Heat-related illness among workers in British Columbia: Extreme hot weather in 2021 compared to 2001-2020

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BACKGROUND AND AIM: The summer of 2021 in British Columbia (BC), Canada, was characterized by unprecedented high temperatures, yielding substantial increase in attributable deaths. This study aimed to characterize the ambient temperature, and demographics, industry sectors, and occupations of workers with heat-related illness (HRI) from 2021 summer compared to historical averages. METHOD: We identified work-related HRI from accepted workers’ compensation claims among workers aged 15 and greater in BC, 2001-2021. Incidence rates were calculated by age, sex, industry sector, and occupation, using working population estimates from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey. HRI claims that occurred during the 2021 summer were compared to those during summers from 2001-2020. RESULTS: 521 eligible claims were identified between June and August from 2001-2021, of which 107 (20.5%) occurred in 2021. The incidence rates for 2021 and typical summers were 3.97 (95% confidence interval, 3.26-4.80) and 0.93 (0.85-1.03) claims per 100,000 workers, respectively. This difference represents a 327% increase. The 99th, 95th, and 90th percentiles of summertime daily maximum temperatures by Local Health Areas accounted for 20.6%, 49.5%, and 64.5% of claims, respectively, in 2021. Whereas in typical summers, they accounted for 8.5%, 32.4%, and 46.4% of claims, respectively. Incidence rates in 2021 were amplified, but consistent with typical summers, in that they were higher among younger workers, male workers, those working in public administration industry sector, and those with occupations related to primary industry; trades, transport, and equipment operators; and processing, manufacturing, and utilities. Strikingly, rates in 2021 were exacerbated in industry sectors of transportation and warehousing; and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting, as well as intermediate-level occupations in primary industry and health occupations. CONCLUSIONS: The unprecedented hot weather in 2021 placed some workers at higher risk of HRI. The study findings may inform development and improvement of prevention strategies targeting at-risk workers. This research was funded by WorkSafeBC.

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