, asthma attacks, and nausea or vomiting.

Creating Your Own Policy

Every institution handles worker safety issues differently, but it's a good idea to formalize policies for protecting the health of our employees, students, and volunteers in as many of the situations they'll encounter as possible. I hope what I've shared from the WSU perspective helps you start or continue your own conversations about developing or revising a safety policy at your institution for those working outdoors during smoke events.