Heat - an invisible hazard : perceived effects of the 2019 heatwave on construction workers in the Netherlands

Abstract: Global climate change has brought more frequent and severe heatwaves which affect all areas of human life. Occupational safety and health of construction workers is one of the most severely affected areas in Asia and Africa, but also Europe. This thesis focuses on the most recent heat wave from summer 2019 and observes its effects on construction workers in the Netherlands, with examples from immigrant and migratory worker. Selected period of this case study is from 24th to 31st July 2019, as the heat wave temperatures peaked in the Netherlands at this time. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and literature reviews. The main findings were drawn after conducting and analysing semi structured interviews and conducting the literature review and secondary data. The data was studied from an interdisciplinary point of view with usage of climate change, adaptation, and vulnerability theories. The study findings show constructions workers suffered some heat stress symptoms in 2019, and that the most usual are exhaustion, excessive sweating, loss of focus and headaches, which is in accordance with other studies done in high heat. Employers have been found to have taken some measures to protect their employees from the heat, however these measures were not enough to prevent heat stress symptoms. While occupational safety and health is a priority, heat training is still lacking, and heat is not reported as a cause of injuries or illnesses. Finally, a conclusion has been drawn that at present time heat does not cause noticeable financial losses to observed construction workers personally in the Netherlands unlike in Asian and African countries (Kjellstrom, 2015), however this state might change in the future due to climate change. Equally, injuries and illnesses caused by heat are classified (according to type of injury) by ILO (1998) as “Other specified types of injuries” which means that they are reported together with other types making heat invisible as an occupational health and safety hazard in publicly available records.