High levels of heat stress among sugarcane workers in Thailand.

IF 1.8 4区医学 Q3 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Annals Of Work Exposures and Health Pub Date : 2025-04-24 DOI:10.1093/annweh/wxaf002

Tadpong Tantipanjaporn, Andrew Povey, Holly A Shiels, Martie van Tongeren

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives: With continued global warming, the effects of elevated temperatures on the health of agricultural workers are a particular concern. This study characterized the levels of heat stress in Thai sugarcane workers and investigated whether season and harvesting method were associated with it.

Methods: Three hundred sugarcane workers in Nakhon Sawan Province, Thailand, were recruited, and information on demographics, working conditions, and clothing characteristics was collected from participants during the cooler months (n = 152 participants, mid-January to mid-February) and hotter month (n = 148, March). Heat stress was measured using the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index, and the WBGT instruments were operated for a full work shift in the sugarcane fields where the participants worked. One-hour time weighted average (TWA) effective WBGT (WBGTeff-1hrTWA) estimates were determined for different times of the day based on the measured WBGT and clothing adjustment factor.

Results: The average WBGTeff-1hrTWA in the cooler months ranged from 22.5 °C during the early morning to 31.3 °C during the hottest time of the day, and for the hotter month, it ranged from 25.4 °C to 33.9 °C, respectively. The measured WBGT, natural wet-bulb temperature (Tnwb), dry-bulb temperature (Tdb), globe temperature (Tg), air velocity (Av), and absolute water vapor pressure (ea) were all statistically significantly higher in the hotter month than in the cooler months. Harvesting during the hotter month and harvesting burnt sugarcane were significantly associated with increased effective WBGT. The harvesters' heat stress in both seasons exceeded the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists - Threshold limit value for 72.7% of the working time in the cooler months and 90.9% in the hotter month.

Conclusions: The heat stress in Thai sugarcane workers was high in both seasons, particularly in the hotter month and when harvesting burnt sugarcane. This results in a very high risk of developing heat-related health effects, and measures are needed to reduce heat stress. Heat stress in agricultural and other outdoor work in tropical climates is an immediate and growing problem.

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泰国甘蔗工人热应激反应严重。

目标：随着全球持续变暖，气温升高对农业工人健康的影响是一个特别令人关切的问题。本研究描述了泰国甘蔗工人的热应激水平，并调查了季节和收获方法是否与之相关。方法：在泰国那空沙万省招募了300名甘蔗工人，在较冷的月份（n = 152名，1月中旬至2月中旬）和较热的月份（n = 148名，3月）收集了参与者的人口统计、工作条件和服装特征信息。热应力是用湿球温度（WBGT）指数来测量的，WBGT仪器在参与者工作的甘蔗田进行了一个完整的工作轮班。一小时时间加权平均（TWA）有效WBGT （WBGTeff-1hrTWA）估计是基于测量的WBGT和服装调整因子在一天中的不同时间确定的。结果：较冷月份的平均WBGTeff-1hrTWA范围为清晨22.5°C至最热时段31.3°C，较热月份的平均WBGTeff-1hrTWA范围为25.4°C至33.9°C。实测WBGT、自然湿球温度（Tnwb）、干球温度（Tdb）、全球温度（Tg）、空气速度（Av）和绝对水汽压（ea）在较热月份均显著高于较冷月份。在较热的月份收获和收获烧焦的甘蔗与有效WBGT的增加显著相关。收获机在两个季节的热应激均超过了美国政府工业卫生学家会议的阈值，在较冷的月份有72.7%的工作时间超过了美国政府工业卫生学家会议的阈值，在较热的月份有90.9%的工作时间超过了美国政府工业卫生学家会议的阈值。结论：泰国甘蔗工人的热应激在两个季节都很高，特别是在较热的月份和收获烧焦甘蔗时。这导致与热有关的健康影响的风险非常高，需要采取措施减少热应激。在热带气候下，农业和其他户外工作中的热应激是一个迫在眉睫且日益严重的问题。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Annals Of Work Exposures and Health Medicine-Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

19.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： About the Journal Annals of Work Exposures and Health is dedicated to presenting advances in exposure science supporting the recognition, quantification, and control of exposures at work, and epidemiological studies on their effects on human health and well-being. A key question we apply to submission is, "Is this paper going to help readers better understand, quantify, and control conditions at work that adversely or positively affect health and well-being?" We are interested in high quality scientific research addressing: the quantification of work exposures, including chemical, biological, physical, biomechanical, and psychosocial, and the elements of work organization giving rise to such exposures; the relationship between these exposures and the acute and chronic health consequences for those exposed and their families and communities; populations at special risk of work-related exposures including women, under-represented minorities, immigrants, and other vulnerable groups such as temporary, contingent and informal sector workers; the effectiveness of interventions addressing exposure and risk including production technologies, work process engineering, and personal protective systems; policies and management approaches to reduce risk and improve health and well-being among workers, their families or communities; methodologies and mechanisms that underlie the quantification and/or control of exposure and risk. There is heavy pressure on space in the journal, and the above interests mean that we do not usually publish papers that simply report local conditions without generalizable results. We are also unlikely to publish reports on human health and well-being without information on the work exposure characteristics giving rise to the effects. We particularly welcome contributions from scientists based in, or addressing conditions in, developing economies that fall within the above scope.