In the News
PHI’s Isabella Kaser Discusses the High Risk of Heat-Related Illness and Mortality Among Farmworkers
- Ventura County Star
-
Focus Areas
Environmental Health -
Issues
Climate Change, Wildfires & Extreme Heat -
Programs
Tracking California
“During a dayslong heat wave last week, an Oxnard man died while working on a farm in the Oxnard Plain, officials said.
Oscar Pimentel, 43, was working in a field on Sept. 7 when he collapsed, according to initial reports. Agencies are still investigating whether heat was a factor in his death.
Christine Cardona-Threadgill, board president for the nonprofit Friends of Fieldworkers, said that while it is not yet clear whether Pimentel’s death was heat related, the Ventura-based group was concerned about local fieldworkers throughout last week’s scorching temperatures.
The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office said Pimentel’s cause of death is still pending, and an investigation could take 90 days, officials said.
Heat more deadly than other disasters
The temperature alone doesn’t always predict danger, experts say. Part of what matters is how temperatures compare to what people are used to experiencing.
People may be less acclimated to higher heat in coastal communities, said Isabella Kaser, a climate resilience project manager at the Public Health Institute in Oakland. Those communities also tend to have less air conditioning, because they have historically been cooler than some other spots.
Heat kills more people than any other climate-related event, Kaser said, calling it a huge threat to farmworkers. Climate change is causing more and frequent prolonged periods of extreme heat, she said.
These heat waves, as we see, are becoming hotter and lasting a lot longer.Isabella Kaser, MPH
Climate Resilience Project Manager, Tracking California, Public Health Institute
Farmworkers have a significantly higher risk of heat-related mortality compared to the general workforce, according to a recent Congressional report. They also face other barriers to protect themselves from heat, both inside and outside of the work place, Kaser said.”
Click on the link below to read the full article.
Originally published by Ventura County Star
More Updates
California Overdose Prevention Network VISTA Alum Reed Nolan Selected for Service Year Alums Award
Statement on Governor Newsom’s Passage of Legislation to Strengthen the Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Safety Net System
WaPo: PHI’s Mike Sage on How NFL Stadiums Can Operate as Disaster Shelters
Work With Us
You change the world. We do the rest. Explore fiscal sponsorship at PHI.
Support Us
Together, we can accelerate our response to public health’s most critical issues.
Find Employment
Begin your career at the Public Health Institute.