Occupational Heat Stress Profiles in Selected Workplaces in India
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Experiment Design
2.1. Quantitative Assessments of Heat and Work Intensity
2.2. Qualitative Assessment of Heat Perception and Impacts
2.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Study Population
3.2. Heat Stress Profile
Sl. No | Sectors | Type | Hotter Season (April–June) | Cooler Season (November–January) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ambient | WBGT °C | Ambient | WBGT °C | |||||||||
DB *(°C) | RH *(%) | Min | Max | Avg ± SD | DB *(°C) | RH *(%) | Min | Max | Avg ± SD | |||
1. | Transport (#M = 11) | Indoor | 32.7 | 60.3 | 29.6 | 34.5 | 32.2± 1.8 | 30.5 | 67.3 | 28.1 | 33.0 | 30.4 ± 1.5 |
2. | Hotel (#M = 8) | Indoor | 35.3 | 45.6 | 29 | 34.8 | 31.9 ±2.7 | 28.9 | 55.0 | 26.8 | 32.2 | 29.5 ± 2.1 |
3. | Auto spare parts (#M = 19) | Indoor | 35.9 | 40.0 | 30.5 | 36.4 | 31.8±1.3 | 31.8 | 53.0 | 26.7 | 29.6 | 28.5 ± 0.9 |
4. | Auto-parts (#M = 25) | Indoor | 32.9 | 58.0 | 29.9 | 34.7 | 31.7±1.6 | 27.5 | 75.4 | 27.2 | 34.7 | 29.6 ± 1.6 |
5. | Metal Fabrication (#M = 24) | Outdoor | 36.9 | 39.5 | 28.9 | 34.7 | 31.5 ±1.6 | 29.5 | 55.0 | 25.4 | 30.8 | 28.0 ± 1.6 |
6. | Snacks preparation (#M = 5) | Indoor | 33.8 | 49.7 | 30.9 | 32.0 | 31.5 ±0.5 | 29.4 | 32.4 | 24.9 | 29.6 | 26.7 ± 2.9 |
7. | Building Maintenance (#M = 20) | Outdoor | 37.1 | 39.9 | 28.7 | 36.4 | 31.4 ±2.2 | 29.8 | 51.9 | 24.7 | 30.2 | 26.8 ± 1.9 |
8. | Security (#M = 20) | Outdoor | 36.2 | 41.2 | 28.7 | 33.1 | 31.1 ±1.2 | 29.3 | 64.3 | 25.9 | 31.4 | 27.7 ± 1.8 |
9. | Leather works (#M = 1) | Indoor | 34.0 | 52.0 | 31.0 | ND | 31.0 | 29.0 | 48.0 | 23.6 | ND | 23.6 |
10. | Die casting (#M = 18) | Indoor | 33.9 | 44.4 | 29.0 | 33.6 | 30.9 ±1.4 | 29.7 | 63.1 | 25.9 | 37.2 | 28.1± 2.3 |
11. | Bakery (#M = 9) | Indoor | 35.0 | 50.7 | 25.6 | 34.0 | 30.8±2.1 | 29.0 | 48.6 | 23.8 | 29.8 | 25.6 ± 2.0 |
12. | Colour dye works (#M = 1) | Indoor | 35.0 | 46.5 | 30.5 | ND | 30.5 | 29.5 | 43.5 | 25.8 | ND | 25.8 |
13. | Agriculture (#M = 10) | Outdoor | 34.4 | 41.9 | 28.1 | 34.8 | 30.5± 1.9 | 28.9 | 62.0 | 26.7 | 28.3 | 27.7 ± 0.7 |
14. | Heavy Truck (#M = 17) | Indoor | 33.6 | 45.8 | 27.6 | 33.4 | 29.0 ±1.2 | 29.5 | 71.6 | 25.9 | 26.9 | 26.5 ± 0.3 |
15. | Construction (#M = 12) | Outdoor | 34.5 | 38.9 | 27.2 | 31.9 | 28.7 ±1.6 | 30.0 | 53.7 | 25.1 | 25.9 | 25.6 ± 0.8 |
16. | Laundry (#M = 13) | Indoor | 32.7 | 47.5 | 27.6 | 29.6 | 28.5 ±0.8 | 29.6 | 62.3 | 23.7 | 24.6 | 24.3 ± 0.3 |
17. | Brick‡ (#M = 12) | Outdoor | 29.1 | 39.5 | 24.4 | 28.6 | 26.7 ±1.1 | 20.8 | 85.0 | 18.8 | 25.2 | 22.2 ± 2.3 |
18. | Auto (#M = 28) | Indoor | 31.5 | 36.6 | 25.2 | 30.6 | 26.5±1.0 | 30.7 | 47.0 | 20.6 | 25.0 | 22.2 ± 0.9 |
