Abstract
Interactions between human beings and their work environment require the body to regulate its temperature by balancing heat production and loss. Comfortable environmental conditions are crucial for keeping workers safe and healthy and to maintain a suitable level of productivity. However, achieving a proper core body temperature may become challenging under different conditions, especially in high heat-generating workplaces such as hot underground mines. Because hot underground mines have the potential to expose workers to heat stress, compliance with standardized and regulated indices and criteria is distinctly required. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the current research on heat stress and strain in hot underground mines, collected from published and specialized literature. General definitions, statistics of heat-related accidents in mining, overview of the indices, standards, and recommendations for heat stress are provided herein.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 497-508 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration |
Volume | 38 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2021 |
Keywords
- Heat
- Heat indices
- Heat strain
- Heat stress
- Hot environments
- Underground mines
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Control and Systems Engineering
- General Chemistry
- Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
- Mechanical Engineering
- Metals and Alloys
- Materials Chemistry