A Preview of What’s to Come? Rising Temperatures are Tragically Causing Safety Issues for Workers Globally. Keep Safe Outside:It’s Not Global, It’s Local Too

At CRT, we keep an eye on climate change, not only because of its effect on wildfires, but also on public safety. And as we look to the future, there are some previews of what might be in store for outdoor workers, and ways to keep them safe. Rising global temperatures are increasing the risk of workers dying or becoming disabled from laboring in extreme heat, an international conference.

Attendees at the Occupational Heat Stress conference, held in Qatar as spring temperatures raced towards 104, heard that tens of thousands of workers around the world have died from chronic kidney disease and other illnesses linked with extreme heat over recent decades.

Science tells us that all countries can do more. The International Labour Organization (ILO) regional chief for Arab countries, Ruba Jaradat, told the Occupational Heat Stress conference, which focused on climate change and how rising temperatures threaten workers health.

The impending crisis drew global attention at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, which showed workers working in temperatures that can top 122 Fahrenheit during the summer peak in countries across the Gulf.

Since 2021, Qatar has banned outdoor working between 10:00 am and 3.30 pm from June 1 to September 15. Think about what that might mean to our workers and communities in the future. As yet, there is no international standard for temperatures for outdoor working, but climate change has forced new scrutiny.

The US administration promised new rules in 2021 after a deadly heatwave, and the White House stated that “heat is the nation’s leading weather-related killer,” an important and forward-looking announcement. Unfortunately, nothing has been produced yet in terms of implementing safety procedures. But you don’t need to wait for safety issues to be standardized, you can keep your own workers healthy and protected! Extreme heat and sun radiation unleash heatstroke, kidney, heart and lung diseases and raise cancer rates, according to researchers. Justin Glaser, head of La Isla Network, an occupational health group, said more than 20,000 sugar workers in Central America had died in a single decade from chronic kidney disease. He pointed to about 25,000 deaths from kidney disease in Sri Lanka.

The simple fact is that extreme heat leads to death. Around one billion farm workers and tens of millions in construction and other outdoor industries are in the frontline, the conference was told. But swimming pool lifeguards, gardeners and postal delivery workers also face heat dangers, let alone volunteers, front-line workers and those who serve your community.

Construction workers can be exposed to enough ultraviolet rays over 30 to 40 years to more than double the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer. Taiwanese researchers warned in a 2020 study that kidney disease from extreme heat may represent one of the first epidemics due to global warming. Vidhya Venugopal, an occupational health professor at the Sri Ramachandra Institute in Chennai, highlighted the case of hundreds of thousands of salt farmers in India working in desert-like conditions who suffer high rates of kidney and other diseases.

What to Do? Health experts say rest, water and shade are needed to ease the deadly risks. Glaser of La Isla Network worked with sugar companies in Central America to improve conditions. Workers on a nine-hour shift cut 4.75 tons of sugar cane a day. With better breaks, shade and water, they cut 6.2 tons in four hours, he said. We obviously don’t have that dire working situation here, but we do have many front-line workers, firefighters, and outdoor workers in our community that we depend on and need to take care of!

Tips for Outdoor Worker Safety: There are many ways to protect outdoor workers, and some of this means bringing awareness to that crucial demographic. If you are a manager, you can have a great impact on overall safety.

Please encourage outdoor workers, crews, and front-line people to:

• Drink plenty of water, and don’t wait until they are thirsty to drink.

• Avoid alcohol or liquids containing large amounts of sugar.

• Wear and reapply sunscreen as indicated on the package.

• Try to see if work can be scheduled for earlier or later in the day to avoid midday heat….obviously this doesn’t work in an emergency situation, for example with firefighters, but having a general policy and controlling what you can can be a huge step forward.

• Stress the importance of clothing: a brimmed hat and loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing are most effective in beating the heat.

• Spend time in air-conditioned buildings during breaks and after work.

• Tell the workers to support each other. Encourage co-workers to take breaks to cool off and drink water.

As summer begins, help keep yourself and your team safe! Nobody knows what the future holds, but you do have the power to protect your crew now, and putting practices in place is a great place to start.