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

La crise alimentaire, le développement durable et les biocarburants : perspectives d’avenir

Biofuels, extracted from cereals and other food crops, are attracting greater interest, especially as a substitute for fossil energy. However, the use of food products for biofuel production has been recently described as crime against humanity, since it contributes to raise the world market food prices and intensifying the world hunger. To assess the effect of the biofuels market on the global food crisis, an analysis based on key dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) was performed. Economically, biofuels compete with food, which causes an increase in food prices. In social terms, this energy may increase food insecurity and malnutrition via decreased availability of food for consumption, but also because of the significant amount of water used for irrigation of crops. On the environmental front, the market for biofuels will affect the quality of ecosystems through the depletion of water resources, soil pollution by fertilizers and loss of biodiversity. Biofuels made from raw materials other than food products are currently being studied and appear to offer promising solutions. It is advisable to conduct an environmental and social impacts assessment before massive exploitation, in order to avoid side effects, such as those created by the first generation of biofuels

La crise alimentaire, le développement durable et les biocarburants : perspectives d’avenir

Les biocarburants, extraits des céréales ou d’autres denrées alimentaires, connaissent actuellement un intérêt grandissant notamment comme substitut de l’énergie fossile. Toutefois, l’utilisation de produits comestibles à des fins de production de biocarburants a été récemment qualifiée de crime contre l’humanité, puisqu’elle contribue à la hausse des prix des denrées alimentaires sur le marché mondial et à l’intensification du phénomène de famine. Afin d’évaluer l’effet du marché des biocarburants sur la crise alimentaire mondiale, une analyse basée sur les grands axes du développement durable (économique, social et environnemental) a été effectuée. Sur le plan économique, les biocarburants entrent en compétition avec les denrées alimentaires et entraînent un accroissement des prix à l’échelle mondiale. Sur le plan social, les biocarburants exacerbent l’insécurité alimentaire et la malnutrition mondiales en raison de la diminution de la disponibilité de la nourriture et de l’importante utilisation d’eau pour l’irrigation des cultures. Sur le plan environnemental, les biocarburants auront des effets sur la qualité des écosystèmes par l’épuisement des ressources hydriques, la pollution des sols par les engrais et la perte de biodiversité. Des biocarburants faits à partir de ressources non comestibles sont actuellement à l’étude et semblent offrir des solutions prometteuses. Il ne reste qu’à souhaiter qu’une étude d’impacts soit effectuée avant l’exploitation massive de ces nouvelles technologies, afin d’éviter des effets indésirables tels que ceux créés par les biocarburants de première génération.Biofuels, extracted from cereals and other food crops, are attracting greater interest, especially as a substitute for fossil energy. However, the use of food products for biofuel production has been recently described as crime against humanity, since it contributes to raise the world market food prices and intensifying the world hunger. To assess the effect of the biofuels market on the global food crisis, an analysis based on key dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) was performed. Economically, biofuels compete with food, which causes an increase in food prices. In social terms, this energy may increase food insecurity and malnutrition via decreased availability of food for consumption, but also because of the significant amount of water used for irrigation of crops. On the environmental front, the market for biofuels will affect the quality of ecosystems through the depletion of water resources, soil pollution by fertilizers and loss of biodiversity. Biofuels made from raw materials other than food products are currently being studied and appear to offer promising solutions. It is advisable to conduct an environmental and social impacts assessment before massive exploitation, in order to avoid side effects, such as those created by the first generation of biofuels

Spatiotemporal Modeling of Ozone Levels in Quebec (Canada): A Comparison of Kriging, Land-Use Regression (LUR), and Combined Bayesian Maximum Entropy–LUR Approaches

Background: Ambient air ozone (O(3)) is a pulmonary irritant that has been associated with respiratory health effects including increased lung inflammation and permeability, airway hyperreactivity, respiratory symptoms, and decreased lung function. Estimation of O(3) exposure is a complex task because the pollutant exhibits complex spatiotemporal patterns. To refine the quality of exposure estimation, various spatiotemporal methods have been developed worldwide. Objectives: We sought to compare the accuracy of three spatiotemporal models to predict summer ground-level O(3) in Quebec, Canada. Methods: We developed a land-use mixed-effects regression (LUR) model based on readily available data (air quality and meteorological monitoring data, road networks information, latitude), a Bayesian maximum entropy (BME) model incorporating both O(3) monitoring station data and the land-use mixed model outputs (BME-LUR), and a kriging method model based only on available O(3) monitoring station data (BME kriging). We performed leave-one-station-out cross-validation and visually assessed the predictive capability of each model by examining the mean temporal and spatial distributions of the average estimated errors. Results: The BME-LUR was the best predictive model (R(2) = 0.653) with the lowest root mean-square error (RMSE ;7.06 ppb), followed by the LUR model (R(2) = 0.466, RMSE = 8.747) and the BME kriging model (R(2) = 0.414, RMSE = 9.164). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that errors of estimation in the interpolation of O(3) concentrations with BME can be greatly reduced by incorporating outputs from a LUR model developed with readily available data. Citation: Adam-Poupart A, Brand A, Fournier M, Jerrett M, Smargiassi A. 2014. Spatiotemporal modeling of ozone levels in Quebec (Canada): a comparison of kriging, land-use regression (LUR), and combined Bayesian maximum entropy–LUR approaches. Environ Health Perspect 122:970–976; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.130656

