The harmful chemicals and tiny particles in wildfire smoke can make anyone sick. Mild symptoms include coughing, runny nose, and eye irritation and inflammation. The more serious health effects include trouble breathing, asthma attacks, reduced lung function, chest pain, and heart attacks.
Training, communication, and exposure controls are among the keys to protecting workers.
Oregon OSHA’s wildfire smoke rule applies to employers whose workers are or will be exposed to hazardous levels of wildfire smoke. The tiny particles in wildfire smoke of most concern – and addressed in the rule – is the particulate matter with a diameter in micrometers of 2.5 or less, commonly referred to as PM2.5.
The rule’s protective measures include assessment and monitoring of air quality where workers are exposed; provision and documentation of employee training; implementation of two-way communication; use of engineering and administrative controls, such as relocation of workers to enclosed buildings or to outdoor locations where air quality is better, and work schedule changes to reduce exposures; and use of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved filtering facepiece respirators.
All wildfire smoke resources are available on Oregon OSHA's
A-to-Z topic index page. They include a video training in
English and
Spanish that satisfies certain training elements of the wildfire smoke rule.
Moreover, Oregon OSHA provides free and confidential
consultations to employers to help them improve their programs and prevention efforts. The division’s
technical specialists help guide employers on how to apply rules to their workplaces.