Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles have found that as temperatures rise, the risk of injury in the workplace increases. An unusual study was published by the Institute of Labor Economics IZA.
It turns out that hot days increase the risk of «normal» workplace injuries, such as falls and injuries while operating machinery.
The scientists used a database of work-related accident claims from 2001 to 2018, which contains data on 11 million workers in California. The authors of the study compared this information with weather data in the state for the same period.
The study showed that on days when the air temperature exceeded 32 degrees Celsius, the risk of injury at work increased by 6-9% compared to days when the temperature was 10-15 degrees. When the heat increased to 37 degrees, the number of accidents increased by 10-15%.
The most dangerous hot days were for people who worked on the street, for example, in agriculture and at construction sites. Injuries also increased when working indoors: in factories, the risk of injury at temperatures above 35 degrees increased by about 7% compared to days when the thermometers fluctuated around 15 degrees Celsius.
Heat-related injuries in California began to decline in 2005. Scientists attribute this to the fact that the state has adopted a program to prevent them. The document requires the mandatory availability of water, sheds and regular breaks (five minutes every hour) when working outdoors at temperatures above 35 degrees.
Scientists have found that jobs with the highest exposure to heat are more likely to be done by people from poorer neighborhoods. That is, inequality affects the risk of injury associated with high ambient temperatures.
According to the authors of the study, in California, about 15 thousand accidents at work per year happen due to heat. Scientists point out that these data are of particular concern in the context of climate change: it is expected that there will be more and more hot days.
“Sometimes the heat is called the silent killer. But if you look at the data and do some statistical analysis, you will see a significant impact of heat on mortality and health,” said Nora Pankratz (Nora Pankratz), co-author of the study.