Occupational exposure to heat in outdoor activities in building constructions in southeastern Brazil

Abstract

In Brazil, conventional construction sites processes prevail, where the workers develop outdoor activities and are exposed to environment variables, which, along with the personal variables – metabolic rate and clothing – may cause heat stress. This article evaluates the heat exposure that workers with outside activities on concrete slabs during the construction of buildings in the city of Campinas, state of São Paulo, in Southeastern Brazil. For the data collection, the analysis and exposure evaluation it was used the norms ISO 7243, ISO 8996, ISO 9920 and the Norma Regulamentadora Brasileira (NR5) that foresees the tolerated limits of heat exposure. It was analyzed the Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer Index (WBGT) along with the metabolic rate estimated of 40 exposed construction workers. The results show that, in every season of the year there is the necessity of heat exposure monitoring to avoid health damage to the construction workers’ health.