Deaths in Australia from Work-Related Heat Stress, 2000–2015

Richard Gun
Additional contact information
Richard Gun: Adelaide Exposure Science and Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-12

Abstract: The infrequency of deaths from work-related heat stress may be due to self-pacing, whereby workers adjust their work rate in response to thermal discomfort. Thirteen cases attributed after coronial investigation to work-related heat stress were studied to evaluate the causal contribution of environmental and personal risk factors. Meteorological records and coronial records were examined to estimate environmental and metabolic heat loads and to identify any personal risk factors likely to have contributed to death. Seven deaths occurred in workers within one week of hiring, demonstrating not only the importance of acclimatisation but also the likelihood of compromised self-pacing in recently-hired workers. Personal risk factors identified included intercurrent illness, cardiovascular disease and obesity. Four deaths occurred following indoor work, where the probable critical risk parameter was low air velocity. Cerebral and pulmonary oedema were reported in some autopsy reports, and uncal herniation was found in one case. Modified work rates and close supervision are essential in recently-hired workers. The risk of death from raised intracranial pressure suggests the need for specific remediation of cerebral oedema in hyperthermic individuals.

Keywords: hyperthermia; heat stroke; occupation; acclimatisation; self-pacing; cerebral oedema (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/19/3601/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/19/3601/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:19:p:3601-:d:270877

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().