Thermal stress risk assessment on workers in the incineration and drying processes of a plywood company

Abstract

The objective of this research is to evaluate the occupational risk due to thermal stress on workers in the incineration and drying processes at Arboriente S.A. The research characteristics consist of a field study, which is descriptive and quantitative. The population included twenty workers who perform the stated processes. For risk assessment, the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature Index (WBGT) was used. It is based on the characterization of the workstations, the measurement of the temperatures of Wet bulb, dry bulb and globe. In addition, the determination of the metabolic thermal load, and the calculation and evaluation of the index are also included. As a result, no hygienic risk was evidenced on any of the evaluated workstations attributable to thermal stress. This is mainly due to sufficient acclimatization of the workers and their low metabolic thermal load.