When we think about climate change, we tend to think about “big picture” impacts: rising seas that affect coastal cities, reduced snowmelt in mountainous regions leading to water shortages in the valleys below, and diminishing habitat for some endangered species. But there are smaller-scale impacts, also, and some of them will affect planning for health and safety in the workplace.
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The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been working on identifying and preparing for climate-related occupational hazards since 2009. At that time, NIOSH published a framework for how climate change could affect worker safety and health, based on a review of literature published from 1988–2008. Recently, NIOSH researchers published an updated analysis of climate-change-related occupational safety and health hazards in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene that looks at peer-reviewed literature from 2008 through 2014.
Here’s how the rise in ambient temperatures worldwide is already affecting worker safety—and how you can be prepared.
Occupational Hazards to Anticipate
As the frequently-used term “global warming” would suggest, the world is getting warmer—ambient temperatures are rising, and record-setting highs outnumbered record-setting lows by an average of 2 to 1 from 1999 through 2009. Outdoor workers are the most likely group to be affected by this. Here’s how:
Longer “hot seasons” with broader reach. In addition to having more very hot days each year, the “hot season” may begin earlier than it has in years past and affect broader geographical areas. This can lead to workers who are unprepared for the hot conditions they may encounter—“It’s never been this hot this early before!”
Don’t be caught off guard by summer heat that comes early. Address acclimatization and heat illness earlier in the year than you have in the past. If you are in an area where heat-related illness has not, in the past, been a significant concern, it’s time to brush up on your understanding of how heat affects workers, and how to prevent, recognize, and respond to heat-related illness.
More “extreme heat events.” On a day-to-day basis, a few degrees one way or another may not seem significant, but accompanying the slow overall increase in temperature is an increase in the number and duration of extreme heat events—that is, a period of several days or longer in which weather conditions are unusually hot. There is no firm definition for “unusually hot” because the term varies with location. “Unusually hot” in Milwaukee will be much cooler than “unusually hot” in California’s Central Valley.
It’s important to closely monitor temperatures and forecasts and respond quickly to extreme heat events. When the temperature is expected to stay dangerously high for more than a day or two, put additional precautions in place against heat-related illness, including:
- Refresher training for workers in the hazards of heat illness and how to recognize and respond to symptoms
- More frequent rest breaks
- Close monitoring of all employees, including workers who should be fully acclimatized, for heat-illness symptoms
Warmer nighttime temperatures. A feature of extreme heat events is warmer temperatures overnight. So, employers who have scheduled some types of work, such as highway construction, to take place at night because it’s cooler at night than during the day, may need to increase their awareness of and precautions against heat-related illness even during nighttime hours.
Increased chemical exposures. This one is not obvious, but according to NIOSH, increased heat can also increase chemical exposures. Workers in more than one hundred occupations are at risk of simultaneous exposure to heat and chemicals, with workers in metal manufacturing, roofing, and firefighters in the highest risk category.
High temperatures can accelerate the dispersion of pesticides and other airborne pollutants and increase the density of airborne particles, leading to increased exposures to airborne chemicals. The most immediate effect may be that employers will see an increased incidence of occupational asthma and similar problems among workers with preexisting respiratory conditions.
Another contributing factor is that respirators, which can protect workers against respiratory exposures, are uncomfortable in hot working conditions, and make it harder to breathe. So, workers may be less likely to wear their personal protective equipment (PPE) as the temperature—and the concentration of airborne contaminants—increases, leading to increased exposures.
If your workers are exposed to high temperatures and chemicals, be aware that chemical concentrations may be higher than they would be in cooler conditions, and take appropriate steps to reduce them. Be aware that PPE may be problematic, because it makes heavy work more difficult and worker compliance less likely.
Tomorrow we’ll look at the effect of climate change on severe weather and how that is expected to affect worker health and safety.