Perceptions of workplace heat exposure and controls among occupational hygienists and relevant specialists in Australia
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(Published version)
Date
2015
Authors
Xiang, J.
Hansen, A.
Pisaniello, D.
Bi, P.
Editors
Sun, Q.
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Journal article
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PLoS ONE, 2015; 10(8):e0135040-1-e0135040-12
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Jianjun Xiang, Alana Hansen, Dino Pisaniello, Peng Bi
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Abstract
With warmer weather projections, workplace heat exposure is presenting a growing challenge to workers’ health and safety. Occupational hygienists are the specialist group conducting measurements and providing advice on heat stress management to industry. In order to provide insights into hygienists perceptions on workplace heat exposure, current and future preparedness for extreme heat, and barriers to possible heat adaptation strategies, a self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted during a national conference of the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists. Nearly 90% of the 180 respondents were at least moderately concerned about extreme heat and 19% were dissatisfied with current heat stress prevention measures. Barriers recognized by the participants were lack of awareness (68%), insufficient training (56%), unsatisfactory management commitment (52%), and low compliance with prevention policies (40%). The findings suggest a need to refine occupational heat management and prevention strategies.
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© 2015 Xiang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited