Friday, December 30, 2011

Farmworker Children Vulnerable To Heat Exposure

Death and injury from heat exposure is a wide-spread but often overlooked workplace hazard. In California over the last five years, 28 workers have died from heat-related health problems, 12 of whom worked in agriculture. The watchdog group Public Citizen says it time for nationwide regulation of heat exposure standards. In comments to the U.S. Department of Labor, they said that the administration should institute protections from extreme heat exposure for child farm workers under the age of 16. The government is considering changes to child labor laws for the first time in 40 years. Vic Bedoian filed this report.