Estimation of the risks of thermal stress due to the microclimate for manual fruit and vegetable harvesters in central Italy

摘要

Agricultural workers are exposed to various risks, including chemicalagents, noise, and many other factors. One of the most characteristic and least knownrisk factors is constituted by the microclimatic conditions in the different phases ofwork (in field, in greenhouse, etc). A typical condition is thermal stress due to hightemperatures during harvesting operations in open fields or in greenhouses. In Italy,harvesting is carried out for many hours during the day, mainly in the summer, withtemperatures often higher than 30°C. According to ISO 7243, these conditions can beconsidered dangerous for workers’ health. The aim of this study is to assess the risksof exposure to microclimatic conditions (heat) for fruit and vegetable harvesters incentral Italy by applying methods established by international standards. In order toestimate the risk for workers, the air temperature, radiative temperature, and airspeed were measured using instruments in conformity with ISO 7726. Thermodynamicparameters and two more subjective parameters, clothing and the metabolic heat productionrate related to the worker’s physical activity, were used to calculate the predictedheat strain (PHS) for the exposed workers in conformity with ISO 7933. Environmentaland subjective parameters were also measured for greenhouse workers,according to ISO 7243, in order to calculate the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT).The results show a slight risk for workers during manual harvesting in the field. Onthe other hand, the data collected in the greenhouses show that the risk for workersmust not be underestimated. The results of the study show that, for manual harvestingwork in climates similar to central Italy, it is essential to provide plenty of drinkingwater and acclimatization for the workers in order to reduce health risks. Moreover,the study emphasizes that the possible health risks for greenhouse workers increasefrom the month of April through July.