Estimating personal ambient temperature in moderately cold environments for occupationally exposed populations

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Environmental Health
• Thermophysiology

Background:

• Winter season poses high mortality and morbidity risks, particularly in southern US cities.
• Limited research exists on health effects of working in moderately cold environments for outdoor workers.
• Outdoor grounds management workers in the southeastern US are a vulnerable population for cold exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the health effects of personal cold exposure in outdoor grounds management workers.
• To compare cold exposure in different climatological settings within the southeastern US.
• To assess the relationship between personal ambient temperature and cold symptomatology.

Main Methods:

• Utilized consumer-based sensors for repeated personal cold exposure measurements.
• Recruited outdoor workers from Raleigh, NC, and Boone, NC, for a 3-week data collection in winter 2018.
• Collected data on personal ambient temperatures and cold symptomatology.

Main Results:

• Lower personal ambient temperatures were recorded in Raleigh, NC, compared to Boone, NC.
• Higher relative risk for cold symptomatology was observed in moderately cold (0°C to 20°C) versus extremely cold (<0°C) personal ambient temperatures.
• A weak significant relationship was found between personal ambient temperatures and fixed weather station measurements.

Conclusions:

• Personalized temperature monitoring is more accurate than fixed site measurements for assessing health risks.
• Moderately cold temperatures may pose a greater risk for cold symptomatology than previously thought.
• Advancements in mobile technology will enable real-time, individual-level environmental health monitoring in various occupational settings.