Possible link to heat exposure investigated in 5 CA worker deaths

(From the sacbee.com) As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issues warnings for Californians to beware of sizzling heat, Cal-OSHA is already investigating five worker deaths since June as possibly related to heat exposure. Two deaths occurred Wednesday – the same day that state legislators held a Capitol hearing on whether the state’s regulations are good enough to protect workers from injury and death.

“Heat illness continues to be extremely significant for us, and we put special emphasis on it,” said Erika Monterroza, a state occupational safety spokeswoman.

Four people whose deaths are under investigation were farmworkers, and one was a construction worker.

Schwarzenegger issued a statement Friday to “remind outdoor workers and those that employ them of California’s stringent regulations to prevent heat illness.”

On Wednesday, Rodolfo Ceballos Carrillo, 54, collapsed while loading boxes of table grapes onto trucks at Sunview Vineyards in Kern County.

Autopsy results are pending. Temperatures reached 97 degrees. In July 2008, Abdon Felix, 42, another worker for Sunview Vineyards, died after performing the same job.

Read more here: Possible link to heat exposure investigated in 5 California worker deaths