PHI’s Isabella Kaser Discusses the High Risk of Heat-Related Illness and Mortality Among Farmworkers

“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.

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.”

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Originally published by Ventura County Star