ABSTRACT
Heat stress occurs when the body absorbs or produces more heat than can be dissipated through thermoregulatory processes, and illness and death can result from the increases in core temperature (Parsons, 1993). Outdoor conditions can present heat stress risks for people in hot climates, e.g., in desert or tropical locations. Heat stress can occur in unique situations, such as firefighting. Indoors, heat stress conditions occur in many workplaces, such as iron and steel foundries, glassmaking plants, bakeries, commercial kitchens, laundries, power plants, etc. Behavioral factors can amplify the risks, e.g., wearing impermeable clothing such as a protective suit. Individual susceptibility to heat stress varies as a function of several physiological risk factors. Table 62.1 summarizes all of these factors. Heat stress creates a progression of heat disorders with increasingly severe symptoms that can culminate in death (see Table 62.2).
