It was 100 degrees in Baltimore the day Ronald Silver II died on the job last summer. He had already taken time off from his sanitation job that week to recover from body cramps, a symptom of heat-related illness recognized by the U.S. Army and federal agencies. But he was worried about getting in trouble with supervisors, a report from the city’s inspector general shows, so he went back to work on August 2, ready to make 1,153 trash pickups over the course of another long day.

The garbage trucks of Baltimore have what numerous employees told the inspector general was “inadequate air-conditioning,” if they have it at all, and exhaust fumes can make the area behind the trucks 20 degrees hotter than the outside temperature. Silver suffered in those conditions for hours on the last day of his life, and the IG report describes a crescendo of distress. His vision was blurry; he was exhausted and disoriented. By 11 a.m., he was struggling to walk. Around 4 p.m., he fell to the ground. Water was no help. He stopped breathing. CPR revived him enough to vomit. He spoke of leg pain, cramping, chest pain. Paramedics arrived at 4:21 p.m. and took him to the hospital. By 5:05 p.m., he was gone. Silver was 3.

Deaths like Silver’s could be avoided with a federal heat standard, which the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed under the Biden administration last year. The rule would require employers to protect workers in extreme heat with cool-down shelter, water, and in extreme heat, mandatory rest breaks.

But the Trump administration has given no indication of whether it will complete the rulemaking process. Throughout June and early July, OSHA held informal hearings on the proposal, which has drawn more than 50,000 comments. One day provided a potent demonstration of overheating: A hearing was delayed because the air-conditioning broke at the location, in the Department of Labor building.