(6.2 TARGET VALUES FOR THERMAL FACTORS: AN OVERVIW OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS 373 ‘identified to allow elimination of the hazardous agents through process de sign, engineering control, or other administrative practices to keep exposures within acceprable limits. A new assessment should be made to check the new situation, and periodic measurements should he done to check that control measures remain effective In any case, the risk assessment must be documented in a suitable report, including the existing working conditions and the reasons for the chosen pro: cedures. I should conrain, a least, the Following data The names of the chemical agents considered The description of the workplace factors The description of the working conditions during the measurements ve measuring procedure The rime schedule The results of occupational exposure concentrations All events or factors liable to influence the results Results of the comparison with the OEL, Retention of this data is essential for future work in order to compare and ae. alyze successive sets of assessment exposures. liography Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienist. Threshold init values for chemical substances and physical agents and biological exposure indices. ACGIH, Cinciaras, OH. 1599, The Council of the European Union, Council Directive 98/26/EC of 7, Apil 1998 om the prec ‘nom ofthe health sd safety of workers fromthe ns related ta cheoical agents st work. OF) ‘sal Journal No, L131, May 1998, European Committe for Standaedization. EN 89:1. Workplace atmospheres: Guidance far th ‘assessment of exposure to chemical agents for comparison with lott values and misasurement inategy 1995, 6.3 TARGET VALUES FOR THERMAL FACTORS: AN OVERVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS 6.3.1 Introduction The main purpose for the heating and air conditioning of work spaves is to provide an environment that is acceptable and does not impair the health and performance of the occupants. During production processes and in the exter- nal environment it may be necessary to work in unacceptable conditions for a limited time period. However, it must be ensured that these conditions do not impair the health of the employees. Light, noise, air quality, and the thermal environment are all factors that influence the acceptability of conditions for and performance of the occupants. This section will only deal with the ther- mal environment. Several standards dealing with methods for the evaluation of the thermal environment have been published by international standard or: ganizations such as ISO and CEN.374 6.3.2 The This section deals with the ISO standards, which have been or are be- ing prepared by ISO/TC1S9/SC5/WG1 and CEN/TC122/WGI1. An over- view of the standards issued and the documents under preparation is given in Table 6.2. CEN Technical Report CR 1752 will also be used in this sec- tion.! Several of these standards may be used as the basis for the design and evaluation of buildings, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air condi tioning) systems, and protective equipment (clothing) and the optimization ‘of work/rest schedules. The basic philosophy has been to standardize evaluation methods, with recommended limit values for the different parameters or indices listed in in formative annexes. These or other values may then be adapted in national rules for the thermal envionment. Thermal Environment Existing methods for evaluation of the general thermal state of the body, both im comfort and under heat or cold stress, are based on an analysis of the heat balance for the human body: S=M-W-C-R-Ey—Cyy Kk, (6.1) where 5 = heat storage in body M = metabolic heat production W = external work = heat loss by convection R = heat loss by radiation Ex = evaporative heat loss from skin Go convective heat loss from respiration evaporative heat loss from respiration K"= heat loss by conduction The factors influencing this heat balance are activity level (metabolic rate, met or Wim), thermal resistance of clothing 1y, (clo or m? °C/W}, evapo- rative resistance of clothing R,.1 (m? Pa/W), air temperature t, (°C), mean radiant temperature #, (°C), air speed v, (m/s), and partial water vapor pressure p, (Pa). These parameters must be combined so that the thermal storage is 0, or else the working time has to be limited ro avoid too much strain on the body. For comfort, the mean skin temperature also has ro be within certain limits and the evaporative heat loss must be low. In existing standards, guidelines, or handbooks, different methods are used to evalu ate the general thermal state of the body in moderate environments, cold environments, and hot environments; however, all are based on the above heat balance and the listed factors. ‘Aside from the general thermal state of the body, a person may find the thermal environment unacceptable or intolerable if local influences on the body from asymmetric radiation, air velocities, vertical air temperacure dit- ferences, or contact with hot or cold surfaces (floors, machinery, tools, ete.) are experienced.HME TABLE 6.2 Developments of International Standards forthe Ergonomics of the ‘Thermal Environment Standard ISO FN 1L399 Bor 1507933 EN 12518) ISO EN KOEN ISOTR ENV 150 EN 899% LEN 28996) SO EN 