Step 1: Start with what the heat stress index measures. It compares the cooling the body needs against the cooling the environment can actually provide, then converts that into a percentage figure for strain.
Step 2: A small index means the surroundings easily carry away body heat, so work feels comfortable. As the index climbs, sweating demand rises sharply and physical tolerance falls.
Step 3: The recognized cutoff for severe heat strain sits in the 40 to 60 band. Once strain reaches this level a worker can no longer continue tasks in comfort, which is exactly what the question targets.
Step 4: Ranges above this, namely 60 to 80 and 80 to 100, represent even harsher conditions, and 20 to 40 is still within tolerable limits. The band that first makes comfortable work impossible is therefore 40 to 60.
\[\boxed{40-60}\]