This Week ’s Heat Wave Is Pushing Businesses and Workers to Their Limit

Portland food cart co-owners Eric and Nicole Gitenstein didn’t have much choice about whether to open their business during this week’s unprecedented heat wave plaguing the Pacific Northwest. Excess heat from their refrigerators and burners often raises temperatures inside their cart, MF Tasty, 10 to 15 degrees higher than those outside. With area temperatures peaking at 116° F on June 28, working in such conditions could have put their lives in danger. “It’s better to lose a weekend than to lose your life, or be hospitalized for heat exhaustion,” Eric says. His fears were warranted—the human toll from the extreme heat that has suffocated the Pacific Northwest in recent days resembles that of an earthquake or hurricane. The high temperatures are responsible for at least 63 deaths across Oregon alone, per officials, while more than 1,100 people across Oregon and Washington states have been hospitalized with overheating symptoms. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The record-breaking temperatures have also exacted a serious economic toll, with businesses across the region—many still recovering from coronavirus shutdowns—closing their doors, many to keep their employees safe. “It just seemed incredibly unsafe to ask anybody to work,” says Cathy Whims, owner of Nostrana, a Portland Italian restaurant. “We couldn’t possibly do that with any good conscience.” At Tough Luck, a bar in Portland...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news