Sec. 3. Findings
623 words·~3 min read·
/bill/116/s/4280/is/section-3A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress makes the following findings: Extreme heat events have been the leading cause of weather-related death in the United States over the last 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Weather Service. The fourth National Climate Assessment, mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990 ( 15 U.S.C. 2921 et seq.) finds that average annual temperature over the contiguous United States has increased over the past century, and that recent decades are the warmest of the past 1.5 millennia.
The National Climate Assessment projects that the frequency and intensity of extreme high temperature events will increase in the future as global temperature increases. Exposure to extreme heat can also cause acute heat-related illnesses, such as heat stroke, which result in more than 65,000 emergency room visits each year and exacerbate respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. Heat poses the greatest health risks for adults older than 65 years of age, young children, low-income communities, urban communities, communities with low air conditioning prevalence, socially isolated individuals, people with mental or physical disabilities, workers without sufficient access to cooling, athletes, people with pre-existing conditions, incarcerated individuals, people experiencing homelessness, and military personnel.
Heat is a threat to the health and safety of workers, particularly outdoor workers, such as construction workers, farmworkers, and landscapers, who are at an elevated risk of heat illness. Between 1992 and 2017, across all occupations, heat was estimated to be responsible for an average of 2,700 serious injuries and 30 deaths per year in the United States. Those figures are likely underestimated due to underreporting. Nursing homes, mental health facilities, and other locations with populations on medication are especially vulnerable to extreme heat, as medications can lower the threshold for heat-health incidents.
Heat exposure is an issue of environmental justice, as people living in low-income communities, communities of color, and Tribal communities face a number of interacting factors that render them more vulnerable to extreme heat. The COVID–19 pandemic has led to closure of many public cooling centers or rendered such centers inaccessible to individuals concerned about contracting the highly contagious disease. People in living in low-income communities, communities of color, and Tribal communities are affected by disproportionately high rates of underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, and hypertension, and a greater risk of contracting COVID–19 or experiencing serious complications if infected with COVID–19.
Those medical conditions, among others, can be exacerbated by extreme heat and lead to more serious illness and death if not treated immediately. The impacts of heat on human health are more severe in urban areas where land surface properties create an urban heat island phenomenon, particularly in neighborhoods with limited availability of or access to green spaces, shade, and tree cover, higher density of building structures, and more vehicular traffic. Limited availability of tree cover and higher temperatures are correlated with low-income neighborhoods in urban areas.
In Richmond, Virginia, Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, DC, researchers found that heat risk is disproportionately distributed to communities of color in patterns associated with segregation and redlining. Researchers have found that few communities in the United States have sufficient resources for heat planning, preparedness, and response. Researchers have found that long-term, scenario-based planning as well as heat early warning systems can result in behavior changes that lower morbidity and mortality, but individuals unaware of heat risks or with low risk perception of heat are less likely to take appropriate precautions.
The risks associated with extreme heat have complex interactions and impacts, and the management of those risks requires an interdisciplinary approach. Regions and communities that face the greatest health consequences of extreme heat often may experience the lowest heat risk perceptions or have access to the fewest resources for responding to extreme heat.
Connectionstraces to 1
Traces to 1 document
U.S. Code