When you’re working in sweltering conditions and trying to protect yourself by staying hydrated, what you drink matters.
Water helps, a fact long recognized by workplace safety experts, but it’s not enough by itself, according to a new guideline from the American National Standards Institute, or ANSI, whose consensus recommendations are often referenced in regulations enforced by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The new ANSI policy, A10.50-2024, says employers should provide free beverages that replenish electrolytes to people working in temperatures of 80 degrees Fahrenheit or higher for more than two hours. Electrolytes are minerals such as potassium and sodium that help with the body’s fluid regulation and nerve and muscle function.
The voluntary standard may provide useful guidance to employers bracing for record temperatures this summer—after the U.S. government reported that 2023 was the warmest year, on average, since 1850—and trying to prepare for the possibility of new heat safety regulations from OSHA, which can impose penalties for failure to comply.
While OSHA has traditionally regulated heat safety issues under the general provision of a federal law requiring businesses to provide hazard-free workplaces, it has prioritized heat safety in recent years and begun work on a rule setting specific requirements to protect workers from the risks of heat exhaustion, heat stroke and death.
The ANSI standard’s biggest variation from OSHA’s current recommendations is the specification about electrolytes, says Shawn Stasko, who worked with the ANSI panel drafting the rule. Stasko is the co-founder and chief scientific officer of Sword Performance, a maker of performance hydration beverages.
“Providing your workforce with water is good,” he says, but electrolyte replacement is crucial. Sodium is particularly important, he says, because it’s not only the primary electrolyte depleted by sweat but also the one that helps bodies regulate fluid distribution, which is disturbed when workers overheat.
Heat Safety: Pay Attention to Your Body
Additionally, the standard recommends avoiding beverages with caffeine or high amounts of sugar because they can speed up dehydration.
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