La Isla Network

23/07/2026

Cada uno de esos tubos contiene la respuesta a la misma pregunta: ¿qué efectos tuvo el calor de hoy en el cuerpo de este trabajador?

Este mes, nuestros investigadores se encuentran en obras de construcción en los Países Bajos junto a TNO, Volandis y socios del sector, con financiación de ZonMw. Los trabajadores llevan puestos sensores durante su jornada laboral. Muestras como estas nos aportan el resto de la información: la intensidad de la carga térmica sobre el organismo, si la hidratación fue suficiente y si los riñones sufrieron algún impacto.

El calor se siente al instante; el daño, a menudo, no. Por eso es tan importante medirlo. Esta investigación servirá de base para crear directrices de riesgo y un sistema de alerta temprana en las obras, desarrollado inicialmente para los Países Bajos y, posteriormente, para los trabajadores al aire libre de todo el norte de Europa.

Una investigación científica de este tipo requiere tiempo y minuciosidad. Es, precisamente, lo que financia tu donación a la Campaña de Calor de Verano (*Summer Heat Campaign*). Quedan dos semanas: https://heat2026.laislanetwork.org.

23/07/2026

Every one of those tubes holds an answer to the same question: what did today's heat do to this worker's body?

Our researchers are on construction sites in the Netherlands this month with TNO, Volandis, and construction partners, funded by ZonMw. Workers wear sensors through their shift. Samples like these tell us the rest: how hard the heat loaded the body, whether there was enough water, whether the kidneys took a hit.

Heat you feel right away. The damage you often do not. That is why measurement matters. This research will become risk guidelines and an early warning system for work sites, built for the Netherlands first and for outdoor workers across Northern Europe after that.

Science like this is slow and careful. It is also exactly what your gift to the Summer Heat Campaign funds. Two weeks left: https://heat2026.laislanetwork.org.

20/07/2026

That orange device reads heat the way a body feels it. Sun, humidity, and wind all at once.

Our VP of Health and Hygiene, Esteban Arias, is setting it up on a working construction site in the Netherlands, part of our research project with TNO, Volandis, and construction companies, funded by ZonMw. The weather app on your phone tells you the temperature in the shade at the nearest airport. It does not tell you what a carpenter's body is dealing with at 2 p.m. between a concrete wall and a stack of lumber. This device does.

More than 300,000 workers in the Netherlands face regular heat stress on the job. Over 20,000 of them work in construction. Getting experts like Esteban onto sites like this one is how heat stops being an invisible risk and becomes something a site manager can plan around.

This is what your gift to the Summer Heat Campaign funds. Expert protection, on the ground, in the hottest months of the year. Two weeks left: https://heat2026.laislanetwork.org

17/07/2026

Workers starting at 4 a.m. to beat the heat. Past the safety threshold by 11 a.m. Three medical referrals in one shift. Supervisors who had never been trained on heat illness. None of those observations are unusual. We see versions of them every time we visit a new site. Our team is up at 3 a.m. to meet the first shift and still working the data at 9 p.m. They do this for weeks at a stretch, in some of the hardest places in the world to work. They are out there because of you. What is different is that we get to follow up, because of you. In the weeks following initial contact, our team delivers the supervisor training, sets up the cooling rest and hydration schedule, and comes back at the end of the harvest to measure what changed. That entire arc is funded by YOU! Your gift to the Summer Heat Campaign is what makes the next site possible. → laislanetwork.org/summer

14/07/2026

Se espera una semana de calor en los Países Bajos. Para la mayoría de nosotros, esto supone incomodidad; para quienes construyen viviendas y carreteras, implica un riesgo. ☀️

Esta semana, investigadores de La Isla Network y TNO se encuentran en obras de construcción neerlandesas —incluidas las de Van Wijnen— para medir lo que los trabajadores experimentan realmente ante el calor y la exposición al sol: las temperaturas alcanzadas, la carga física del trabajo, el aumento de la temperatura corporal y si logran hidratarse lo suficiente.

Más de 300.000 trabajadores en los Países Bajos se enfrentan habitualmente al estrés térmico en su puesto de trabajo. La radiación ultravioleta es la principal causa de cáncer de origen laboral en el país. Ambos riesgos van en aumento, y los empleadores aún carecen de herramientas claras y prácticas cotidianas para gestionarlos.

Precisamente eso es lo que aportará esta investigación, financiada por ZonMw y realizada en colaboración con TNO, Volandis y empresas del sector de la construcción: directrices prácticas, listas de comprobación y un sistema de alerta temprana para proteger la salud y la seguridad de los trabajadores.

Más información:

Measurements to map the effects of exposure on workers and improve protection An international consortium of TNO, NGO La Isla Network, sector organization Volandis, and construction and infrastructure companies is investigating heat and sun exposure for workers in the construction and infrastructure...

14/07/2026

Roofers, asphalt workers, and carpenters cannot step out of the heat or away from the sun.

This week, our researchers are on construction sites across the Netherlands, including Van Wijnen sites, fitting workers with wearable sensors. We are measuring what outdoor crews actually experience in heat and sun: core body temperature, workload, hydration, and behavior on hot days.

More than 300,000 workers in the Netherlands are regularly exposed to heat stress on the job, over 20,000 of them in construction. TNO research shows UV radiation from sunlight is the single largest cause of work-related cancer in the Netherlands. Heat is felt immediately, but UV isn't. That is exactly what makes it dangerous.

Together with TNO, Volandis, and construction companies, and funded by ZonMw, we are turning weather data into something a site manager can act on: clear risk assessment, planning guidance, and an early warning system for the work floor. The results will serve the construction and infrastructure sector first, and any sector across Northern Europe where people work outdoors.

No one should get sick because of the work they do. This is preventable.

Read the release: https://laislanetwork.org/research-into-heat-and-sun-risks-for-workers-in-the-dutch-construction-and-infrastructure-sector-has-begun/

Measurements to map the effects of exposure on workers and improve protection An international consortium of TNO, NGO La Isla Network, sector organization Volandis, and construction and infrastructure companies is investigating heat and sun exposure for workers in the construction and infrastructure...

10/07/2026

Halfway through our Summer Heat Campaign! $530 of $50,000. A thermometer that cools down as you give. The cooler it gets, the safer they are. Three weeks left. Learn more and donate today: https://heat2026.laislanetwork.org

10/04/2026

Orgullosos de apoyar a Costa Rica en el fortalecimiento de capacidades para la prevención del estrés térmico 🌡️☀️

Soluciones prácticas, basadas en estándares internacionales y adaptadas al contexto local. 🇨🇷👷‍♀️👷‍♂️

Proud to support Costa Rica in advancing heat stress prevention capacity.

Practical, standards-based solutions tailored to local needs.

12/03/2026

𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲, and the workers who harvest our food and make our homes are at the frontlines.

To protect workers in Latin America from the health and economic risks of heat exposure, La Isla Network with technology from VigiLife and with support from The Rockefeller Foundation are today launching two new initiatives.

Our work will:
»Expand heat protection systems for sugarcane workers in El Salvador
»Study heat exposure among women working in Rio’s informal economy

Evidence shows that protecting workers from heat strengthens productivity, resilience, and livelihoods.

Protecting workers in a warming world requires solutions that are grounded in science and built for real working conditions.

Learn more here:

La Isla Network and The Rockefeller Foundation launch new initiatives to expand worker protections and advance research on heat exposure. Extreme heat is one of the fastest-growing threats to worker health worldwide. La Isla Network and The Rockefeller Foundation are launching new initiatives in El....

12/03/2026