Baltimore’s Department of Public Works has routinely exposed its employees to dangerous, potentially deadly heat and humidity on the job, Maryland workplace safety inspectors concluded following an investigation into the death of a sanitation worker last summer.

Inspectors at Maryland Occupational Safety and Health issued a citation Friday to leadership in City Hall and the Department of Public Works outlining what they classify as a serious violation. The finding comes months after a series of revelations about awful working conditions in Baltimore’s sanitation division and 36-year-old Ronald Silver II’s death on a blistering day in August.

MOSH’s citation doesn’t carry a financial penalty but gives Baltimore officials until March 17 to show remediation of dangerous conditions.

Baltimore’s already embattled Department of Public Works faced outrage and renewed scrutiny after Silver’s death on Aug. 2. The sanitation worker collapsed on a resident’s stoop asking for water on a day when, according to MOSH, the heat index rose to 108.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a Friday evening response, the Department of Public Works said it has participated in the investigation and taken significant steps to bolster protections for its sanitation workers. Among them, the agency pointed to a heat illness prevention plan it is finalizing to provide heat safety resources and training to its employees.

“Our commitment remains steadfast: to provide a work environment that prioritizes the health and safety of every DPW employee,” the agency said in a statement.

An attorney for Ronald Silver’s family, Thiru Vignarajah, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

Silver’s family has demanded answers and accountability for his death. He was an able-bodied father of five in good health, his attorney said at an August press conference outside City Hall. His death, an aunt said, was “completely preventable.”

The serious violation is MOSH’s second-most-severe citation category, pertaining to circumstances with “substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result.”

MOSH Acting Assistant Commissioner Michael A. Penn said in the citation that Baltimore could abate the issues by developing a heat stress prevention and management program, which might include training, environmental monitoring, an emergency response plan, acclimatization procedures, protective equipment and access to shade and water.

Silver’s on-the-job death came as the Department of Public Works was already under the microscope following scathing inspector general reports about its facilities.

The reports revealed dangerous conditions and a culture of fear among employees. Among the findings: locker rooms without air conditioning or working water fountains during periods of extreme heat; bathrooms with sink fixtures that had been broken for months; garbage trucks with no working air conditioning or dashboard lights.

On extremely hot days, water and Gatorade were not made available to employees.

The state’s citation also comes after the city commissioned a private firm to conduct its own investigation into the Department of Public Works. Released in October, that report found the agency had no procedures for dealing with heat-related illness and offered inadequate facilities, vehicles and training, and it confirmed complaints of a toxic work culture in which employees feared retaliation for raising safety concerns.

Still, there are signs of recent improvement.

A follow-up report released last week by Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming found the Department of Public Works has repaired facilities and put new garbage trucks into service. The agency has also posted signs in locker rooms with a phone number for workers to place anonymous tips and complaints.

In other areas, Cumming said, more needs to be done. Low wages make staff retention difficult, she wrote, while training sessions and safety policies are still lacking.

Mayor Brandon Scott said last week that the city has “a long, long, long way to go” to improve conditions in its public works department, but he also touted progress and renewed focus. Last month, his administration created a new deputy mayor position overseeing the Department of Public Works and expected to keep closer eyes on the agency.

In a news release Wednesday, the Department of Public Works highlighted more than $45 million it has devoted to infrastructure upgrades at sanitation yards, among other steps to improve working conditions.

Experts expect that climate change will only make Maryland hotter and more humid in the coming decades. Silver was one of at least 25 Marylanders who died last year from heat-related causes, the most reported in the state since 2018.

This story may be updated.