scholarly journals The Extent of Heat on Health and Sustainable Farming in Ghana –Bawku East

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frimpong Kwasi ◽  
Jacque Oosthuizen ◽  
Eddie Van Etten

<p>Little is known about the health effects of heat in outdoor work and appropriate work and rest schedules for farmers working in developing countries. As temperatures continue to increase in tropical regions, such as Northern Ghana, it is necessary to evaluate how farmers experience and respond to high heat exposures. In this study, WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature) estimates and the ISO work / rest standards were applied to a cohort of farmers in the rural areas of Bawku East, Northern Ghana, to assess how farmers respond to high heat and how much they rest to protect their health, as well as the level of heat on their productivity. WBGT data was recorded over a period of 6 months among vegetable, cereals, and legume farmers. The ISO proposed and actual rest regimes observed by farmers in the same time period were evaluated. In the dry season the dry bulb temperature rose as high as 45 ºC, while during the humid months of March and April WBGT rose to levels as high as 34 ºC. Farmers worked for nine hours a day during these hot periods with insufficient rest, which has adverse consequences on their health and productivity.</p>

Abstract Extreme heat is annually the deadliest weather hazard in the U.S. and is strongly amplified by climate change. In Florida, summer heat waves have increased in frequency and duration, exacerbating negative human health impacts on a state with a substantial older population and industries (e.g., agriculture) that require frequent outdoor work. However, the combined impacts of temperature and humidity (heat stress) have not been previously investigated. For eight Florida cities, this study constructs summer climatologies and trend analyses (1950–2020) of two heat stress metrics: heat index (HI) and wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT). While both incorporate temperature and humidity, WBGT also includes wind and solar radiation, and is a more comprehensive measure of heat stress on the human body. With minor exceptions, results show increases in average summer daily maximum, mean, and minimum HI and WBGT throughout Florida. Daily minimum HI and WBGT exhibit statistically significant increases at all eight stations, emphasizing a hazardous rise in nighttime heat stress. Corresponding to other recent studies, HI and WBGT increases are largest in coastal subtropical locations in Central and South Florida (i.e., Daytona Beach, Tampa, Miami, Key West), but exhibit no conclusive relationship with urbanization changes. Finally, danger (103–124°F) HI and high (> 88°F) WBGT summer days exhibit significant frequency increases across the state. Especially at coastal locations in the Florida Peninsula and Keys, danger HI and high WBGT days now account for > 20% of total summer days, emphasizing a substantial escalation in heat stress, particularly since 2000.


2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (9) ◽  
pp. 869-881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean R. Notley ◽  
Andreas D. Flouris ◽  
Glen P. Kenny

Workers in many industries are required to perform arduous work in high heat-stress conditions, which can lead to rapid increases in body temperature that elevate the risk of heat-related illness and even death. Traditionally, effort to mitigate work-related heat injury has been directed toward the assessment of environmental heat stress (e.g., wet-bulb globe temperature), rather than toward the associated physiological strain responses (e.g., heart rate and skin and core temperatures). However, because a worker’s physiological response to a given heat stress is modified independently by inter-individual factors (e.g., age, sex, chronic disease, others) and intra-individual factors both within (e.g., medication use, fitness, acclimation and hydration state, others) and beyond (e.g., shift duration, illness, others) the worker’s control, it becomes challenging to protect workers on an individual basis from heat-related injury without assessing those physiological responses. Recent advancements in wearable technology have made it possible to monitor one or more physiological indices of heat strain. Nonetheless, information on the utility of the wearable systems available for assessing occupational heat strain is unavailable. This communication is therefore directed toward identifying the physiological indices of heat strain that may be quantified in the workplace and evaluating the wearable monitoring systems available for assessing those responses. Finally, emphasis is placed on the barriers associated with implementing these devices to assist in mitigating work-related heat injury. This information is fundamental for protecting worker health and could also be utilized to prevent heat illnesses in vulnerable people during leisure or athletic activities.


2013 ◽  
pp. 47-57
Author(s):  
Van Trong Le ◽  
Thi Tuyet Mai Nguyen ◽  
Thi Xuan Duyen Nguyen ◽  
Ba Luan Nguyen ◽  
Tuyen Pham ◽  
...  

