Thermal comfort and personal protective equipment (PPE).
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is considered the last preferred solution to an Occupational Safety Health (OSH) system. Brazilian OSH legislation assumes and requires PPE usage to neutralize the possibility of pesticide contamination. This study examines the inadequacy of the PPE used in a tomato crop, particularly from the standpoint of thermal comfort. This study made observations regarding heart rate and body temperature in a controlled environment using a treadmill (with and without PPE) of 12 volunteers; and during the process of rural labor (at rest and in normal work routine) of 2 actual rural workers. Comparing the results of the treadmill test (with and without PPE) which tried to reproduce the same level of effort and environmental conditions of the actual rural work, this study demonstrated that PPE makes thermoregulation harder and tympanic temperature reaches higher values with the same level of effort. Moreover, body temperature increases quickly: with PPE it took 15 minutes to raise 1°C in body temperature, compared to 40 minutes without PPE. The results of this study indicated that the use inadequate PPE might pose thermoregulation risk to rural workers.
Environmental Health Department, National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Ministry of Health, Rua Leopoldo Bulhões, 1480 / 503 - Manguinhos, 21.041-210 - Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brasil.
Ronaldo André Castelo dos S
RA
de Almeida
Marcelo Motta
MM
Veiga
Francisco José
FJ
de Castro Moura Duarte
Luiz Antônio
LA
Meirelles
Lilian Bechara Elabras
LB
Veiga
D000383:Agriculture; D001831:Body Temperature; D005080:Exercise Test; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D011482:Protective Devices