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Summary
health effects
heat balance equation
thermal indices
a historical perspective
international standards
Health effects
Body has a narrow optimal range for
temperature: Core 36.1 - 37.1 oC
Control mechanisms
change in blood flow
sweating
shivering
Foundry workers
Glass manufacture
Ceramic workers
Coke/gas ovens
Firemen
Miners
Asbestos removal
M - W = K + C + R + E +S
M = metabolic heat
K = conduction
E = evaporation
R = radiation
W = work
C = convection
S = storage
Thermal indices
Thermal Comfort Indices
Predicted Mean Vote (PMV)
Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD)
WBGT
Wet bulb globe temperature
developed in the 1950s by Yaglou and
Minard for the US Navy
simple and easy to calculate...
WBGT = 0.7 Twb + 0.3 Tg
indoors
WBGT = 0.7 Twb + 0.2 Tg + 0.1 Ta
outdoors
WBGT continued...
incorporated into ACGIH TLV and ISO
7243
note it is the natural wet bulb which is
required in this index
limited range of application (i.e. not high
air velocity with high radiant heat or
high air temperature)
but it is conservative
C lo
v a lu e
0 .6
W BGT
c o rre c tio n
0
c o tto n o v e ra lls
-2
ja c k e t+ tro u s e rs
1 .4
-4
-6
>2
-1 0
S u m m e r c lo th e s
p e rm e a b le v a p o u r
b a rrie r s u it
c h e m ic a l p ro te c tiv e
s u it
Clothing
Clothing insulation is measured in Clo units (Icl)
1 clo = 0.155 m2 C/W
clo value ranges from 0 (naked body) to 4
Summer clothing ~ 0.6 clo
Winter clothing ~ 1 clo
Icl ~ 0.15 x weight of clothes in lbs.
1 clo maintains sedentary person indefinitely
comfortable at 21C, 50% RH, 0.01 m/sec.
Effective Temperature
Air temperature
Dry bulb thermometers
simple liquid thermometer
resistance thermometer
thermistors
thermocouple
differential expansion effect
Relative humidity
Quantity
Air velocity
High speeds use anemometers
resistance anemometer
thermistor anemometer
Heat stress
Our temperatures are influenced by the
interaction of:
Environment
Workrate
Clothing
Work criteria
physical workload
frequency of work breaks
acclimitisation
education
surveillance during exposure
Suitable PPE
permeability
reflectivity
insulation
absorbtion
Control
work planning to avoid or minimise stress
engineering controls at source
engineering control using ventilation or air
conditioning
engineering control using radiation barriers
managerial controls
use of personal protective clothing
Ventilation
general ventilation
local ventilation
increases heat loss from convection and
evaporation
Radiation barriers
choice of materials
should we use steel, aluminium or something
else?
a good barrier has low emissivity and good
insulation
Managerial controls
improved education and training
better supervision
restriction on the amount of time spent in
hot environments
self-pacing of work
drinking rules
medical surveillance
Personal Protection
The criteria for good protective clothing are:
sufficient permeability to water vapour and / or
sufficient ventilation
acceptability to those wearing it
comfort
dexterity/mobility
Active cooling
dry ice
air refrigerated
water cooled
Cold environments
clothing, windbreak and waterproof
environmental modifications
shelters
work-rest regime
education, supervision etc..
Signs of Hypothermia
Core temperature
37.6 oC
Signs
normal core temperature
36 oC
shivering
32 oC
30 oC
28 oC
Special Recommendations
for hands...
fine work with bare hands below 16oC for
more than 10 -20 minutes should have
warm air jets or radiant heaters
Gloves needed...
constant supervision
workrate controlled to avoid sweating
acclimatisation period for new workers
consider the bulk of clothing when working
out workrate
minimise sitting and standing
instruction and training
Summary
Measurement of the thermal environment involves
4 key parameters
Air temperature, Radiant temperature, Relative
humidity and Air velocity