(bright music) - I am Paris Jackson in the Crosscut KCTS 9 newsroom.

Soon, Washington could be the second state to impose a permanent rule regulating outdoor workers exposure to one of the fastest growing pollutants.

Climate change is worsening along with the intensity of wildfires.

Outdoor workers are increasingly at the mercy of their employers to minimize their exposure.

The State Department of Labor and Industries recently completed collecting public comment on a proposed permanent rule that would regulate industries where people tend to work outside.

But farm worker advocates fear the rules don't go far enough to protect them.

Some industries challenge ambiguities in the language, questioning the rules scientific basis and claiming new regulations would halt work.

People can inhale tiny particulates deep into their lungs.

Some of the smallest and most damaging of these particulates measure in just 2.5 microns in diameter or less, many times smaller than even the width of a human hair.

I'm Paris Jackson.

Find non-profit Northwest News every day on crosscut.com.

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