Evaluation of Occupational Exposure Limits for Heat Stress in Outdoor Workers — United States, 2011–2016

Tustin, Aaron W; Lamson, Glenn E; Jacklitsch, Brenda L.; Thomas, Richard J.; Arbury, Sheila; Cannon, Dawn L.; Gonzales, Richard G.; Hodgson, Michael

doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6726a1

Cited by 66 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Our results suggest that the current heat rule threshold should be lowered and employers mandated to provide access to shade. Both of these recommendations align with current NIOSH recommendations to reduce HRI in workplaces 20,46 …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…Both of these recommendations align with current NIOSH recommendations to reduce HRI in workplaces. 20,46 While the current threshold for Washington's heat rule may not offer complete protection of workers from HRI, Washington is still one of two states that currently have specific regulation to protect outdoor workers from HRI. There are many other states without a heat rule that experience hotter and more humid climates and have large employed populations in industry sectors that had high rates of HRI in our data.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Heat related illness among workers in Washington State: A descriptive study using workers' compensation claims, 2006‐2017

Hesketh

Wuellner

Robinson

et al. 2020

American J Industrial Med

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Background Heat related illness (HRI) places a significant burden on the health and safety of working populations and its impacts will likely increase with climate change. The aim of this study was to characterize the demographic and occupational characteristics of Washington workers who suffered from HRI from 2006 to 2017 using workers' compensation claims data. Methods We used Washington workers' compensation data linked to weather station data to identify cases of work‐related HRI. We utilized Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System codes, International Classification of Diseases 9/10 codes, and medical review to identify accepted and rejected Washington State (WA) workers' compensation claims for HRI from 2006 to 2017. We estimated rates of HRI by industry and evaluated patterns by ambient temperature. Results We detected 918 confirmed Washington workers' compensation HRI claims from 2006 to 2017, 654 were accepted and 264 were rejected. Public Administration had the highest third quarter rate (131.3 per 100 000 full time employees [FTE]), followed by Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting (102.6 per 100 000 FTE). The median maximum daytime temperature was below the Washington heat rule threshold for 45% of the accepted HRI claims. Latinos were estimated to be overrepresented in HRI cases. Conclusion The WA heat rule threshold may not be adequately protecting workers and racial disparities are present in occupational HRI. Employers should take additional precautions to prevent HRI depending on the intensity of heat exposure. States without heat rules and with large industry sectors disproportionately affected by HRI should consider regulations to protect outdoor workers in the face of more frequent and extreme heat waves.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 60%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat related illness among workers in Washington State: A descriptive study using workers' compensation claims, 2006‐2017

Hesketh

Wuellner

Robinson

et al. 2020

American J Industrial Med

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“…This study was designed to identify how to best determine if work environments temperatures are dangerous to worker health and if data generated from geographic data systems accurately align with the microenvironment temperatures in the workplace. Much of the recent research and reports on the heat conditions experienced by U.S. agricultural workers at risk for HRI has been conducted in at the worksite using weather monitoring data from regional stations (19)(20)(21). Few studies actually report workplace temperature monitoring data in the microenvironment surrounding individual workers (22).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining Agricultural Workplace Micro and Macroclimate Data Using Decision Tree Analysis to Determine Heat Illness Risk

Mac

Hertzberg²,

McCauley³

2019

Journal of Occupational &Amp; Environmental Medicine

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“…Indeed, only nine of the 36 reviews included in our analysis mentioned occupational heat strain, and of these reviews, the sole occupations of interest were military, firefighters, and emergency responders. In contrast, most research to date focusing on occupational heat strain has been largely based in epidemiology, climatology and public health, often focusing on the negative health consequences and predictions of labour losses, rather than developing solution for occupational heat strain [8,9,17,124]. Indeed, a recent publication in The Lancet came to a similar conclusion regarding the lack of physiologic research in informing solutions for heat related deaths and illnesses [171] and has specifically made a call for greater work in this area.…”

Section: Other Issues Raised By the Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable solutions to mitigate occupational heat strain – an umbrella review of physiological effects and global health perspectives

et al. 2020

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Background: Climate change is set to exacerbate occupational heat strain, the combined effect of environmental and internal heat stress on the body, threatening human health and wellbeing. Therefore, identifying effective, affordable, feasible and sustainable solutions to mitigate the negative effects on worker health and productivity, is an increasingly urgent need. Objectives: To systematically identify and evaluate methods that mitigate occupational heat strain in order to provide scientific-based guidance for practitioners. Methods: An umbrella review was conducted in biomedical databases employing the following eligibility criteria: 1) ambient temperatures > 28°C or hypohydrated participants, 2) healthy adults, 3) reported psychophysiological (thermal comfort, heart rate or core temperature) and/or performance (physical or cognitive) outcomes, 4) written in English, and 5) published before November 6, 2019. A second search for original research articles was performed to identify interventions of relevance but lacking systematic reviews. All identified interventions were independently evaluated by all co-authors on four point scales for effectiveness, cost, feasibility and environmental impact. Results: Following screening, 36 systematic reviews fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The most effective solutions at mitigating occupational heat strain were wearing specialized cooling garments, (physiological) heat acclimation, improving aerobic fitness, cold water immersion, and applying ventilation. Although airconditioning and cooling garments in ideal settings provide best scores for effectiveness, the limited applicability in certain industrial settings, high economic cost and high environmental impact are drawbacks for these solutions. However, (physiological) acclimatization, planned breaks, shading and optimized clothing properties are attractive alternative solutions when economic and ecological sustainability aspects are included in the overall evaluation.

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Evaluation of Occupational Exposure Limits for Heat Stress in Outdoor Workers — United States, 2011–2016

Cited by 66 publications

References 5 publications

Heat related illness among workers in Washington State: A descriptive study using workers' compensation claims, 2006‐2017

Heat related illness among workers in Washington State: A descriptive study using workers' compensation claims, 2006‐2017

Examining Agricultural Workplace Micro and Macroclimate Data Using Decision Tree Analysis to Determine Heat Illness Risk

Sustainable solutions to mitigate occupational heat strain – an umbrella review of physiological effects and global health perspectives

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