Spatiotemporal modeling of ozone levels in Quebec (Canada): a comparison of kriging, land-use regression (LUR), and combined Bayesian maximum entropy-LUR approaches.

BackgroundAmbient air ozone (O3) is a pulmonary irritant that has been associated with respiratory health effects including increased lung inflammation and permeability, airway hyperreactivity, respiratory symptoms, and decreased lung function. Estimation of O3 exposure is a complex task because the pollutant exhibits complex spatiotemporal patterns. To refine the quality of exposure estimation, various spatiotemporal methods have been developed worldwide.ObjectivesWe sought to compare the accuracy of three spatiotemporal models to predict summer ground-level O3 in Quebec, Canada.MethodsWe developed a land-use mixed-effects regression (LUR) model based on readily available data (air quality and meteorological monitoring data, road networks information, latitude), a Bayesian maximum entropy (BME) model incorporating both O3 monitoring station data and the land-use mixed model outputs (BME-LUR), and a kriging method model based only on available O3 monitoring station data (BME kriging). We performed leave-one-station-out cross-validation and visually assessed the predictive capability of each model by examining the mean temporal and spatial distributions of the average estimated errors.ResultsThe BME-LUR was the best predictive model (R2 = 0.653) with the lowest root mean-square error (RMSE ;7.06 ppb), followed by the LUR model (R2 = 0.466, RMSE = 8.747) and the BME kriging model (R2 = 0.414, RMSE = 9.164).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that errors of estimation in the interpolation of O3 concentrations with BME can be greatly reduced by incorporating outputs from a LUR model developed with readily available data

Climate change and occupational health and safety in a temperate climate: Potential impacts and research priorities in Quebec, Canada

The potential impacts of climate change (CC) on Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) have been studied a little in tropical countries, while they received no attention in northern industrialized countries with a temperate climate. This work aimed to establish an overview of the potential links between CC and OHS in those countries and to determine research priorities for Quebec, Canada. A narrative review of the scientific literature (2005-2010) was presented to a working group of international and national experts and stakeholders during a workshop held in 2010. The working group was invited to identify knowledge gaps, and a modified Delphi method helped prioritize research avenues. This process highlighted five categories of hazards that are likely to impact OHS in northern industrialized countries: heat waves/increased temperatures, air pollutants, UV radiation, extreme weather events, vector-borne/zoonotic diseases. These hazards will affect working activities related to natural resources (i.e. agriculture, fishing and forestry) and may influence the socioeconomic context (built environment and green industries), thus indirectly modifying OHS. From this consensus approach, three categories of research were identified: 1) Knowledge acquisition on hazards, target populations and methods of adaptation; 2) Surveillance of diseases/ accidents/occupational hazards; and 3) Development of new occupational adaptation strategies

Evidence for increasing densities and geographic ranges of tick species of public health significance other than Ixodes scapularis in Québec, Canada.

Climate change is driving emergence and establishment of Ixodes scapularis, the main vector of Lyme disease in Québec, Canada. As for the black-legged tick, I. scapularis Say, global warming may also favor northward expansion of other species of medically important ticks. The aims of this study were to determine (1) current diversity and abundance of ticks of public health significance other than I. scapularis, (2) sex and age of the human population bitten by these ticks (3), and the seasonal and geographic pattern of their occurrence. From 2007 to 2015, twelve tick species other than I. scapularis were submitted in the Québec passive tick surveillance program. Of these 9243 ticks, 91.2% were Ixodes cookei, 4.1% were Dermacentor variabilis, 4.0% were Rhipicephalus sanguineus and 0.7% were Amblyomma americanum. The combined annual proportion of submitted I. cookei, D. variabilis, R. sanguineus and A. americanum ticks in passive surveillance rose from 6.1% in 2007 to 16.0% in 2015 and an annual growing trend was observed for each tick species. The number of municipalities where I. cookei ticks were acquired rose from 104 to 197 during the same period. Of the 862 people bitten by these ticks, 43.3% were I. cookei ticks removed from children aged < 10 years. These findings demonstrate the need for surveillance of all the tick species of medical importance in Québec, particularly because climate may increase their abundance and geographic ranges, increasing the risk to the public of the diseases they transmit