The Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (SCCAHS) conducts research on important topics related to health and safety in the agriculture, fisheries, and forestry (AFF) sector. The center also conducts safety training and serves as a repository for related training programs throughout the Southeast region. This page focuses on resources related to heat stress and heat-related illness. Please visit this page frequently to find new information on this topic.
Following are links to relevant training programs or Educational Resources on this topic.
- OSHA: Working in Outdoor and Indoor Heat Environment Many people are exposed to heat on the job, in both indoor and outdoor heat environments. Operations involving high air temperatures, radiant heat sources (e.g., sunlight, hot exhaust), high humidity, direct physical contact with hot objects, or strenuous physical activities have a high potential for causing heat-related illness.
- OSHA: Heat Illness Prevention Campaign Our Heat Illness Prevention campaign, launched in 2011, educates employers and workers on the dangers of working in the heat. Through training sessions, outreach events, informational sessions, publications, social media messaging and media appearances, millions of workers and employers have learned how to protect workers from heat. Our safety message comes down to three key words: Water. Rest. Shade.
- OSHA: Heat-related Illnesses and First Aid Learn about symptoms and first aid measures to take if a worker shows signs of a heat-related illness.
- OSHA: Heat-related Illnesses Prevention Learn more about how most heat-related health problems can be prevented, or the risk of developing them can be reduced.
- OSHA: Industry-specific Resources Find resources about heat-related illness specific to your industry.
- OSHA: Standards Under the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970, employers are required to provide their employees with a place of employment that “is free from recognizable hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious harm to employees.”
- OSHA: Publications Heat Illness Resource Database
- State of the Science White Paper Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Heat Related Illness Prevention Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety
- Heat-Related Illness Magazine Insert Learn more about the heat-related illness resources in this magazine insert featured in Ag News and Health News
- Heat-Related Illness Issue Guide Printable PDF of facts and information about heat-related illness
- Heat-Related Illness Issue Guide (Spanish) Printable PDF of facts and information about heat-related illness
- Heat-Related Illness Informational Video Video of facts and information about heat-related illness
- Heat-Related Illness Informational Video (Spanish) Video of facts and information about heat-related illness
- Webinar: Using Social Marketing to Prevent Heat-related Illness and Improve Productivity Among Farmworkers Monaghan discusses how his SCCAHS research project is using a social marketing approach to behavior change to help farm labor supervisors be more effective change agents with their workers.
- Webinar: Pesticide & Heat Stress Education for Latino Farmworkers that is Culturally Appropriate Grzywacz shares his progress and future endeavors of his 5-year project to create and determine the effectiveness of culturally- and contextually-appropriate curricula for Latino farmworkers targeting pesticide exposure and HRI.
- Webinar: Heat Stress and Biomarkers of Renal Disease McCauley shares her progress to measure physiological indicators of heat-related illness (HRI) in farmworker populations in Florida, incorporating a metabolomics approach to enhance understanding of pathways through which perturbation of renal function occurs.
- Webinar: Heat-related Illness Prevention: Research and lessons learned from athletics Coris discusses heat-related pathology including the risk factors, as well as ways of assessing, treating, and preventing HRI.
The network of universities and cooperative extension services working on education and research in agriculture, fishing, and forestry in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, has offices and extension agents focused on occupational safety. Below are Extension agents and specialists and other professionals who conduct training on this topic.
Venancio “Veny” Marti
Worker Protection Standard, Heat Stress
Vice President of Operations/President
Martex Farms
Research Publications
Following is a list of research publications on this topic.
2015. Ashley, C. D., Ferron, J., & Bernard, T. E. Loss of Heat Acclimation and Time to Re-establish Acclimation. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 12(5), 302–308. https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2014.987387
2015. Bernard, T. E., & Iheanacho, I. Heat index and adjusted temperature as surrogates for wet bulb globe temperature to screen for occupational heat stress. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 12(5), 323–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2014.989365
2014. Runkle, J., Culley, J., Economos, J., Mac, V., Tovar, J. A., Flocks, J. J., & McCauley, L. Participatory Educational Intervention to Address Heat, Ergonomic Stress, and Pesticide Exposure as Workplace Hazards for Female Farmworkers in Central Florida. Journal of Agromedicine, 19(2), 235–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2014.892448
2013. Flocks, J., Vi Thien Mac, V., Runkle, J., Tovar-Aguilar, J. A., Economos, J., & McCauley, L. A. Female Farmworkers’ Perceptions of Heat-Related Illness and Pregnancy Health. Journal of Agromedicine, 18(4), 350–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2013.826607
2010. Bernard, T., Ashley, C., Trentacosta, J., Kapur, V., & Tew, S. Critical heat stress evaluation of clothing ensembles with different levels of porosity. Ergonomics, 53(8), 1048–1058. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2010.494736
2010. Jackson, L. L., & Rosenberg, H. R. Preventing heat-related illness among agricultural workers. Journal of Agromedicine, 15(3), 200–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2010.487021
2008. Ashley, C. D., Luecke, C. L., Schwartz, S. S., Islam, M. Z., & Bernard, T. E. Heat strain at the critical WBGT and the effects of gender, clothing and metabolic rate. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 38(7–8), 640–644. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2008.01.017
2008. Bernard, T. E., Caravello, V., Schwartz, S. W., & Ashley, C. D. WBGT clothing adjustment factors for four clothing ensembles and the effects of metabolic demands. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 5(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/15459620701732355
2008. Caravello, V., McCullough, E. A., Ashley, C. D., & Bernard, T. E. Apparent evaporative resistance at critical conditions for five clothing ensembles. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 104(2), 361–367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-007-0655-9
2006. Gonzalez, N. W., Bernard, T. E., Carroll, N. L., Bryner, M. a, & Zeigler, J. P. Maximum sustainable work rate for five protective clothing ensembles with respect to moisture vapor transmission rate and air permeability. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 3(2), 80–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/15459620500498133
2005. Bernard, T. E., Luecke, C. L., Schwartz, S. W., Kirkland, K. S., & Ashley, C. D. WBGT clothing adjustments for four clothing ensembles under three relative humidity levels. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2(5), 251–256. https://doi.org/10.1080/15459620590934224
