WA’s new wildfire smoke exposure rules for workers start Jan. 15

The Washington Department of Labor & Industries announced it will enforce new permanent wildfire smoke protections for outdoor workers starting Jan. 15, after two years of operating under emergency measures.

Washington joins Oregon and California as one of the few states to regulate outdoor workers’ exposure to wildfire smoke. There are no explicit protections on the federal level, despite the uptick in wildfires in recent summers as a direct result of climate change. 

Wildfire smoke can be especially dangerous to those working in fields such as agriculture and construction as workers inhale fine smoke particles that catch deep in the lungs. Continued exposure can lead to a wide array of health defects – aggravated asthma, heart failure or even death.

L&I enacted emergency wildfire smoke measures in both 2021 and 2022. Under the new year-round protections, employers must monitor daily forecasts and hourly estimates for air quality. The permanent measure also asks employers to draft wildfire response plans, and mandates respiratory protection once the Air Quality Index tops 101 or higher. 

In a preliminary analysis provided by L&I, the agency estimated the permanent rules will cost employers from $10.7 million to $14.6 million a year, and will be offset by another $17.6 million and $27.8 million in “annual benefits.”

In August, Crosscut found that employers wanted clearer instructions on their individual responsibilities when enforcing said protections, while advocates – especially in the agriculture industry – felt L&I could have issued protections starting at a lower AQI.