7726 ISO EN 9920 NO EN 9886 ISOEN 1ossi Iso IS 12804 180 bs 13732 NP Las05 180 DIS 14415 180 CD 158265 NP IS74S [Aims ofthe standard ‘Genel presetatin ofthe set of stan ‘Soeds im terms of principles and apnicn Standardization of quantities, ssmbols, and units sen he standards Thermal sres evaluation in hot environ rents, Analytical method Duarwostic method for hor environments Comfort evaluation in moderate environ Thormal sess evaluation in old Daa colleom standards for merabolc rte Requirements for measuring insteuments Clocking insulation Evaluation of thermal tain ti Pi sioegiel measures Subjctve assessment ofthe thermal Selection ofan appropriate stem of medical superision for diferent spes of thermal exposure CConeace with hot, mederate, and cold Vehicle environments People with special requirements Assent of risk in moderate, hor and ‘old environments ‘Work practice in cold environments ‘Title of the document Ergonomics ofthe thermal environmen Paneipes and application of internat suandar Ergonomics ofthe thermal environment Vocabulary and sembois Hor enviconmenes: Analyicl determnscion and interpretation of thermal sees usin esleultion of required sweat Hor ensivoncients Estimation ofthe beat sees oa working man, bosed on the {WIGT index wer balh globe emperatuze “Moderate dhcemal environments: Dterina thom ofthe PMV und PPD index andl spect ition ofthe cantons fr thermal contort valuation of cold environments: Detrm ‘ation of required clothing insulation, Ergonomics: Determination of metab heat praguetion Thermal vironments: steuent ‘messuring physical quances ‘Psimation of the theeml insulation and cvaporative renrance af clothing cnsemble Fvaluasion of thesmal strain by physiol Assessment ofthe influence of che deem fonwironmene sing subjective nidemcnt Ergonomics of th thermal enstonment ‘Medical supervision of individuals ‘exposed 0 hota cold environments Fegonomiss ofthe thermal environment “Methods for assessment of human resort contact with suetcs Evaluation ofthe thermal ensonnists ‘chiles Ergonomics ofthe thermal envionment: The Spplication of meernstonal standards for people with special requiements Risk sessment376 CHAPTER 4 TARGET LEVELS 6.3.3 Moderate Thermal Environments TThe main standards for comfortable thermal environment are [SO EN 7730 and ASHRAE $5-92.? The research that forms the basis for these two standards is mainly performed under environmental conditions similar to those for commer- id residential buildings, with activity levels of 1 to 2 met, normal indoor clothing (0.5 to 1.0 clo}, and a limited range of environmental parameters. 6.3.3.1 General Thermal Comfort ISO EN 7730 standardizes the PMV-PPD index as the method for evalua- tion of moderate thermal environments. To quantify the degeee of comfort, the PMV (predicted mean vote} index gives a value on a 7-point thermal sen sation scale: +3 hot, +2 warm, +1 slightly warm, 0 neuteal, ~1 slightly cool, 2 cool, -3 cold. An equation in the standard calculates the PMV index based on the six factors (clothing, activity, air and mean radiant temperatures, air speed, and humidity). ‘The PMV index can be determined when the activity (metabolic rate) and the clothing (thermal resistance) are estimated and the following environmen- tal parameters are measured: air temperature, mean radiant temperature, rela- tive air velocity, and partial water vapor pressure (see ISO EN 7726) The PMV index is derived for steady-state conditions but can be applied with good approximation with minor fluctuations of one or more of the vari- ables, provided that time-weighted averages of the variables during the previ- ous 1h period are applied. Because the PMV index assumes that all evaporation from the skin is transported through the clothing to the environ- ment, this method is not applicable to hot environments. It can be used for a range of PMV index of ~ 2 to +2, ie. thermal environments where sweating is minimal. Use of the PMV index is only recommended when the six main parame- cers are within the following intervals M = 46-232 Wim? (0.8 to 4 met) = 0-0.310 m?°CW (0 10 2 clo} 10-30°C 10-40 °C OL ms py = 0-270 Pa Taty ‘The metabolic rate can he estimated by ISO EN 9886, and the thermal re- sistance of clothing can be estimated by ISO EN 9920, taking into account the type of work and the time of year. For varying metabolic rates, it is recom- mended to estimate a time-weighted average during the previous 1 h period. For sedentary people, the insulation of a chair must also be taken into account. ‘The PMV index can be used to check whether a given thermal environ- ‘ment complies with specified comfort criteria and to establish requirements for different levels of acceptability. By setting PMV = 0, an equation is estab- lished that predicts combinations of activity, clothing, and environmental pa ramerers that will provide a thermally neutral sensation. Figure 6.1 shows the optimal operative temperature as a function of activity and clothing for differ cent levels of acceptabilityCagory A PPD =O 0 os 10 1s lo Win 180 ns ‘aay 100 9 oy 02 atow win 150, 1s 100) 7s 0 Os 10 15 lo Gothing HME FIGURE 6.1 The operat operat omperatre 8 entn of ct and avi forthe three I met The dara ae determined fr 8 rele bury of 500% bt ee hay as ony a she uence on he opts permis ompertre range,