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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Water + Rest + Shade = Survival in Extreme Heat

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Monday, July 22, 2013   

RALEIGH, N.C. - A roofer collapses and dies while cleaning up materials after a long day. A worker cutting trees falls unconscious in 100-degree weather and later dies. Federal officials are sharing these stories of deaths to raise awareness of the risks of working outside during the hot, humid days that are becoming increasingly common around North Carolina as summer temperatures climb.

Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), said heat-related deaths and injuries can be prevented.

"Water, rest, shade. If outdoor workers take these precautions, it can mean the difference between life and death," Michaels said.

According to OSHA, employers have a duty to protect workers and develop a hot-weather plan when temperatures top 90 degrees. That includes providing plenty of water, rest and shade. Signs of heat illness include fatigue, nausea, muscle cramps, confusion and shortness of breath.

The director of the National Weather Service, Dr. Louis Uccellini, warned that more extreme heat is expected this summer, and he urged workers and employers to prepare.

"Heat is a silent killer," Uccellini explained. "Unlike such hazards as damaging winds or flooding, many people often don't realize they are in trouble until they need medical assistance."

OSHA reported that most outdoor workers who die because of heat stress are in their first week of a new job and have not had time to adjust to the working conditions. According to the North Carolina Department of Public Health, last year more than 1,500 people were seen for heat-related illnesses in emergency rooms around the state.

A link to the OSHA fatality map is available at www.osha.gov.




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