Oil Industry Asks Trump Administration to Kill Heat Safety Rule

image via New Scientist

May 29, 2025, 4:45 PM

• •The oil and gas industry is opposing a planned OSHA rule to limit heat deaths among workers.
• •The proposed rule would require employers to offer water and rest breaks when temperatures rise above 80 degrees.
• •The industry argues that the rule would jeopardize the president's vision of achieving “energy dominance.”
• •OSHA cited the death toll from heat and the role of climate change in causing them when it proposed the protections.

The oil and gas industry is actively opposing a proposed OSHA rule designed to protect workers from heat-related deaths, arguing it conflicts with the administration's energy dominance goals. This opposition comes as oil and gas workers face increasingly dangerous conditions due to rising global temperatures and climate change, with the industry accounting for a significant portion of heat-related fatalities and hospitalizations. The proposed rule, which mandates water and rest breaks, is being challenged by industry groups that claim it is overly burdensome and would stifle innovation. As the Trump administration considers the rule's fate, the debate highlights the conflict between worker safety and the pursuit of fossil fuel industry interests, raising concerns about potential increases in heat-related deaths.

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