Documents outdoor work 10 results

"Background:
With climate change, mean annual air temperatures are getting hotter and extreme weather events will become more and more common in most parts of the world.
Objectives:
As part of the EU funded project HEAT-SHIELD we conducted a systematic review to summarize the epidemiological evidence of the effects of global warming-related heat exposure on workers' health and productivity.
Methods:
Three separate searches, focused, respectively, on: i) heat-related illness (HRI), cardiovascular, respiratory and kidney diseases; ii) traumatic injuries; and iii) vector-borne diseases or vectors distribution, were conducted in PubMed. EMBASE was also consulted to retrieve relevant studies focused on the health effects of climate change. A fourth search strategy to assess the effects on work productivity was conducted both in PubMed and in the SCOPUS database.
Results:
A significant proportion of studies reported findings regarding the Mesoamerican nephropathy issue. This is a disease occurring especially among young and middle-aged male sugarcane workers, without conventional risk factors for chronic kidney disease. For injuries, there is a reversed U-shaped exposure-response relationship between Tmax and overall daily injury claims. Outdoor workers are at increased risk of vector-borne infectious diseases, as a positive correlation between higher air temperatures and current or future expansion of the habitat of vectors is being observed. As for productivity, agriculture and construction are the most studied sectors; a day with temperatures exceeding 32°C can reduce daily labour supply in exposed sectors by up to 14%.
Conclusions:
The present findings should inform development of further research and related health policies in the EU and beyond with regard to protecting working people from the effects of workplace heat during climate change."

"Background
Occupational exposure to solar ultraviolet (UV) is known to cause malignant melanoma (MM) and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). However, knowledge of the causal associations has developed erratically.
Aims
This review aims to identify when it was accepted that workplace solar UV exposure could cause skin cancer and when it was recognized that there was a risk for outdoor workers in Britain, identifying the steps employers should have taken to protect their workers.
Methods
Informative reviews, published since 1974, were located through a systematic literature search. These were used to chart changes in summative knowledge of the role of occupational solar UV exposure in causing skin cancer. An assessment was made of the identified hazards of skin cancer and the recognition of risks for outdoor workers in Britain.
Results
From at least 1975, it has been accepted that occupational solar UV exposure could cause squamous cell carcinoma, and from around 2011 for MM and basal cell carcinoma. From 2004, repeated sunburn at work was identified as a likely cause of MM. From 1999, it was accepted that occupational solar UV exposure causes NMSC amongst British workers, and from 2012 there was limited evidence for an MM risk for outdoor workers in northern European countries.
Conclusions
Skin cancer risks for British outdoor workers should be actively managed and they should have health surveillance. Outdoor workers who have skin cancer should be eligible for compensation."

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"Heat stress is a risk for both indoor and outdoor workers across all sectors. Its severity depends on work location but also individual characteristics such as age, health, socioeconomic status and even gender. These must be accounted for in measures aimed at addressing and mitigating the risks of working in heat.
This guide offers workplaces practical ways – organisational and technical – to lessen and manage as well as train on this occupational risk. Information is also provided on what actions should be taken if a worker starts showing signs of suffering from heat-related illness."

"Les travaux routiers sont en grande partie réalisés en plein air, comme c'est le cas de nombreuses autres activités professionnelles (couvreurs, agriculteurs, marins-pêcheurs, sportifs, etc.). Dès lors, une exposition aux rayonnements solaires est inévitable et doit être prise en compte au quotidien, comme cela est le cas dans le cadre privé. Cet article rappelle les différents risques du rayonnement UV solaire pour la peau et les yeux, et les moyens de s'en protéger."

