Documents WBGT index 5 results

"Heat exposure constitutes a major threat for European workers, with significant impacts on the workers' health and productivity. Climate projections over the next decades show a continuous and accelerated warming over Europe together with longer, more intense and more frequent heatwaves on regional and local scales. In this work, we assess the increased risk in future occupational heat stress levels using the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), an index adopted by the International Standards Organization as regulatory index to measure the heat exposure of working people. Our results show that, in large parts of Europe, future heat exposure will indeed exceed critical levels for physically active humans far more often than in today's climate, and labour productivity might be largely reduced in southern Europe. European industries should adapt to the projected changes to prevent major consequences for the workers' health and to preserve economic productivity."

Protective clothing (PC) results in a micro-environment between itself and the body. Workers are then exposed to a heat stress greater than the ambient environment alone, which is a reflection of micro-environment, metabolic rate and time. Adjustments to the ambient environment to account for the micro-environment have been formulated as a means to predict heat strain for safety and productivity purposes. Measurement of the actual micro-environment was made for a mean of 63.1?7.9 min using a remote sensor at the shoulder, hip and thigh levels on 15 subjects during a continuous work protocol (300 kcal/h) in impermeable PC at an ambient temperature of 30.1°C wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) (32°C dry, 29°C wet, 33°C globe). Micro-environment temperature increased over the duration of the work period. There was no statistically significant difference ( p >0.05) between the measurements made at the three different body sites for temperature or humidity. The mean micro-environmental WBGT at the end of work was 34.6°C WBGT. Micro-environment WBGT increased rapidly in the first 20 min of work then slowed, rising only 0.5°C WBGT from 40 to 60 min. These results suggest that at this particular high ambient temperature (30.1°C WBGT) an adjustment factor of 5°C WBGT would give a more accurate indication of thermal stress for up to 1 h of continuous moderate work within PC. For shorter work durations, an even smaller adjustment would be appropriate.

"Background:
Specialized occupational health and safety (OHS) issues are covered at the EU level through detailed legislation and guidelines. Unfortunately, this does not extend to occupational heat stress, not only in Greece but also (with few exceptions) internationally. One possible explanation could be the difficulty in accurately identifying the dangerous conditions, as many environmental and individualized elements are involved, and hundreds of “thermal stress indicators” are available. Another explanation could be the difficulty in adequately measuring hazardous conditions for workers affected more (i.e., outdoor and high intensity) since the biological protection framework is based on the human body's internal temperature.
Methods:
The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) has been proposed as the most efficacious thermal stress indicator. Since 2021, the Hellenic National Meteorological Service has provided 48-h WBGT forecast predictions to serve as a first level of alert. Real-time measurements and 48-h forecasts of WBGT are also available through a smartphone application. Additionally, as revealed when developing the occupational heat stress legislation in Cyprus and Qatar, crucial first steps are identifying the specific characteristics of worker exposure and the tripartite collaboration between employers, workers, and the State.
Results:
Evaluating the simplified WBGT forecasted values and the smartphone application estimates proved well-established. The sound scientific basis can be effectively combined with administrative measures based on the EU OHS legislative experience to produce practical solutions.
Conclusions:
As the climate crisis exacerbates, worker productivity and well-being will decline, underscoring the urgent need for an integrated protection framework. Such a framework is proposed here."