Responding to record breaking hot summer throughout the nation, including Houston, Julie Su, the acting Secretary of Labor, announced, that they will issuing a heat hazard alert through its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Doug Parker, the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health adds, “Employers have a duty to protect (including temporary) workers by reducing and eliminating hazards that expose workers to heat illness or injury.”
In addition, the White House has published a report that they plan to provide billions of dollars from the Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to lower-income communities. Through Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), they want to make buildings more energy efficient and open cooling centers to keep residents safe. The Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, which will have HUD-assisted apartments be upgraded with cool coatings for roofs to bring down building temperatures during high heat days, installation of heat pumps to reduce energy demand and keep units cool, and upgraded windows and sealing to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures. Building owners will also have the opportunity to invest in technologies, such as solar panels, heat pumps, wind-resistant roofing, insulation, and low embodied carbon materials. As part of the program, there will also be a range of grant and loan funding options for commercial investors and multi-family developers.