People working outdoors, coughing and hacking through wildfire season, risking long-term damage to their lungs and heart, will soon see greater protections from smoke and particulate matter in the air.
Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries adopted permanent rules Thursday for businesses putting people to work outside, forcing employers to monitor air conditions and provide new training, masks or respirators, and access to spaces with clean air.
The new rules, which go into effect Jan. 15, come as good news to Edgar Franks, political director for the farmworkers union Familias Unidas por la Justicia, but he said they’re only a starting point.
Heat and smoke conditions are worsening, Franks said. And farmworkers — the vast majority of whom are Latino — not only suffer from increased rates of exposure but also seldom have health care.
“You live in poverty, you don’t have access to health care, with language barriers, access is difficult, you live in rural areas,” Franks said. “You’re working in conditions that are also hazardous with pesticides and chemicals.”
Familias Unidas has about 500 members who plant and harvest blackberries, blueberries and strawberries, Franks said. Those workers, and others all across the state, should receive health care and higher pay to compensate for such dangerous conditions, he said.
Climate change, caused by burning fossil fuels, is increasingly warming the atmosphere, contributing to a rise in the size and severity of wildfires across the American West. With those wildfires come smoke and particulate matter, the technical term for which is “PM2.5.”
Smoke and particulate matter plague cities and towns across the country, choking out the sun and forcing people to stay inside or seek shelter in places with air filters. Those with preexisting heart and lung issues are particularly at risk but exposure can also cut long-term respiratory and cardiovascular health, exacerbate issues like asthma and lead to heart failure.
While many can escape the worst smoke and particulate matter by staying inside, outdoor workers such as those in the agricultural and construction industries can’t. Often, they are forced to suffer poor air quality despite the risks.
The degrading air quality has been so pronounced that in 2021 and 2022 Labor and Industries enacted temporary smoke protections for those workers. But the latest set of rules will be in effect year-round.
In the early stages employers are now required to prepare for inevitable smoke days by creating a response plan, offering training to their employees and monitoring air quality levels.
Washington’s Department of Ecology recommends when the air quality index, or AQI, reaches 51, people with underlying health conditions should limit their outdoor activities. At 101 and higher, the air becomes unhealthful for children, the elderly, pregnant people and those who are sick.
At that AQI, Labor and Industries requires employers to provide respiratory protection, though workers are not required to use respirators. The rules also require “feasible wildfire smoke exposure controls.”
With an AQI of 151 and above, Ecology recommends everyone limit time outside and to avoid strenuous activity.
Seattle’s air quality this summer ranked among the worst in the world when levels spiked to 190. In fall 2022, AQI in town surpassed 240.
Labor and Industries’ next requirement level kicks in at an AQI of 301 and tells employers to distribute respiratory protection to individual workers, though they’re still not required to wear them. If employees begin to suffer from the smoke and require medical attention, the employers are required to relocate them to a place with clean air.
At an AQI of 500 and higher, all affected workers will be required to wear respirators and a “full workplace respiratory protection program is required,” the rules say.
Franks said he’d prefer the tiers for the new rules be set for lower AQI levels, because from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency indicate that air quality deterioration can more quickly harm people than previously thought.
An analysis from Labor and Industries estimated that the new rules cumulatively could impose up to $14.6 million in new costs to businesses across the state.
But the benefits far exceed the added costs, the analysis continues. The protections will target often-marginalized people at higher risk than more-affluent and generally white populations.
With fewer people exposed to smoke and particulate matter, they’ll suffer fewer health problems and won’t lose pay as a result of missing work, the analysis continues. The continued health of these people will benefit communities in which they live as well as alleviate pressure on emergency services and government-funded social services.