Objectives: Presents heat stress Standard ISO 7243, which is based upon the wet bulb globe temperature index (WBGT), and considers its suitability for use worldwide. Materials and Methods: The WBGT index are considered and how it is used in ISO 7243 and across the world as a simple index for monitoring and assessing hot environments. Results: Management systems, involving risk assessments, that take account of context and culture, are required to ensure successful use of the standard and global applicability. For use outdoors, a WBGT equation that includes solar absorptivity is recommended. A ‘clothed WBGT’ is proposed to account for the effects of clothing. Conclusion: ISO 7243 is a simple tool to assess the heat stress and may be applicated worldwide.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 201
Author(s):  
Pau Chung Leng ◽  
Gabriel Hoh Teck Ling ◽  
Mohd Hamdan Ahmad ◽  
Dilshan Remaz Ossen ◽  
Eeydzah Aminudin ◽  
...  

The provision requirement of 10% openings of the total floor area stated in the Uniform Building By-Law 1984 Malaysia is essential for natural lighting and ventilation purposes. However, focusing on natural ventilation, the effectiveness of thermal performance in landed residential buildings has never been empirically measured and proven, as most of the research emphasized simulation modeling lacking sufficient empirical validation. Therefore, this paper drawing on field measurement investigates natural ventilation performance in terraced housing with an air-well system. The key concern as to what extent the current air-well system serving as a ventilator is effective to provide better thermal performance is to be addressed. By adopting an existing single-story air-welled terrace house, indoor environmental conditions and thermal performance were monitored and measured using HOBO U12 air temperature and humidity, the HOBO U12 anemometer, and the Delta Ohm HD32.3 Wet Bulb Globe Temperature meter for a six-month duration. The results show that the air temperature of the air well ranged from 27.48 °C to 30.92 °C, with a mean relative humidity of 72.67% to 79.25%. The mean air temperature for a test room (single-sided ventilation room) ranged from 28.04 °C to 30.92 °C, with a relative humidity of 70.16% to 76.00%. These empirical findings are of importance, offering novel policy insights and suggestions. Since the minimum provision of 10% openings has been revealed to be less effective to provide desirable thermal performance and comfort, mandatory compliance with and the necessity of the bylaw requirement should be revisited.


Author(s):  
Ruchika Agarwala ◽  
Vinod Vasudevan

Research shows that traffic fatality risk is generally higher in rural areas than in urban areas. In developing countries, vehicle ownership and investments in public transportation typically increase with economic growth. These two factors together increase the vehicle population, which in turn affects traffic safety. This paper presents a study focused on the relationship of various factors—including household consumption expenditure data—with traffic fatality in rural and urban areas and thereby aims to fill some of the gaps in the literature. One such gap is the impacts of personal and non-personal modes of travel on traffic safety in rural versus urban areas in developing countries which remains unexplored. An exhaustive panel data modeling approach is adopted. One important finding of this study is that evidence exists of a contrasting relationship between household expenditure and traffic fatality in rural and urban areas. The relationship between household expenditure and traffic fatality is observed to be positive in rural areas and a negative in urban areas. Increases in most expenditure variables, such as fuel, non-personal modes of travel, and two-wheeler expenditures, are found to be associated with an increase in traffic fatality in rural areas.


2018 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomonori Sakoi ◽  
Tohru Mochida ◽  
Yoshihito Kurazumi ◽  
Kohei Kuwabara ◽  
Yosuke Horiba ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Behrooz Hashemi-Domeneh ◽  
Nasim Zamani ◽  
Hossein Hassanian-Moghaddam ◽  
Mitra Rahimi ◽  
Shahin Shadnia ◽  
...  

Abstract The use of pesticides such as aluminium phosphide (AlP) has increased in the recent years and improved the quantity and quality of agricultural products in a number of developing countries. The downside is that AlP causes severe chronic and acute health effects that have reached major proportions in countries such as India, Iran, Bangladesh, and Jordan. Nearly 300,000 people die due to pesticide poisoning in the world every year. Poisoning with AlP accounts for many of these deaths. Unfortunately, at the same time, there is no standard treatment for it. The aim of this article is to give a brief review of AlP poisoning and propose a treatment flowchart based on the knowledge gained so far. For this purpose we reviewed all articles on the management of AlP poisoning published from 2000 till now. Using a modified Delphi design, we have designed a handy flowchart that could be used as a guide for AlP poisoning management of patients in emergency centres.


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