Smoke from ongoing Canadian wildfires has pushed air quality across Michigan to hazardous levels. Today, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) issued an updated statewide air quality alert, upgrading conditions across the entire state to “Hazardous” due to elevated fine particulate matter, or PM2.5. PM2.5 can enter the lungs and bloodstream and has been linked to lung, heart and kidney disease. Smoke exposure also can cause heat stress and eye and respiratory irritation. Smoky conditions are expected to linger into Saturday, with the Upper Peninsula experiencing the heaviest impact.
The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) does not currently maintain a workplace safety and health standard specific to wildfire smoke exposure. In the absence of such a rule, an employer's baseline obligation comes from the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act's General Duty Clause. That provision requires every employer to furnish employees “employment and a place of employment that is free from recognized hazards that are causing, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm.”
In plain terms, once hazardous smoke conditions are well known and foreseeable, employers with outdoor or poorly ventilated workforces have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to reduce that risk.
OSHA has historically recommended protective measures for employees exposed to wildfire smoke, including:
- Monitoring air quality conditions frequently, using a resource such as the EPA's AirNow (airnow.gov).
- Relocating or rescheduling work tasks to smoke-free areas or times of day.
- Reducing levels of physical activity, especially strenuous or heavy work.
- Requiring and encouraging employees to take breaks in smoke-free locations when possible.
- Where possible, making accommodations for employees to work indoors with proper HVAC systems and high-efficiency air filters.
- Providing or allowing the voluntary use of NIOSH-approved respirators when respirator use is not otherwise required. Employers should keep in mind, though, that when an employer allows voluntary respirator use, they must provide employees with the advisory information found in Appendix D of OSHA's Respiratory Protection Standard.
For additional information on how to keep your employees safe during this incident, please contact DeAndre' Harris or your Warner Labor and Employment attorney.
