DOHA: Lack of acclimatisation is to largely blame for site workers suffering from heat exhaustion, say experts.
Workers arriving here in summer need at least four to 14 days to get acclimatised to the extreme weather conditions, so they should be exposed to the sun only after that, suggest experts.
They, therefore, put the blame on private companies for most heat exhaustion cases taking place.
"Companies should make sure that their workers are fit to work in high day temperatures before engaging them on sites," said Dr Muayad Kasim Khalid, consultant physician at Hamad Emergency.
Taking part in a panel discussion yesterday, he said the human body needs time to adapt when day temperatures rise suddenly and when this does not happen, heat-related ailments occur.
The discussion was held to mark the launch of guidelines by the Supreme Council of Health on how to avoid heat-related stress and ailments.
The guidelines, issued by the Occupational Health Section of the Public Health Department of the SCH, aim to raise awareness among companies about the dangers of heat exhaustion among workers and how to avoid them.
"Heat-related ailments at work sites are, thus, not a medical issue. They are rather a managerial problem and concern company managements," said experts.
Heat-related illnesses become a medical issue only when they occur and treatment is required. Their occurrence reflects failure of a company's management, said an official from RasGas.
Both RasGas and Qafco (Qatar Fertilizer) have not had any heat-related illnesses in the past year, their officials said taking part in the discussion.
A major factor employers must consider is Heat Index, which takes into account relative humidity and temperature, experts said.
The Index can be high even while the day temperature is low at 30 degree Celsius, for instance. This can happen due to high humidity.
But private sector employers largely remain ignorant about the importance of acclimatisation.
This is particularly true of Nepalese workers, coming as they do from a generally colder mountainous region.
© The Peninsula 2011
