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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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Fundação APINCO de Ciência e Tecnologia Avícolas
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Series: | Brazilian Journal of Poultry Science |
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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. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-21T16:23:23Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-2a9596ba9a6d4b4cb72aedd00c6ee297 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1806-9061 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-21T16:23:23Z |
publisher | Fundação APINCO de Ciência e Tecnologia Avícolas |
record_format | Article |
series | Brazilian Journal of Poultry Science |
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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