Abstract

The present study was aimed to investigate the applicability of the model presented by Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) to determine the WBGT index recommended by the ISO in outdoor workplaces. This cross-sectional study was carried out on 12 construction materials mines in three districts of Tehran Province, Iran with different climatic conditions. The physiological parameters of all workers (175 men) and environmental variables at 33 work stations were monitored simultaneously at 9 am, 12 pm and 15. According to ISO 7243, heat stress was measured by the formula and also the WBGT index was calculated based on the model presented by the ABM. A significant relationship was found between measured and calculated values of WBGT in the three mentioned periods (P < .001) and the highest correlation was observed at 12 pm (r = 0.931). The significant relationships were observed between heat stress indices and all physiological parameters (P < .05). The highest correlation was found between the parameters of the oral temperature, tympanic temperature and the HR with measured and calculated WBGT, respectively (P < .05). simplicity, no need for sophisticated measuring equipment, and low cost can make the model a screening tool for assessing occupational heat stress in the studied outdoor mines. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.