The sun was beating down on a large house under construction just north of Charlotte recently, as temperatures hovered in the upper 90s.
Four workers moved around the outside of the home, digging, drilling and painting under direct sun. Tim Marsh was up on a ladder holding a roller covered in yellow paint. Every few seconds, he wiped sweat from his forehead, paused to catch his breath and kept painting.
“This week I’ve been getting off, going home and going right to sleep,” Marsh said. “It has been affecting my body a lot. But you know, just keep pushing.”
Marsh has worked with this group for eight years. Some days he paints. Other days, he pours concrete — his favorite part of the job. But in scorching weather like this, it becomes one of the hardest tasks to do safely, he says.
“Can’t take no breaks when you’re pouring concrete,” Marsh said. “You gotta get it down there and get the job done. But you gotta also pace yourself.”
Matthew Bryce, the crew leader, has worked in construction for 25 years. He said this line of work has helped him raise three children and pay his mortgage. That is why, even when the weather is brutal, he still shows up.
“It’s rough when it’s super hot,” Bryce said. “There’s not much you can do.”
On sweltering days, workers have to look out for one another, he says. They watch for signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, such as when someone stops sweating.
“If your body is telling you you need to take a break, you need to take a break,” Bryce said. “You don’t keep working through it because that’s where it gets dangerous. And if you do stop sweating, that’s the biggest problem.”
Bryce said construction workers are used to pushing themselves in difficult conditions. But in extreme heat, that instinct can be dangerous.
“We’ve had to take people and set them down in the shade and (make them take) a break, because they try to keep working through it,” he said.
Only seven states have laws on heat safety standards for workers. Those standards include requirements around water, shade, training and rest breaks, which vary based on the state and the temperature.
North Carolina is not among the states with a specific heat exposure standard listed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. There is also no specific federal heat standard, though OSHA says employers are required to protect workers from recognized hazards, including heat-related hazards that are likely to cause death or serious harm.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services documented 262 heat-related emergency department visits statewide during the week of June 21.
The risks, however, are not limited to North Carolina. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks heat-related emergency department visits using near-real-time hospital data from across the country, divided by federal health regions.
During this summer’s heat wave, forecasters have warned of dangerous heat across much of the central and eastern U.S., with heat index values in some places expected to reach as high as 115 degrees.
Dr. Michael Fitch, an emergency room doctor with Atrium Health, said outdoor workers face a different level of risk because they may not be able to stop whenever they need to.
“Folks that are going to be out working in the heat, they’re certainly at risk because they may not have the luxury that some of us have, of being able to take breaks whenever they want,” Fitch said.
For construction workers like Marsh, the risk is part of a job he still has to return to, even after days that leave him exhausted.
“As long as I’m coming back home safe,” he said. “That’s all that matters.”
The heat wave is expected to break in Charlotte this week, but many excessively hot summer days still lie ahead.
