OSHA

As summer temperatures rise, the threat of heat-related illness and death to oil and gas workers increases.

From January 2015 to July 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration received reports of 2,101 severe injuries among oil and gas extraction workers. Contract workers in the service and drilling subindustries experienced disproportionately more work-related injuries compared with those in the operation subindustry.

As industries, including the oil and gas industry, strive to enhance worker safety, more advanced and protective modern head protection, safety helmets, are replacing traditional hard hats.

OSHA cited BP with 10 serious violations, saying the gas production plant lacked adequate training and process controls for leaks. The explosion killed two workers in September.

OSHA issued citations to oil and gas waste-management company Production Waste Solutions for failing to protect workers from hydrogen sulfide after an employee died.

KLX Energy Services was cited for exposing workers to explosion hazards.

A pair of new guidance documents from OSHA outline measures employers should take to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and reduce the risk of heat-related illness among workers wearing cloth facial coverings in hot and humid conditions or performing strenuous tasks.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a COVID-19 control and prevention guidance for oil and gas industry workers and employers. The guidance supplements OSHA’s interim guidance for the general workforce.

OSHA requires construction and manufacturing businesses, among others, to complete and regularly update paperwork related to workplace safety. Do you know your company’s OSHA recordkeeping obligations?

Although OSHA does not have a specific standard that covers working in hot environments, the Occupational Safety and Health Act requires places of employment that are "free from recognizable hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious harm." This includes heat-related hazards.