91视频

When the going heats up, building doesn’t stop, and construction workers in Portland are finding ways to keep cool during the city’s recent heat wave.

Besides standbys such as drinking water, and taking frequent breaks, workers such as Dusty Carlson, an ironworker building shelters along TriMet’s downtown bus mall, find that chilling out is a process that begins as soon as they get up in the morning.

鈥淚 take a cold shower before and after work,鈥� said Carlson. 鈥淎nd on the job, I dunk my bandana in cold water before I put on my hardhat.鈥�

Despite temperatures in triple digits this week, crews are moving forward with projects and taking advantage of the city’s short dry season. Scott Wyatt, head welder with the city of Portland, is currently installing little bumps of brass on rails in the Park Blocks to deter skateboarders. A group of residents from a nearby apartment building watched with interest as Wyatt and his crew sweated it out.

鈥淚t’s hot, but that doesn’t mean we stop working,鈥� Wyatt said. 鈥淚’ve got my audience here. The residents have been complaining about the skateboarders, asking if we can put more signs in. We have no excuses. We have to be out here.鈥�

Wyatt, a native of Tombstone, Ariz., said he depends on Portland’s summer breezes to cool him down when he’s on the job. The city also provides all of its workers with Sqwincher, an electrolyte replacement drink similar to Gatorade made specifically for industrial workers. And when he returns home, Wyatt sets the air conditioner to 70 degrees and relaxes with a cool beverage.

For workers who aren’t accustomed to the heat, however, high temperatures can be dangerous, according to Melanie Mesaros, public information officer with Oregon OSHA.

鈥淲e’re not used to this kind of heat in Portland,鈥� said Melanie Mesaros, public information officer with Oregon OSHA. 鈥淧eople may not realize how risky it is, and that is a big concern for us.鈥�

One of OSHA’s top priorities is to ensure that Oregon workers know what they need to do to prevent heat-related illness. According to Oregon OSHA, 32 workers over the past five years have filed for workers compensation for heat-related illnesses.

Once a worker is afflicted with a heat-related illness, it can take between one and three days to recover, depending on several factors.

鈥淩ecovery depends on the person’s physical state,鈥� said Penny Wolf-McCormick, health enforcement manager of Oregon OSHA’s Portland region. 鈥淚t varies depending on what medication they might be on, and how quickly (the illness) gets caught. If it’s caught soon and the person is healthy, they will feel better within a day.鈥�

Mesaros says the easiest ways to prevent heat-related illnesses such as heatstroke and heat exhaustion is by taking regular breaks, drinking water often, and observing whether fellow workers are displaying symptoms of heatstroke or heat exhaustion.

And if all else fails, ironworker Mitch Moga has a last-ditch method to bring his temperature down.

鈥淪ometimes, I just dunk my head in the cooler,鈥� said Moga, who on Thursday was installing bus shelters along TriMet’s downtown bus mall. 鈥淏ut that’s only at peak hotness.鈥