Assessment of Health Hazards of Greenhouse Workers Considering UV Exposure and Thermal Comfort

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ahamed MS ; Ahsan TMA ; Chowdhury M
• Description:
  Greenhouse (GH) indoor environments are usually manipulated to enhance plant growth and yield, but those environments might not be favorable for GH workers. This study aimed to investigate the health hazards of greenhouse workers from UV radiation exposure and analyze the heat stress and thermal comfort in air-conditioned greenhouses. Two GHs with different covering materials (glass greenhouse-GGH and polycarbonate greenhouse-PCGH) were selected for this study. The UV index of GGH varied from moderate to high (3 to 8) based on the season and deployment of the shade screen, whereas PCGH was always UV risk-free below and above the shade screen. Heat stress was evaluated in terms of wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) and thermal comfort with the predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percent dissatisfied (PPD). The value of WBGT in GGH varied between 17.67 degrees C and 26.54 degrees C and between 18.25 degrees C and 25.97 degrees C in PCGH. The PMV values ranged from -2.57 to 1.15 for GGH and from -2.24 to 1.42 for PCGH, depending on airspeed, metabolic rate, and indoor conditions. The PPD values ranged between 5.0 to 94.6 % for GGH and 5.0 to 75.0 % for PCGH. As the optimal target range of the indoor environmental parameters (temperature and relative humidity) were maintained in the modern GHs throughout the year, the potential for heat stress and thermal discomfort was not severe. However, as a precaution, avoiding heavy activities around noon is recommended, even in perfectly conditioned greenhouses, which could be above the danger level in low-tech greenhouses. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Humidity Occupational Health Safety Temperature
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Workers Author Keywords: Greenhouses Glazing Heat Stress Hot Environments Indoor Environments Shade Screen Temperature Effects Thermal Comfort Ultraviolet Radiation UV Radiation

  More +
• ISSN:
  2772-3755
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068542
• Citation:
  Smart Agric Technol 2023 Oct; 5:100319
• Contact Point Address:
  Md Shamim Ahamed, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616-5270, USA
• Email:
  mahamed@ucdavis.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of California - Davis
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Smart Agricultural Technology
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:11d1eb8d93b0e33c4a567c04cc29c36b6e171e5f5a94bbd3ff2fa30d91e73166c7804a216aa98e1ce32e7c51f6e07ba50ba40ed5462effa5fb6b23778626aa58
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/207153/cdc_207153_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 11.63 MB ]