Thermographic Images to Measure Health Risks of Workers Exposed to Artificially Refrigerated Environments

ABSTRACT Thermography generates high-resolution imagery in real time and is a non-invasive and painless technique devoid of physical contact or exposure to any type of radiation. This technique has been successfully applied to different areas, such as health- and safety-related applications, to cont...

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Main Authors: F Takeda, A Moro, N Martins
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Fundação APINCO de Ciência e Tecnologia Avícolas
Series:Brazilian Journal of Poultry Science
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-635X2018000200245&lng=en&tlng=en
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author F Takeda
A Moro
N Martins
author_facet F Takeda
A Moro
N Martins
author_sort F Takeda
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Thermography generates high-resolution imagery in real time and is a non-invasive and painless technique devoid of physical contact or exposure to any type of radiation. This technique has been successfully applied to different areas, such as health- and safety-related applications, to control cold risk in workers exposed to low-temperature environments. Thus, this study aims to analyze skin temperature variations in three body parts of the upper limbs (fingers, the center of the hands and wrists on both the left and right sides of the body) caused by exposure to low temperatures in air-conditioned and artificially controlled work environments. The objective is to assess thermography’s adequacy in controlling workers’ health risks. This study used environmental monitoring equipment and infrared radiation detection cameras to capture images of the body parts that were evaluated. The research was conducted on 20 workers from two sectors of a poultry slaughterhouse. Among the three body parts evaluated, the lowest temperatures occurred in the workers’ fingertips, which averaged 16.86ºC. This fact may relate to discomfort, pain, decreased performance, functional imbalance and cold-related diseases caused by faulty conditions and/or the equipment used to ensure the workers’ thermal comfort. It was concluded that the thermographic evaluation of activities that involve exposure to the cold is efficient, as well as feasible, when quantifying the potential threats of environmental cold to workers’ health.
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spelling doaj.art-2a9596ba9a6d4b4cb72aedd00c6ee2972022-12-21T18:57:30ZengFundação APINCO de Ciência e Tecnologia AvícolasBrazilian Journal of Poultry Science1806-906120224525410.1590/1806-9061-2017-0552S1516-635X2018000200245Thermographic Images to Measure Health Risks of Workers Exposed to Artificially Refrigerated EnvironmentsF TakedaA MoroN MartinsABSTRACT Thermography generates high-resolution imagery in real time and is a non-invasive and painless technique devoid of physical contact or exposure to any type of radiation. This technique has been successfully applied to different areas, such as health- and safety-related applications, to control cold risk in workers exposed to low-temperature environments. Thus, this study aims to analyze skin temperature variations in three body parts of the upper limbs (fingers, the center of the hands and wrists on both the left and right sides of the body) caused by exposure to low temperatures in air-conditioned and artificially controlled work environments. The objective is to assess thermography’s adequacy in controlling workers’ health risks. This study used environmental monitoring equipment and infrared radiation detection cameras to capture images of the body parts that were evaluated. The research was conducted on 20 workers from two sectors of a poultry slaughterhouse. Among the three body parts evaluated, the lowest temperatures occurred in the workers’ fingertips, which averaged 16.86ºC. This fact may relate to discomfort, pain, decreased performance, functional imbalance and cold-related diseases caused by faulty conditions and/or the equipment used to ensure the workers’ thermal comfort. It was concluded that the thermographic evaluation of activities that involve exposure to the cold is efficient, as well as feasible, when quantifying the potential threats of environmental cold to workers’ health.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-635X2018000200245&lng=en&tlng=enSlaughterhouseWorker HealthColdSkin TemperatureWork Safety Engineering
spellingShingle F Takeda
A Moro
N Martins
Thermographic Images to Measure Health Risks of Workers Exposed to Artificially Refrigerated Environments
Brazilian Journal of Poultry Science
Slaughterhouse
Worker Health
Cold
Skin Temperature
Work Safety Engineering
title Thermographic Images to Measure Health Risks of Workers Exposed to Artificially Refrigerated Environments
title_full Thermographic Images to Measure Health Risks of Workers Exposed to Artificially Refrigerated Environments
title_fullStr Thermographic Images to Measure Health Risks of Workers Exposed to Artificially Refrigerated Environments
title_full_unstemmed Thermographic Images to Measure Health Risks of Workers Exposed to Artificially Refrigerated Environments
title_short Thermographic Images to Measure Health Risks of Workers Exposed to Artificially Refrigerated Environments
title_sort thermographic images to measure health risks of workers exposed to artificially refrigerated environments
topic Slaughterhouse
Worker Health
Cold
Skin Temperature
Work Safety Engineering
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-635X2018000200245&lng=en&tlng=en
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AT amoro thermographicimagestomeasurehealthrisksofworkersexposedtoartificiallyrefrigeratedenvironments
AT nmartins thermographicimagestomeasurehealthrisksofworkersexposedtoartificiallyrefrigeratedenvironments