The impact of wildfire smoke and temperature on traumatic worker injury claims, Oregon 2009–2018
Abstract Background and Aims As average temperatures rise and wildfire events increase in the United States, outdoor workers may be at an increased risk of injury. Recent research suggests that heat exposure increases outdoor workers' risk of traumatic injuries, but co‐exposures of heat and wil...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2022-09-01
|
| Series: | Health Science Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.820 |
| _version_ | 1827893154212216832 |
|---|---|
| author | Richard Evoy Perry Hystad Harold Bae Laurel Kincl |
| author_facet | Richard Evoy Perry Hystad Harold Bae Laurel Kincl |
| author_sort | Richard Evoy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background and Aims As average temperatures rise and wildfire events increase in the United States, outdoor workers may be at an increased risk of injury. Recent research suggests that heat exposure increases outdoor workers' risk of traumatic injuries, but co‐exposures of heat and wildfire smoke have not been evaluated. Methods Oregon workers' compensation data from 2009 to 2018 were linked to satellite data by the date of injury to determine if acute heat (maximum Heat Index) and wildfire smoke (presence/absence) were associated with a traumatic injury. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes were utilized to identify accepted, disabling injury claims from construction (NAICS 23) and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (NAICS 11). Claims from April to October were analyzed using negative binomial models to calculate incident rate ratios (IRR) by heat and wildfire exposure for All workers and specifically for Agricultural (Ag)/Construction workers. Results During the study period, 91,895 accepted, traumatic injury claims were analyzed. All workers had an injury IRR of 1.04 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.06) while Ag/Construction workers had an IRR of 1.11 (95% CI: 1.06–1.16) when wildfire smoke was present. When the maximum Heat Index was 75°F or greater, the IRR significantly increased as temperatures increased. When the maximum Heat Index was above 80–84°F, All workers had an IRR of 1.04 (95% CI: 1.01–1.06) while Ag/construction workers had an IRR of 1.14 (95% CI: 1.08–1.21) with risk increasing with increased temperatures. In joint models, heat remained associated with injury rates, but not wildfire smoke. No multiplicative interactions between exposures were observed. Conclusion Increasing temperature was associated with increased rates of traumatic injury claims in Oregon that were more pronounced in Ag/Construction workers. Future work should focus on further understanding these associations and effective injury prevention strategies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:49:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1972e779d4b94f14bcd4f9192d51ef02 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2398-8835 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:49:51Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health Science Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-1972e779d4b94f14bcd4f9192d51ef022023-07-26T04:11:54ZengWileyHealth Science Reports2398-88352022-09-0155n/an/a10.1002/hsr2.820The impact of wildfire smoke and temperature on traumatic worker injury claims, Oregon 2009–2018Richard Evoy0Perry Hystad1Harold Bae2Laurel Kincl3Environmental and Occupational Health Program, College of Public Health and Human Sciences Oregon State University Corvallis Oregon USAEnvironmental and Occupational Health Program, College of Public Health and Human Sciences Oregon State University Corvallis Oregon USABiostatistics Program, College of Public Health and Human Sciences Oregon State University Corvallis Oregon USAEnvironmental and Occupational Health Program, College of Public Health and Human Sciences Oregon State University Corvallis Oregon USAAbstract Background and Aims As average temperatures rise and wildfire events increase in the United States, outdoor workers may be at an increased risk of injury. Recent research suggests that heat exposure increases outdoor workers' risk of traumatic injuries, but co‐exposures of heat and wildfire smoke have not been evaluated. Methods Oregon workers' compensation data from 2009 to 2018 were linked to satellite data by the date of injury to determine if acute heat (maximum Heat Index) and wildfire smoke (presence/absence) were associated with a traumatic injury. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes were utilized to identify accepted, disabling injury claims from construction (NAICS 23) and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (NAICS 11). Claims from April to October were analyzed using negative binomial models to calculate incident rate ratios (IRR) by heat and wildfire exposure for All workers and specifically for Agricultural (Ag)/Construction workers. Results During the study period, 91,895 accepted, traumatic injury claims were analyzed. All workers had an injury IRR of 1.04 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.06) while Ag/Construction workers had an IRR of 1.11 (95% CI: 1.06–1.16) when wildfire smoke was present. When the maximum Heat Index was 75°F or greater, the IRR significantly increased as temperatures increased. When the maximum Heat Index was above 80–84°F, All workers had an IRR of 1.04 (95% CI: 1.01–1.06) while Ag/construction workers had an IRR of 1.14 (95% CI: 1.08–1.21) with risk increasing with increased temperatures. In joint models, heat remained associated with injury rates, but not wildfire smoke. No multiplicative interactions between exposures were observed. Conclusion Increasing temperature was associated with increased rates of traumatic injury claims in Oregon that were more pronounced in Ag/Construction workers. Future work should focus on further understanding these associations and effective injury prevention strategies.https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.820air qualityclimate changeheatoccupational injuriesoutdoor workersworkers' compensation |
| spellingShingle | Richard Evoy Perry Hystad Harold Bae Laurel Kincl The impact of wildfire smoke and temperature on traumatic worker injury claims, Oregon 2009–2018 Health Science Reports air quality climate change heat occupational injuries outdoor workers workers' compensation |
| title | The impact of wildfire smoke and temperature on traumatic worker injury claims, Oregon 2009–2018 |
| title_full | The impact of wildfire smoke and temperature on traumatic worker injury claims, Oregon 2009–2018 |
| title_fullStr | The impact of wildfire smoke and temperature on traumatic worker injury claims, Oregon 2009–2018 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of wildfire smoke and temperature on traumatic worker injury claims, Oregon 2009–2018 |
| title_short | The impact of wildfire smoke and temperature on traumatic worker injury claims, Oregon 2009–2018 |
| title_sort | impact of wildfire smoke and temperature on traumatic worker injury claims oregon 2009 2018 |
| topic | air quality climate change heat occupational injuries outdoor workers workers' compensation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.820 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT richardevoy theimpactofwildfiresmokeandtemperatureontraumaticworkerinjuryclaimsoregon20092018 AT perryhystad theimpactofwildfiresmokeandtemperatureontraumaticworkerinjuryclaimsoregon20092018 AT haroldbae theimpactofwildfiresmokeandtemperatureontraumaticworkerinjuryclaimsoregon20092018 AT laurelkincl theimpactofwildfiresmokeandtemperatureontraumaticworkerinjuryclaimsoregon20092018 AT richardevoy impactofwildfiresmokeandtemperatureontraumaticworkerinjuryclaimsoregon20092018 AT perryhystad impactofwildfiresmokeandtemperatureontraumaticworkerinjuryclaimsoregon20092018 AT haroldbae impactofwildfiresmokeandtemperatureontraumaticworkerinjuryclaimsoregon20092018 AT laurelkincl impactofwildfiresmokeandtemperatureontraumaticworkerinjuryclaimsoregon20092018 |