Field Placement:  UCLA Labor & Occupational Safety & Health (LAOSH)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Preceptor: Ingrid Zubieta
Student Name: Lillian Jalali
Year: 2008

The Heat Stress in Los Angeles Industrial Laundries Project was a collaboration between UCLA- Labor Occupational Safety & Health and UNITE HERE (the union that represents laundry workers).  My advisor for the project was Ingrid Zubieta MPH, an industrial hygienist from UCLA-LOSH.

Heat stress is currently a very hot topic in the occupational health field, especially in Southern California.  Indoor heat poses similar threats to workers’ health and safety as does outdoor heat and industrial laundry workers have complained about the heat inside their facilities for years.  The two simultaneous goals of the project were to measure just how hot it gets inside these laundry facilities and to educate employees on the dangers associated with indoor heat. 

Throughout the project I worked closely with UCLA-LOSH staff, UNITE HERE staff and Health and Safety Committee members of the laundry facilities.  Biridiana Rios (an undergraduate student) was my partner on the project.  The two industrial laundry sites we implemented our program in were Prudential Van Nuys and Prudential Commerce.  Biridiana and I held meetings with the Health and Safety Committee members of both sites and conducted face to face interviews with workers.  We created water logs that were used to measure daily water intake, number of bathroom breaks, and drinks with breakfast and lunch.  We conducted week long education sessions with pre and post tests and employees collected temperature and humidity measures with special instruments we provided.  Based on what I learned while working with UCLA-LOSH and UNITE HERE I created a training activity that will be used next year during the OHIP national orientation for new interns.

I’ve always been interested in workers’ rights and thanks to UCLA-LOSH I was able combine my interest in workers’ rights with my passion for public health.

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