Effects of occupational heat exposure on female brick workers in West Bengal, India

Background : Manual brick-manufacturing units in India engage a large number of female workers on a daily-wage basis for a period of 8 months per year. There are two groups of female workers in the brickfields: the brick molders and the brick carriers. These brickfields are mostly unorganized, and the workers are exposed to extreme conditions such as very high seasonal heat. The present trend of increasing temperatures, as a result of global warming and climate change, will put an additional burden on them. Objective : This study aims to evaluate the effect of workplace heat exposure on the well-being, physiological load, and productivity of female brickfield workers in India. Design : A questionnaire study (n=120), environmental temperature, and weekly work productivity analyses were evaluated for 8 months in the brickfields. Cardiac strain and walking speed (subset, n=40) were also studied and compared in hotter and colder days amongst the female brickfield workers. Results : The subjects experience summer for about 5 months with additional heat stress radiating from the brick kiln. The weekly productivity data show a linear decline in productivity with increased maximum air temperature above 34.9°C. The cardiac parameters (peak heart rate (HRp), net cardiac cost (NCC), relative cardiac cost (RCC), and recovery heart rates) were significantly higher on hotter days (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGTout) index: 26.9°C to 30.74°C) than on cooler days (WBGTout index: 16.12°C to 19.37°C) for the brick molders; however, this is not the case for the brick carriers. As the brick carriers adapt to hotter days by decreasing their walking speed, their productivity decreases. Conclusion : We conclude that high heat exposure in brickfields during summer caused physiological strain in both categories of female brickfield workers. A coping strategy employed by the brick carriers was to reduce their walking speed and thus lose part of their earnings. The lost productivity for every degree rise in temperature is about 2% in the brickfields. This reduction will be exacerbated by climate change and may undermine the quality of life of female brickfield workers

Heat exposure, cardiovascular stress and work productivity in rice harvesters in India: Implications for a climate change future

Excessive workplace heat exposures create well-known risks of heat stroke, and it limits the workers' capacity to sustain physical activity. There is very limited evidence available on how these effects reduce work productivity, while the quantitative re

An ergonomic evaluation of tasks of healthcare unit personnel in different shifts in General Hospitals in West Bengal

Background: The job challenges faced by healthcare unit personnel are psychological, temporal and physically demanding.  Studies on psychological stress on nurses are available but unfortunately studies on physiological load or temporal analysis of tasks of nurses or attendants in general hospitals in India have not been reported so far. Objective: The study aims at evaluating the perception of workload in different shifts among healthcare unit personnel and to develop better ergonomic management protocols. Participants: The study population comprised 150 staff nurses and 175 attendants working in three government hospitals in West Bengal, India. Method: The amount of time spent by nurses and attendants performing different tasks were recorded throughout the shifts using an activity analysis chart along with perceived exertion rating and heart rate throughout the shifts. Results: About 26.8% of the total working time throughout the day was spent in “direct care”. In case of general duty attendants 24.4% of the duty time was spent in indirect care. Time spent in different tasks differed by shifts. More leisure time occurs in the night shift compared to the morning and afternoon shifts but duration of shift was longer (11 to 12 hours). Perceived exertion rating of healthcare unit personnel in night shift was more compared to other shifts but physiological response did not reflect that. Conclusion: There were temporal variations of job demand in healthcare units. So, ergonomic orientation of layouts of departments, arrangement of activities, ergonomic way of keeping the records and use of proper communication system, recommended reducing the stress of healthcare unit personnel.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijosh.v2i2.6566 International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, Vol 2. No 2 (2012) 14-22