SPOKANE, Wash — With wildfire season on the horizon, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) recently filed emergency rules protecting outdoor workers from wildfire smoke during the summer months.
L&I filed the rules on June 1. They go into effect on June 15.
According to the department, the emergency rules will apply to workers whose jobs keep them outside, including road crews, roofers and farm workers.
Grant Weber is the farm manager at Vets on the Farm located south of Spokane. Part of the Spokane Conservation District, the farm helps veterans ease back into civilian life through farming, forestry and agriculture.
“[Smoke} affected us quite a bit, not just because of the health risks," Weber said. "It's shut down our stand a few times.”
L&I public affairs specialist Dina Lorraine said as of right now, there are no permanent rules for wildfire smoke protection.
According L&I, the smoke emergency rules for this summer require employers to monitor air quality.
“Emergency rules this year compared to last year are more protective for workers. They have a threshold that is lower for particles of smoke in the air,” Lorraine said.
If the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaches 69 or higher, which falls into the moderate range, employers are encouraged to limit workers' smoke exposure. That includes reducing time outside, going inside a building with filtered air or reducing work intensity.
Employers are also encouraged to provide NIOSH-approved respirators at no cost to workers and workers can wear them if they want to.
However, when the AQI gets to 101 or higher, the level considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, employers are required to provide respirators for voluntary use and take steps to limit workers' smoke exposure whenever possible.
Finally, L&I said if AQI reaches above 500, respirators become mandatory.
“Some people will say that it may never get that high, but there were a couple of cities last year that did get that high for a certain amount of time," Lorraine said. "The smoke was that bad. It's very, very dangerous when it gets to that level."
For Weber and Vets on the Farm, safety is their number one priority on the farm. He said these emergency rules are a good thing.
“An official procedure for what we're supposed to do will help us out a lot here," he said.
A safety committee meeting will be held next week to go over the new emergency rules.