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- Hyatt, Olivia M, et al.
(author)
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Regional maps of occupational heat exposure : past, present, and potential future
- 2010
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In: Global health action. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1654-9880 .- 1654-9716. ; 3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The mapping method provides a rapid visual impression of occupational heat exposures in large regions of the world. The local changes in WBGT between 1975 and 2000 fit with the global climate change trends. Future increases of WBGT may create extreme heat exposure situations in large areas of the world.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Kjellström, Tord, et al.
(author)
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Mapping Occupational Heat Exposure and Effects in South-East Asia : Ongoing Time Trends 1980-2011 and Future Estimates to 2050
- 2013
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In: Industrial Health. - : National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health, Japan. - 0019-8366 .- 1880-8026. ; 51:1, s. 56-67
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A feature of climate impacts on occupational health and safety are physiological limits to carrying out physical work at high heat exposure. Heat stress reduces a workers work capacity, leading to lower hourly labour productivity and economic output. We used existing weather station data and climate modeling grid cell data to describe heat conditions (calculated as Wet Bulb Globe Temperature, WBGT) in South-East Asia. During the hottest month in this region (March) afternoon WBGT levels are already high enough to cause major loss of hourly work capacity and by 2050 the situation will be extreme for many outdoor jobs.
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| 4. |
- Kjellström, Tord, et al.
(author)
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The 'Hothaps' programme for assessing climate change impacts on occupational health and productivity : an invitation to carry out field studies
- 2009
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In: Global Health Action. - : Co-action publishing. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 2, s. 81-87
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The 'high occupational temperature health and productivity suppression' programme (Hothaps) is a multi-centre health research and prevention programme aimed at quantifying the extent to which working people are affected by, or adapt to, heat exposure while working, and how global heating during climate change may increase such effects. The programme will produce essential new evidence for local, national and global assessment of negative impacts of climate change that have largely been overlooked. It will also identify and evaluate preventive interventions in different social and economic settings.Hothaps includes studies in any part of the world where hourly heat exposure exceeds physiological stress limits that may affect workers. This usually happens at temperatures above 25 degrees C, depending on humidity, wind movement and heat radiation. Working people in low and middle-income tropical countries are particularly vulnerable, because many of them are involved in heavy physical work, either outdoors in strong sunlight or indoors without effective cooling. If high work intensity is maintained in workplaces with high heat exposure, serious health effects can occur, including heat stroke and death.Depending on the type of occupation, the required work intensity, and the level of heat stress, working people have to slow down their work in order to reduce internal body heat production and the risk of heat stroke. Thus, unless preventive interventions are used to reduce the heat stress on workers, their individual health and productivity will be affected and economic output per work hour will be reduced. Heat also influences other daily physical activities, unrelated to work, in all age groups. Poorer people without access to household or workplace cooling devices are most likely to be affected.The Hothaps programme includes a pilot study, heat monitoring of selected workplaces, qualitative studies of perceived heat impacts and preventative interventions, quantitative studies of impacts on health and productivity, and assessments of local impacts of climate change taking into account different applications of preventative interventions.Fundraising for the global programme is in progress and has enabled local field studies to start in 2009. Local funding support is also of great value and is being sought by several interested scientific partners. The Hothaps team welcomes independent use of the study protocols, but would be grateful for information about any planned, ongoing or completed studies of this type. Coordinated implementation of the protocols in multi-centre studies is also welcome. Eventually, the results of the Hothaps field studies will be used in global assessments of climate change-induced heat exposure increase in workplaces and its impacts on occupational health and productivity. These results will also be of value for the next assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2013.
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| 5. |
- Kjellström, Tord, et al.
(author)
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Workplace heat stress, health and productivity
- 2009
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In: Global Health Action. - 1654-9880. ; 2, s. 1-6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Global climate change is already increasing the average temperature and direct heat exposure in many places around the world. Objectives: To assess the potential impact on occupational health and work capacity for people exposed at work to increasing heat due to climate change. Design: A brief review of basic thermal physiology mechanisms, occupational heat exposure guidelines and heat exposure changes in selected cities. Results: In countries with very hot seasons, workers are already affected by working environments hotter than that with which human physiological mechanisms can cope. To protect workers from excessive heat, a number of heat exposure indices have been developed. One that is commonly used in occupational health is the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT). We use WBGT to illustrate assessing the proportion of a working hour during which a worker can sustain work and the proportion of that same working hour that (s)he needs to rest to cool the body down and maintain core body temperature below 388C. Using this proportion a ‘work capacity’ estimate was calculated for selected heat exposure levels and work intensity levels. The work capacity rapidly reduces as the WBGT exceeds 26
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| 6. |
- Lemke, Bruno, et al.
(author)
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Calculating workplace WBGT from meteorological data : a tool for climate change assessment
- 2012
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In: Industrial Health. - 0019-8366 .- 1880-8026. ; 50:4, s. 267-278
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The WBGT heat stress index has been well tested under a variety of climatic conditions and quantitative links have been established between WBGT and the work-rest cycles needed to prevent heat stress effects at the workplace. While there are more specific methods based on individual physiological measurements to determine heat strain in an individual worker, the WBGT index is used in international and national standards to specify workplace heat stress risks. In order to assess time trends of occupational heat exposure at population level, weather station records or climate modelling are the most widely available data sources. The prescribed method to measure WBGT requires special equipment which is not used at weather stations. We compared published methods to calculate outdoor and indoor WBGT from standard climate data, such as air temperature, dew point temperature, wind speed and solar radiation. Specific criteria for recommending a method were developed and original measurements were used to evaluate the different methods. We recommend the method of Liljegren et al. (2008) for calculating outdoor WBGT and the method by Bernard etal. (1999) for indoor WBGT when estimating climate change impacts on occupational heat stress at a population level.
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