New smartphone app compliments OSHA's Campaign to Prevent Heat Stress Illnesses

According to OSHA's website, "Outdoor workers who are exposed to hot and humid conditions are at risk of heat-related illness. The risk of heat-related illness becomes greater as the weather gets hotter and more humid. For people working outdoors in hot weather, both air temperature and humidity affect how hot they feel. The "heat index" is a single value that takes both temperature and humidity into account. The higher the heat index, the hotter the weather feels, since sweat does not readily evaporate and cool the skin. The heat index is a better measure than air temperature alone for estimating the risk to workers from environmental heat sources.

To compliment their Heat Stress Prevention Campaign, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration developed a smartphone app that calculates the heat index and displays a risk level for workers. The Heat Safety Tool, available for both iPhones and Android devices, along with other useful information about heat related illness awareness and prevention, is available at the OSHA website, www.osha.gov.

--Rick VanVranken