Approach to the evaluation of the thermal work environment in the greenhouse-construction industry of SE Spain

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the thermal environment of workers in the greenhouse-construction industry in SE Spain. For this, the heat stress of these workers was evaluated by the WBGT index, on developing quadratic equations of the maximum and minimum of this index according to the time of day. High correlation coefficients and good distributions of residuals were found. This evaluation revealed a high or very high risk of heat stress during the months of June to September over a large part of the work day, especially from 9:00 to 18:00 h (GTM). For this, work-rest regimes are proposed in order to control this risk. Finally, the application of the ESI index has been validated for determining the heat stress in greenhouse-construction workers in SE Spain.

► The thermal work environment of greenhouse-construction labourers of SE Spain has been studied, scientifically demonstrating for the first time a high risk of heat stress.
► The work-rest regimes are recommended to control the risk of heat stress, in addition to fomenting preventive policies based on the training and informing of workers and company owners alike.
► The ESI index has been validated for determining the heat stress in greenhouse-construction workers in SE Spain.