The Use of Personal Protective Equipment: Finger Temperatures and Thermal Sensation of Workers’ Exposure to Cold Environment

Adriana Seára Tirloni, Diogo Cunha Dos Reis, Natália Fonseca Dias and Antônio Renato Pereira Moro
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Adriana Seára Tirloni: Tecnological Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina 88040-370, Brazil
Diogo Cunha Dos Reis: Tecnological Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina 88040-370, Brazil
Natália Fonseca Dias: Tecnological Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina 88040-370, Brazil
Antônio Renato Pereira Moro: Tecnological Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina 88040-370, Brazil

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: This study analyzed the finger temperatures of poultry slaughterhouse workers and its association with personal and organizational variables, bodily discomfort perception, and cold thermal sensation. The study included 143 poultry slaughterhouse workers. A thermograph was used to measure finger temperature and an interview to collect worker data. There were two groups: workers who used a tool and those without. The binary logistic regression, Friedman and Wilcoxon tests were used ( p ≤ 0.05). Most workers presented at least one finger with an average temperature ≤15 °C (66.4%) and ≤24 °C (99.3%), perceived their cold hands, and wore three overlapping gloves (57.3%). There were no associations between finger temperatures (≤15 °C) and the analyzed variables. The chance of feeling cold for a worker who used a tool was greater than for a worker who did not (OR = 3.19, 95% CI 1.46; 6.94). There was a difference between the finger temperatures of each hand on both surfaces and the analyzed groups ( p < 0.01). The temperature of each finger with its respective contralateral was different in the little fingers (no tool), index, middle, ring, and little fingers (using a tool) ( p < 0.05). The use of several overlapping gloves was not sufficient to promote thermal insulation of the hands.

Keywords: slaughterhouse; meat-packing industry; upper limb; personal protective equipment; discomfort; ergonomics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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