Faculty of Health, Jiroft University of Medical Sciences, Jiroft, Iran.
Ergonomics Department, Faculty of Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Work. 2020;66(3):625-636. doi: 10.3233/WOR-203205.
Outdoor workers are exposed to heat caused by atmospheric conditions and solar radiation. More specifically, those working in palm groves are more in danger of heat stresses since they harvest their crops in hot seasons.
This study was aimed at investigating heat stresses and strains in date harvesting workers in groves around Jiroft, Southeastern Iran.
This study was a descriptive-analytical one of cross-sectional type. In this study, three environmental indices including Wet Bulb Globe Temperature index (WBGT), Environmental Stress Index (ESI) and Discomfort Index (DI), the physiological strain index (PSI) as well as perceptual strain index (PeSI) were analyzed to investigate stresses and strains in workers. For this purpose, 59 date harvesting workers (36 men and 23 women) in palm groves in Jiroft were analyzed. With accordance to date harvesting season, data collection was carried out from August to September, 2017.
In this research, the means of environmental indices including WBGT, ESI and DI were 32.77°C, 30.39°C and 33.22°C, respectively and they all revealed direct and significant correlation. Moreover, Time-Weighted Average for Wet Bulb Globe Temperature index (WBGT.TWA) was significantly different from Threshold Limit Values for Wet Bulb Globe Temperature index (WBGT.TLV). The scores of the PSI and PeSI were 2.28 and 6.61, respectively.
The results of this study indicated that date picking workers were exposed to heat stress more than the reference value of WBGT recommended by American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). In addition, workers suffered a low degree of physiological strain and a moderate degree of perceptual strain caused by heat stress in palm groves in Jiroft.
户外工作者会受到大气条件和太阳辐射导致的热暴露。具体而言，在炎热季节从事棕榈种植的工作者更容易受到热应激的影响。
本研究旨在调查伊朗东南部吉罗夫特地区棕榈园采摘工人的热应激和热应变情况。
这是一项横断面描述性分析研究。本研究分析了三个环境指标，包括湿球黑球温度指数（WBGT）、环境应激指数（ESI）和不适指数（DI），以及生理应激指数（PSI）和感知应激指数（PeSI），以调查工人的应激和应变情况。为此，对吉罗夫特棕榈园内的 59 名采摘工人（36 名男性和 23 名女性）进行了分析。根据采摘季节，数据收集于 2017 年 8 月至 9 月进行。
本研究中，环境指标的平均值分别为 32.77°C、30.39°C 和 33.22°C，均呈直接显著相关。此外，湿球黑球温度指数（WBGT）的时间加权平均值（WBGT.TWA）与湿球黑球温度指数（WBGT）的阈值限值（WBGT.TLV）有显著差异。PSI 和 PeSI 的得分分别为 2.28 和 6.61。
本研究结果表明，与美国政府工业卫生学家会议（ACGIH）推荐的湿球黑球温度指数（WBGT）参考值相比，采摘工人暴露在热应激下的程度更高。此外，在吉罗夫特的棕榈园中，工人因热应激而承受低程度的生理应激和中等程度的感知应激。
