Problems in Evaluation Heat Stress Risk of Women Workers Using the WBGT Index

Abstract

Screening evaluation of heat stress in industrial workers, made according to ISO 7243: 1989 standard, showed the misclassification of the workload in case of women.

The metabolic rate evaluation of women working at several work stations in the heavy metal industry showed a high level of physical workload, even exceeding the permissible values according to Polish occupational safety regulations — 3.7 kcal/min which means 258W (1600 kcal/shift).

In spite of that, the classification of workload based on the WBGT standards indicated the metabolic rate of these women at a moderate level. The consequence of this classification are the unproper (to high) reference values of WBGT index chosen from the standard.

The reason of this misclassification in the case of workload in women is probably caused by the fact that WBGT standard was developed on the men's physical performance as the basis, while the physical capacity of women is lower.

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