Work Category | Hot Season | Cooler Season | Both Seasons Combined | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Number of Workers | Workers Exceeding TLV | Total Number of Workers | Workers Exceeding TLV | Total Number of Workers | Workers Exceeding TLV | |
Heavy | 132 | 125 (95%) | 115 | 65 (57%) | 247 | 190 (77%) |
Moderate | 101 | 70 (69%) | 85 | 22 (26%) | 186 | 92 (49%) |
Light | 5 | 0 (0%) | 4 | 0 (0%) | 9 | 0% |
All work categories combined | 238 | 195 (82%) | 204 | 87 (42%) | 442 | 282 (64%) |
3.3. Heat-Related Health Impacts
Sl. No | Workplaces | Perceived Impacts on Health #, (%) | Perceived Impacts on Productivity #, (%) |
---|---|---|---|
1. | Agriculture (n = 23) | 23 (100) | 16 (70) |
2 | Auto parts manufacturing (n = 31) | 31 (100) | 17 (55) |
3 | Auto spare parts manufacturing (n = 10) | 10 (100) | 6 (60) |
4 | Auto manufacturing (n = 12) | 10 (83) | 7 (70) |
5 | Bakery (n = 27) | 25 (93) | 17 (63) |
6 | Brick manufacturing (22) | 22 (100) | 22 (100) |
7 | Building maintenance (n = 80) | 75 (94) | 41 (51) |
8 | Color Dye works (n = 4) | 1 (25) | 0 |
9 | Construction (n = 52) | 47 (90) | 44 (85) |
10 | Die Casting (n = 11) | 11 (100) | 7 (64) |
11 | Heavy truck manufacturing (n = 12) | 11(92) | 7 (59) |
12 | Hotel (n = 19) | 19 (100) | 15 (79) |
13 | Laundry (n = 36) | 34 (94) | 14 (39) |
14 | Leather works (n = 12) | 11 (92) | 6 (50) |
15 | Metal fabrication (n = 21) | 21 (100) | 20 (95) |
16 | Security (n = 31) | 31 (100) | 28 (90) |
17 | Snack Preparation (n = 14) | 14 (100) | 6 (43) |
18 | Transport (n = 25) | 25 (100) | 16 (64) |
3.4. Productivity Impacts
4. Discussion
4.1. Heat Stress Profile
4.2. Health Impacts (Heat Related Symptoms)
Season | Avg. WBGT Range (°C) | Workers Exceeding TLV | Health Impacts (%) | p Value | Productivity losses (%) | p Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hotter (April–June) | 26.5–32.2 | 47 | 87 | 0.011 | 48 | 0.016 |
Cooler (November–January) | 22.2–30.4 | 23 | 67 | 25 |
4.3. Productivity
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Files
Supplementary File 1Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Venugopal, V.; Chinnadurai, J.S.; Lucas, R.A.I.; Kjellstrom, T. Occupational Heat Stress Profiles in Selected Workplaces in India. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13, 89. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010089
Venugopal V, Chinnadurai JS, Lucas RAI, Kjellstrom T. Occupational Heat Stress Profiles in Selected Workplaces in India. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2016; 13(1):89. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010089
Chicago/Turabian StyleVenugopal, Vidhya, Jeremiah S. Chinnadurai, Rebekah A. I. Lucas, and Tord Kjellstrom. 2016. "Occupational Heat Stress Profiles in Selected Workplaces in India" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 13, no. 1: 89. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010089