Evaluation of Thermal Stress Indices among Employees of Bojnord Cement Factory, in 2019

Exposure to high temperatures which is common among workers in hot environments can cause numerous adverse physiological effects. The present study aimed to determine thermal stress indices among the employees of Bojnord Cement Factory and compare it with the existing standards.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted based on a cross-sectional method to evaluate thermal stress among the employees of Bojnord cement factory. To this end, the Wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) index, the Predicted Four Hour Sweat Rate (P4SR) index, and HSI Index were used in accordance with the ISO7243 standard number. Methods based on descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the data by SPSS 20 software.

The results indicated that the mean scores of dry-bulb temperature, wet-bulb temperature, and WBGT were obtained at 32.06, 21.66, and 38.95, respectively. The mean WBGT, P4SR, and HIS indices were 27.24°C, 5.4 liters, and 80.27%, respectively.

The results of this study showed, the WBGT index in four stations, P4SR index in five stations, and HSI index in two stations were higher than the standard threshold.