State of the Science White Paper: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Heat Related Illness Prevention

Details

• Personal Author:
  Arosemena F ; Ashely CD ; Bernard, Thomas E. ; Coris E ; Grzywacz KG ; Irani TA ; Lopez RM ; Mac V ; McCauley LA ; Misra V ; Mitchell RC ; Morris JG ; Pierre B ; Sawka MN
• Description:
  Background: Between 2000-2010, 28.6% of deaths due to heat related illness (HRI) in occupational settings occurred in six states in the Southeast. HRI is and will continue to be a major issue affecting outdoor workers. Climate models predict a 2.2 degrees F (1.2 degrees C) rise in temperatures in the continental United States, and that the number of days per year that achieve temperatures above 95 degrees will increase in Florida and the Southeast from 15 days per year from 1971-2000, to over 75 days per year 2041-2070. Additionally, HRI will take a toll on industry in the Southeast, with annual losses in productivity equivalent to $47 billion predicted by 2090. There is a need for collaborative, multidisciplinary research to protect worker health and mitigate productivity losses in outdoor industries. The issue of HRI among outdoor workers, including agricultural workers, athletes, and military personnel, will continue to become more prominent. Farmworkers are particularly vulnerable, and are 20 more times more at risk of death due to HRI than other American workers. Farmworkers work long hours outdoors, are paid based on productivity rather than hourly wages, and have low political capital and fewer worker protections than many sectors of the US workforce. There is therefore a need for collaborative, multidisciplinary research and education approach to protect worker health and mitigate productivity losses in outdoor industries. Meeting Summary: To address this need, the Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (SCCAHS) organized the HRI State of the Science meeting, held October 25-26, 2018. The meeting was held in St. Petersburg, Florida. The focus of the meeting was to bring together a slate of eight esteemed presenters on this topic, showcasing research at the intersections of heat related illness and climate as they relate to the health and safety of outdoor workers and farmworkers, as well as athletes and military personnel. This crosscutting, one day meeting brought together researchers from various fields to present current findings and begin the process of developing future research collaborations on this topic. Meeting attendees represented four universities, federal agencies, medical institutions, and consulting organizations. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Farmers Hot Temperature Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Safety Farm Workers Heat Exposure Hot Environments Military Personnel Outdoor Workers
• Publisher:
  University of Florida
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; Georgia ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-32
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070671
• Citation:
  Gainesville, FL: University of Florida, 2019 Mar; :1-32
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Florida, Gainesville
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20160930
• Source Full Name:
  State of the science white paper: interdisciplinary perspectives on heat related illness prevention
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:324c98263ccd386e5259bdf22d7f053a967e39c6e3371388713a2f1a935c51308c159588d3a4ede40dd71905dbcee2f3deec0fd9c4cbfcb5e222e4c2498b1fb6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208847/cdc_208847_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.32 MB ]