Evaluation of occupation hot exposure in industrial workplaces in a subtropical country

• Authors: Yu-Chiao Yang , Ming-Chi Wei , Show-Jen Hong

Abstracts

EN

Objectives The objective of this study has been to evaluate the occupational heat exposure of 12 workers at 5 plants in a subtropical country. Material and Methods The heat stresses and strain on workers in 5 plants were assessed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 7243 index (wet bulb globe temperature – WBGT) and the ISO 7933 index (maximum allowable exposure time – $ \text{D}_\text{lim} $). Results Results indicated that 42% of the subjects (5 workers) surpassed the WBGT limits. According to the $ \text{D}_\text{lim} $, 42% of the subjects could not continue working in the hot environments. The relationships between the various heat stress indices and the WBGT index were also correlated. However, further studies from different heat environments and more subjects should be performed. Conclusions The sensitive dependence of skin temperature on meteorological and physiological indices for each subject was clearly observed. Obviously, the heart rate response to metabolic rate was much greater than that caused by environmental heat alone. The exponential relationship between workers’ duration-limited exposure time, predicted by various estimated criteria, and WBGT were also found. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(3):379–395

Keywords

EN

skin temperature; heart rate; heat stress; wet bulb globe temperature; maximum allowable exposure time; metabolic rate

• Publisher: Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. dra Jerzego Nofera w Łodzi
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
• Year: 2017
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 379-395

Dates

published

2017

Contributors

author

Yu-Chiao Yang

• Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (Department and Graduate Institute of Pharmacology)
• Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (Department Medical Research)

author

Ming-Chi Wei

• Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan, Taiwan (College of Sustainable Environment, Department of Applied Geoinformatics)

author

Show-Jen Hong

• Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (Department and Graduate Institute of Pharmacology)

Identifiers

DOI

10.13075/ijomeh.1896.00761

Biblioteka Nauki

2161875