The Impact of Heat Waves on Occurrence and Severity of Construction Accidents

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2017 Jan 14

PMID 28085067

Citations 16

Authors

Rameez Rameezdeen

Abbas Elmualim

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The impact of heat stress on human health has been extensively studied. Similarly, researchers have investigated the impact of heat stress on workers' health and safety. However, very little work has been done on the impact of heat stress on occupational accidents and their severity, particularly in South Australian construction. Construction workers are at high risk of injury due to heat stress as they often work outdoors, undertake hard manual work, and are often project based and sub-contracted. Little is known on how heat waves could impact on construction accidents and their severity. In order to provide more evidence for the currently limited number of empirical investigations on the impact of heat stress on accidents, this study analysed 29,438 compensation claims reported during 2002-2013 within the construction industry of South Australia. Claims reported during 29 heat waves in Adelaide were compared with control periods to elicit differences in the number of accidents reported and their severity. The results revealed that worker characteristics, type of work, work environment, and agency of accident mainly govern the severity. It is recommended that the implementation of adequate preventative measures in small-sized companies and civil engineering sites, targeting mainly old age workers could be a priority for Work, Health and Safety (WHS) policies.

Citing Articles

Heat Stress Prevention in Construction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Risk Factors and Control Strategies.

Torbat Esfahani M, Awolusi I, Hatipkarasulu Y Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025; 21(12.

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Plateau in Core Temperature during Shorter but Not Longer Work/Rest Cycles in Heat.

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Occupational heat stress, heat-related effects and the related social and economic loss: a scoping literature review.

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