A University of Sydney-led team tested simple, low-cost cooling measures to reduce heat stress among Bangladesh garment workers. Published in The Lancet Planetary Health on Monday (20 October), the study highlights how extreme indoor heat and poor ventilation add to risks for the sector that employs over 4 million people, about 60 per cent of them women.
Researchers reproduced the hottest recorded factory conditions — 40 degrees Celsius and 38 per cent humidity — in a climate-controlled chamber, running 247 trials with 42 participants and an almost equal mix of men and women. Key findings include that fans plus drinking water partly recovered productivity losses of up to 15 per cent, while an insulated reflective roof that lowered indoor temperature by 2.5 degrees Celsius reduced core body temperature, heart rate and dehydration risk. Cooling benefits were larger in male participants, which the authors say calls for a rethink of gender-specific tasks and clothing when planning mitigation.
Lead authors note that air-conditioning is often economically and environmentally unsustainable. With Bangladesh’s garment industry targeting a 30 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, low-resource cooling options could offer a more sustainable path for climate adaptation in global supply chains. The study excluded people with hypertension and prior heat illness, and advocates and researchers call for further work on gendered differences and protection for the most vulnerable workers.
Difficult words
- ventilation — movement of fresh air into a building
- productivity — amount of work done in a timeproductivity losses
- insulated — made to reduce heat flow or transfer
- dehydration — loss of body water and fluidsdehydration risk
- mitigation — actions that reduce harm or risk
- greenhouse gas emission — release of gases that warm the atmospheregreenhouse gas emissions
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Discussion questions
- How might low-cost cooling measures change the daily health and productivity of garment workers? Give reasons.
- What challenges could factories face when choosing low-resource cooling options instead of air-conditioning?
- How should employers consider gender differences in planning cooling and protective measures for workers?
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