Effets des changements climatiques sur la santé et la sécurité des travailleurs au Québec

Les impacts des changements climatiques sur la population sont nombreux et ont été relativement bien documentés, ce qui n’est pas le cas de ces impacts sur la santé et la sécurité des travailleurs. L’objectif de cette thèse est de documenter les effets négatifs des changements climatiques sur la santé et la sécurité des travailleurs dans une région d’un pays industrialisé à climat tempéré, comme le Québec. Pour y arriver, deux approches ont été utilisées : a) les dangers et les effets sanitaires ont été identifiés par une revue de la littérature validée par des experts nationaux et internationaux, et des priorités de recherche ont été établies à l’aide d’une méthode de consultation itérative, b) des modèles statistiques, utiles à l’estimation des impacts sanitaires des changements climatiques, ont été développés pour apprécier les associations entre la survenue de lésions professionnelles et l’exposition des travailleurs aux chaleurs estivales et à l’ozone troposphérique, deux problématiques préoccupantes pour le Québec. Le bilan des connaissances a mis en évidence cinq catégories de dangers pouvant affecter directement ou indirectement la santé et la sécurité des travailleurs au Québec (vagues de chaleur, polluants de l’air, rayonnements ultraviolets, événements météorologiques extrêmes, maladies vectorielles transmissibles et zoonoses) et cinq conditions pouvant entraîner des modifications dans l’environnement de travail et pouvant ultimement affecter négativement la santé et la sécurité des travailleurs (changements dans les méthodes agricoles et d’élevage, altérations dans l’industrie de la pêche, perturbations de l’écosystème forestier, dégradation de l’environnement bâti et émergence de nouvelles industries vertes). Quant aux modélisations, elles suggèrent que les indemnisations quotidiennes pour des maladies liées à la chaleur et pour des accidents de travail augmentent avec les températures estivales, et que ces associations varient selon l’âge des travailleurs, le secteur industriel et la catégorie professionnelle (manuelle vs autre). Des associations positives statistiquement non significatives entre les indemnisations pour des atteintes respiratoires aiguës et les concentrations d’ozone troposphérique ont aussi été observées. Dans l’ensemble, cette thèse a permis de dégager douze pistes de recherche prioritaires pour le Québec se rapportant à l’acquisition de connaissances, à la surveillance épidémiologique et au développement de méthodes d’adaptation. Selon les résultats de cette recherche, les intervenants en santé au travail et les décideurs devraient déployer des efforts pour protéger la santé et la sécurité des travailleurs et mettre en place des actions préventives en vue des changements climatiques.The impacts of climate change on human health are multiple and have been extensively studied in the general population, whereas these impacts on the working population have received little attention. In this perspective, the objective of this research is to document the negative effects of climate change on Occupational health and safety (OHS) in northern industrialized countries with a temperate climate, such as in Quebec. To achieve this goal, two approaches were used: a) exposure/hazards and potential effects of climate change on OHS were identified using a narrative review of the scientific literature validated by a working group of international and national experts and Quebec’s stakeholders, and research priorities applicable to the Quebec context were established by a consensus approach, b) statistical models, useful for quantifying the health impacts of climate change, were developed to estimate the associations between occupational illnesses, injuries and exposure to summer outdoor temperatures or tropospheric ozone, as these climate conditions are among the most preoccupying issues related to climate change in Quebec. The literature highlighted five categories of hazards that are likely to impact OHS in Quebec (heat waves/increased temperatures, air pollutants, UV radiation, extreme weather events, vector-borne/zoonotic diseases) and five conditions that could potentially affect the working environment and negatively impact the OHS (changes in agriculture/breeding methods, alterations in the fishing industry, disruptions of the forest ecosystem, deterioration of the built environment and emerging green industries). The modeled associations suggest that daily compensations for heat-related illnesses and work-related injury increase with ambient temperature, and that these relations vary according to workers age, industries and physical demand of the occupation (i.e. manual vs other type). Positive non-statistically significant associations were observed between acute respiratory problems compensations and levels of ozone. Overall, this work produced a list of twelve research topics for the Quebec context, all related to the knowledge acquisition, the surveillance of diseases or the development of adaptation strategies. According to this thesis, stakeholders and decision-makers should make effort to increase the protection of workers health and safety in the context of climate change

