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For Texas Workers, Exposure To Heat Can Be Deadly

Fence at gateway park with tree in the foreground.
Stella M. Chávez
/
KERA News
These soccer fields in Fort Worth’s Gateway Park are where Karl Simmons was working when he collapsed in July 2018.

Across Texas, workers who spend their days toiling in the heat are dying. Many of those deaths could have been prevented.

Columbia Journalism Investigations, NPR and The Texas Newsroom obtained and analyzed thousands of pages of public and court records, and found that dozens of workers have died in Texas over the past decade. In the first of this 7-part series, you'll hear the story of a North Texas construction worker. A warning: this report contains sensitive audio that may be upsetting for some listeners.

Stella M. Chávez is an investigative reporter for The Texas Newsroom, a collaboration between NPR and member stations around the state. She's based at KERA in Dallas and is currently reporting on how state government is working with federal agencies on immigration enforcement and border security.