Cooling Products for Construction Pros

Hot under the collar

Do you work outside in the heat? If your answer is yes, you are hardly alone. According to the advocacy group Public Citizen, nearly 1.1 million U.S. agriculture and construction workers labored in extreme heat in July 2017 alone. And many had to go to the emergency room as a result. One hospitalization study in Los Angeles, from 2005 to 2010, found that heat-related emergency-room visits grew by about 8 percent with each percentage increase in residents working in construction, and by 11 percent for every comparable rise in the farming, forestry and related outdoor sectors. Working construction is a dangerous job anytime — and even more so in the summer.

There is good news, though. The marketplace is chock-full of smart cooling products meant to shield workers (and gardeners, and athletes) from heat stress. Here are some of our favorites.

How to help your crew fight heat stress.