Climatized packing house with evaporative coolers - part 1: Occupational heat exposure

ABSTRACT Agribusiness workers are regularly exposed to high temperatures, even in covered environments such as packing houses. This study aimed to assess the effect of evaporative coolers on reducing occupational heat exposure for workers and consequently improving the thermal comfort of the selection and packaging areas in a table grape packing house. The evaluation was conducted as per the criteria of the Brazilian legislation, based on the Regulatory Norms (NR’s) 15 and 17 of the Department of Labor. The study was conducted during two climatic production periods, dry and rainy, with the evaporative coolers on and off. With the coolers on, the workers’ occupational exposure to heat was reduced without exceeding the wet bulb globe temperature index tolerance limit for the activities carried out according to the NR 15. However, it did not provide adequate thermal comfort indices according to NR 17. Under semiarid conditions, coolers rendered the environment thermally comfortable for local workers. To reduce the risks to workers’ health, it is suggested that they take breaks in case of discomfort from the heat and provide workers with water and mineral salts to replenish sweat loss.