The HEAT-SHIELD project — Perspectives from an inter-sectoral approach to occupational heat stress

Morris, Nathan B.; Piil, Jacob F.; Morabito, Marco; Messeri, Alessandro; Levi, Miriam; Ioannou, Leonidas G.; Ciuha, Urša; Pogačar, Tjaša; Bogataj, Lučka Kajfež; Kingma, Boris; Casanueva, Ana; Kotlarski, Sven; Spirig, C.; Foster, Josh; Havenith, George; Mayor, Tiago Sotto; Flouris, Andreas D.; Nybo, Lars

doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2021.03.001

Cited by 22 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…An increasing number of reports over the last decade have highlighted the importance of high skin temperature as an early indicator of hyperthermia and heat injury, as well as for regulating the intensity of work and exercise [ 13 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Recent data from the European Commission project HEAT-SHIELD [ 23 ] show that higher skin temperature is linked with reduced capacity to perform manual labor, leading to significant economic losses [ 13 , 24 ]. Overall, the findings from the first study show that working under the sun increases skin temperature and the risk for experiencing clinical symptoms of heat strain, albeit without markedly altering physiological heat strain as defined by changes in core temperature and heart rate, even in cases where the level of environmental heat stress is considered to be the same as working in the shade.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impacts of Sun Exposure on Worker Physiology and Cognition: Multi-Country Evidence and Interventions

Ioannou

Tsoutsoubi

Mantzios

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Background: A set of four case-control (n = 109), randomized-controlled (n = 7), cross-sectional (n = 78), and intervention (n = 47) studies was conducted across three countries to investigate the effects of sun exposure on worker physiology and cognition. Methods: Physiological, subjective, and cognitive performance data were collected from people working in ambient conditions characterized by the same thermal stress but different solar radiation levels. Results: People working under the sun were more likely to experience dizziness, weakness, and other symptoms of heat strain. These clinical impacts of sun exposure were not accompanied by changes in core body temperature but, instead, were linked with changes in skin temperature. Other physiological responses (heart rate, skin blood flow, and sweat rate) were also increased during sun exposure, while attention and vigilance were reduced by 45% and 67%, respectively, compared to exposure to a similar thermal stress without sunlight. Light-colored clothes reduced workers’ skin temperature by 12%–13% compared to darker-colored clothes. Conclusions: Working under the sun worsens the physiological heat strain experienced and compromises cognitive function, even when the level of heat stress is thought to be the same as being in the shade. Wearing light-colored clothes can limit the physiological heat strain experienced by the body.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impacts of Sun Exposure on Worker Physiology and Cognition: Multi-Country Evidence and Interventions

Ioannou

Tsoutsoubi

Mantzios

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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“…Climate change will pose escalating risks associated with heat stress to both the general and working population (Casanueva et al 2020;ILO 2019;Morris et al 2021;Watts et al 2021). This triggers a raised awareness and need for assessment procedures considering risks to health and safety (ISO 7243 2017;ISO 7933 2004), but also to heat related productivity issues during work (Bröde et al 2018;Foster et al 2021).…”

Section: Background and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do one-hour exposures provide a valid assessment of physiological heat strain?

Kampmann

Bröde

2022

Z. Arb. Wiss.

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For time- and cost-efficient heat stress assessment procedures at workplaces or in experimental studies, short-time measurement periods (e.g. 1 h) are sometimes employed in lieu of whole shift observations assuming that the short time period will provide valid figures of equilibrium physiological responses. We studied the influence of exposure duration on physiological heat strain considering the modifying effects of clothing and heat acclimation using a database of 564 climatic chamber exposures performed by 28 young males under heat stress conditions with widely varying air temperature and humidity levels. We compared heart rates, rectal and mean skin temperatures, and sweat rates recorded after 1 h with the values averaged over the third hour of exposure representing steady-state. One-hour measurements agreed with equilibrium values for rather low strain levels only, with heart rates below 100 bpm and rectal temperatures below 37.2 °C. On average, one-hour values underestimated all heat strain parameters. This underestimation error was only moderately influenced by clothing and heat acclimation status, but increased significantly with air temperature and humidity, reaching considerable magnitude under hot-humid conditions associated with elevated heat strain. Regression analyses of the prediction error depending on the equilibrium response revealed that underestimation increased with equilibrium strain level. This correlation was strongest for heart rate and core temperature, and was shown to potentially cause a misclassification of hazardous working conditions as safe by given heat strain criteria.Practical Relevance: The severe underestimation of heat strain due to short measurement periods, as observed under hot-humid conditions and/or when associated with high physiological strain, will immediately impact the exposed personnel, but will also inform occupational health professionals and standard writers regarding the heat stress assessment for work shifts with high activity levels or with protective clothing.

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“…Protecting workers’ health while maintaining labor productivity is vital [ 16 , 17 , 18 ] and has driven many researchers to investigate the effectiveness of different heat mitigation strategies [ 19 , 20 ]. Specifically, heat mitigation strategies such as planned breaks [ 21 ], use of personal cooling vests [ 22 , 23 ], ice slurry consumption [ 22 , 24 ], optimized clothing [ 25 ], and ventilated garments [ 26 , 27 ] were previously tested in lab settings for mitigating the OH-strain experienced by individuals performing physical work (typically exercise).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational Heat Stress: Multi-Country Observations and Interventions

Ioannou

Mantzios

Tsoutsoubi

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Background: Occupational heat exposure can provoke health problems that increase the risk of certain diseases and affect workers’ ability to maintain healthy and productive lives. This study investigates the effects of occupational heat stress on workers’ physiological strain and labor productivity, as well as examining multiple interventions to mitigate the problem. Methods: We monitored 518 full work-shifts obtained from 238 experienced and acclimatized individuals who work in key industrial sectors located in Cyprus, Greece, Qatar, and Spain. Continuous core body temperature, mean skin temperature, heart rate, and labor productivity were collected from the beginning to the end of all work-shifts. Results: In workplaces where self-pacing is not feasible or very limited, we found that occupational heat stress is associated with the heat strain experienced by workers. Strategies focusing on hydration, work-rest cycles, and ventilated clothing were able to mitigate the physiological heat strain experienced by workers. Increasing mechanization enhanced labor productivity without increasing workers’ physiological strain. Conclusions: Empowering laborers to self-pace is the basis of heat mitigation, while tailored strategies focusing on hydration, work-rest cycles, ventilated garments, and mechanization can further reduce the physiological heat strain experienced by workers under certain conditions.

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The HEAT-SHIELD project — Perspectives from an inter-sectoral approach to occupational heat stress

Cited by 22 publications

References 48 publications

The Impacts of Sun Exposure on Worker Physiology and Cognition: Multi-Country Evidence and Interventions

The Impacts of Sun Exposure on Worker Physiology and Cognition: Multi-Country Evidence and Interventions

Do one-hour exposures provide a valid assessment of physiological heat strain?

Occupational Heat Stress: Multi-Country Observations and Interventions

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