Heat Hazards: Study Weighs Effects of Rising Temperatures on Outdoor Workers

Late January might feel far removed from the warm weather months, but spring is just about 60 days away. And a new study offers a reminder of the potentially hazardous effects of heat on outdoor workers when the temperatures begin to climb.

Collaborating with researchers from the University of New Mexico, Indiana University and La Isla Network, Turner Construction recently completed a heat pilot study that the New York-based construction company described in a press release as “the first phase of a dynamic effort to better understand the effects of heat on the health of construction workers and in turn the construction industry.”

Using heart rate monitors and other devices to collect physiological data such as internal body temperature, hydration level and heart rate, the researchers observed 33 workers for a full day in the summer. The investigators also checked in with these workers at the end of the workday, to gather data on how hot and tired they felt at the moment.

The previous night, each of the study’s subjects swallowed a pill-sized data collection device that stayed in their body for 24 hours measuring internal body temperature, allowing the researchers to continuously monitor and track internal body temperature.

The investigators found that 43% of the workers studied experienced a peak core temperature surpassing 100.4°F, with 4% exceeding 101.3°F, even in outdoor conditions that were cooler than typical summer temperatures, according to the researchers.

“Although these numbers are not alarming, if the measured elevations in body temperature were prolonged, permanent health effects could result,” the investigators wrote.

All types of outdoor workers face such risks, and prolonged exposure to high temperatures can be fatal.

Last June, for example, United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier Eugene Gates, Jr. passed away after collapsing on his route in a Dallas-area neighborhood on a day where temperatures climbed to nearly 100 degrees.

(An autopsy has since confirmed that extreme heat played a role in Gates’ death.)

As Public Eye reported at the time, a group of lawmakers penned a letter to USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy within weeks of Gates’ passing, sharing “deep concerns” over USPS employees’ working conditions, specifically letter carriers who are routinely exposed to excessive heat while on their routes. The letter also urged the postal service to implement policies designed to prevent heat-related deaths from occurring on the job.

Time will tell whether such policies are adopted by agencies such as USPS, or on a broader scale. But, as the researchers behind Turner’s study pointed out, some simple improvements could ultimately help organizations with employees who spend most of their days outside—including many public sector agencies—to mitigate the risks associated with working outdoors in warm weather.

For example, “we learned that most workers arrive dehydrated to the jobsite,” the team of investigators wrote. “Knowing that, we have a really clear opportunity to do direct outreach about hydrating outside of work.”

While their study focused specifically on construction workers, the researchers said the findings demonstrated the “substantial risk of heat-related health issues” that other outdoor workers find themselves at each day, and emphasize “the urgent need for strategies to protect the health and safety” of these workers.