"1. Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is by far the most common cancer diagnosed in westernized countries, and one of the few almost preventable cancers if detected and treated early as up to 90% of NMSC may be attributed to excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation. 2. The incidence of NMSC is increasing: 2-3 million people are diagnosed worldwide annually, with an average yearly increase of 3-8% among white populations in Australia, Europe, the US and Canada over the last 30 years. 3. The link between solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation and certain forms of NMSC is clearly recognized. It is estimated that outdoor workers are exposed to an UV radiation dose 2-3 times higher than indoor workers, and there is a growing body of research linking UV radiation exposure in outdoor workers to NMSC: I. Occupationally UV-exposed workers are at least at a 43% higher risk of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and almost doubled risk of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) compared to the average population, with risk increasing with decreasing latitude. II. The risk for BCC, SCC and actinic keratosis (AK) among workers who have worked outdoors for more than 5 years is 3-fold higher than the risk among those with no years of working outdoors. 4. Primary prevention, early detection, treatment and regular follow-up of skin cancer (NMSC and melanoma) are shown to be beneficial from a health economic perspective. 5. Action is needed at international, European and national level to legislate for recognizing AK and NMSC as an occupational disease, which has the potential to improve access to compensation and drive preventative activities. 6. This report is a Call to Action for: I. The engagement of key stakeholders, including supranational institutions, national governments, trade organizations, employers, workers and patient organizations to drive change in prevention and protection of at-risk groups. II. Employers should be obliged to prevent outdoor worker's UV exposure from exceeding limit values, and to implement occupational skin cancer screening programmes among the at-risk workforce. III. Educational programmes for the outdoor workforce are needed to improve health literacy and drive behavioural change. IV. Nationally, steps to improve notifications and surveillance of skin cancers through both occupational services and public health programmes are required. V. Future research activities should focus on the precise definition of at-risk groups among outdoor workers through increased data gathering, including UV-dosimetry, and evaluation."

"Global heating is subjecting more of the planet to longer periods of higher heat stress categories commonly employed to determine safe work durations. This study compared predicted worker heat strain and labour capacity for a recent normal climate (1986-2005) and under commonly applied climate scenarios for the 2041-2080 period for selected Australian locations. Recently published heat indices for northern (Darwin, Townsville, and Tom Price) and south-eastern coastal and inland Australia locations (Griffith, Port Macquarie, and Clare) under four projected climate scenarios, comprising two representative concentration pathways (RCPs), RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, and two time periods, 2041-2060 and 2061-2080, were used. Safe work durations, before the threshold for core temperature (38.0 °C) or sweat loss (5% body mass) are attained, were then estimated for each scenario using the predicted heat strain model (ISO7933). The modelled time to threshold core temperature varied with location, climate scenario, and metabolic rate. Relative to the baseline (1986-2005), safe work durations (labour capacity) were reduced by >50% in Port Macquarie and Griffith and by 20-50% in northern Australia. Reaching the sweat loss limit restricted safe work durations in Clare and Griffith. Projected future climatic conditions will adversely impact the predicted heat strain and labour capacity of outdoor workers in Australia. Risk management strategies must adapt to warming conditions to protect outdoor workers from the deleterious effects of heat."

"Exposure to high heat and humidity in the workplace is a critical health and safety issue. In Australia, where heat waves are occurring with more frequency and intensity the risks posed by occupational heat exposure have been acknowledged by employer groups, trade unions, and statutory government agencies. In this study we investigate the employment context in which heat stress is experienced, and whether the mode of employment affects the capacity to manage it. We examine the experience of workplace heat exposure for two groups of affected outdoor workers: contracted pieceworkers in bicycle delivery and permanently employed municipal workers in parks and road maintenance. Data was collected in Sydney during the summer of 2019 via surveys and in-person interviews with the two sets of workers. Research findings reflect the well-established nexus between outside temperature, humidity and work effort in producing heat stress. The comparative findings reveal that more secure forms of employment enable social organisation and workflow to manage heat stress and that, conversely, more contingent forms of employment such as contractual piece work can exacerbate exposure. The research demonstrates that the mode of employment has a direct bearing on the capacity to address workplace heat stress: growth in contract or ‘gig' work may exacerbate impacts; this issue is likely to become more important with advancing climate change."

"Workers, particularly outdoor workers, are among the populations most disproportionately affected by climate-related hazards. However, scientific research and control actions to comprehensively address these hazards are notably absent. To assess this absence, a seven-category framework was developed in 2009 to characterize the scientific literature published from 1988-2008. Using this framework, a second assessment examined the literature published through 2014, and the current one examines literature from 2014-2021. The objectives were to present literature that updates the framework and related topics and increases awareness of the role of climate change in occupational safety and health. In general, there is substantial literature on worker hazards related to ambient temperatures, biological hazards, and extreme weather but less on air pollution, ultraviolet radiation, industrial transitions, and the built environment. There is growing literature on mental health and health equity issues related to climate change, but much more research is needed. The socioeconomic impacts of climate change also require more research. This study illustrates that workers are experiencing increased morbidity and mortality related to climate change. In all areas of climate-related worker risk, including geoengineering, research is needed on the causality and prevalence of hazards, along with surveillance to identify, and interventions for hazard prevention and control."