On the Regression and Assimilation for Air Quality Mapping Using Dense Low-Cost WSN

International audienceThe use of low-cost Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) for air quality monitoring has recently attracted a great deal of interest. Indeed, the cost-effectiveness of emerging sensors and their small size allow for dense deployments and hence improve the spatial granularity. However, these sensors offer a low accuracy and their measurement errors may be significant due to the underlying sensing technologies. The main aim of this work is to reconsider and compare some regression approaches to assimilation ones while taking into account the intrinsic characteristics of dense deployment of low cost WSN for air quality monitoring (high density, numerical model errors and sensing errors). For that, we propose a general framework that allows the comparison of different strategies based on numerical simulations and an adequate estimation of the simulation error covariances as well as the sensing errors covariances. While considering the case of Lyon city and a widely used numerical model, we characterize the simulation errors, conduct extensive simulations and compare several regression and assimilation approaches. The results show that from a given sensing error threshold, regression methods present an optimal sensor density from which the mapping quality decreases. Results also show that the Random Forest method is often the best regression approach but still less efficient than the BLUE assimilation approach when using adequate correction parameters

The effect of hot days on occupational heat stress in the manufacturing industry: implications for workers' well-being and productivity

Climate change is expected to exacerbate heat stress at the workplace in temperate regions, such as Slovenia. It is therefore of paramount importance to study present and future summer heat conditions and analyze the impact of heat on workers. A set of climate indices based on summer mean (Tmean) and maximum (Tmax) air temperatures, such as the number of hot days (HD: Tmax above 30 °C), and Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) were used to account for heat conditions in Slovenia at six locations in the period 1981–2010. Observed trends (1961–2011) of Tmean and Tmax in July were positive, being larger in the eastern part of the country. Climate change projections showed an increase up to 4.5 °C for mean temperature and 35 days for HD by the end of the twenty-first century under the high emission scenario. The increase in WBGT was smaller, although sufficiently high to increase the frequency of days with a high risk of heat stress up to an average of a third of the summer days. A case study performed at a Slovenian automobile parts manufacturing plant revealed non-optimal working conditions during summer 2016 (WBGT mainly between 20 and 25 °C). A survey conducted on 400 workers revealed that 96% perceived the temperature conditions as unsuitable, and 56% experienced headaches and fatigue. Given these conditions and climate change projections, the escalating problem of heat is worrisome. The European Commission initiated a program of research within the Horizon 2020 program to develop a heat warning system for European workers and employers, which will incorporate case-specific solutions to mitigate heat stress.The work was supported by the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Action (Project number 668786: HEATSHIELD)

A Review of National-Level Adaptation Planning with Regards to the Risks Posed by Climate Change on Infectious Diseases in 14 OECD Nations

Climate change is likely to have significant implications for human health, particularly through alterations of the incidence, prevalence, and distribution of infectious diseases. In the context of these risks, governments in high income nations have begun developing strategies to reduce potential climate change impacts and increase health system resilience (i.e., adaptation). In this paper, we review and evaluate national-level adaptation planning in relation to infectious disease risks in 14 OECD countries with respect to “best practices” for adaptation identified in peer-reviewed literature. We find a number of limitations to current planning, including negligible consideration of the needs of vulnerable population groups, limited emphasis on local risks, and inadequate attention to implementation logistics, such as available funding and timelines for evaluation. The nature of planning documents varies widely between nations, four of which currently lack adaptation plans. In those countries where planning documents were available, adaptations were mainstreamed into existing public health programs, and prioritized a sectoral, rather than multidisciplinary, approach. The findings are consistent with other scholarship examining adaptation planning indicating an ad hoc and fragmented process, and support the need for enhanced attention to adaptation to infectious disease risks in public health policy at a national level

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds

Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world’s oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging species

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds

Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world’s oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging species