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Document ID (ISN)73898
CIS number 99-2031
ISSN - Serial title 0095-6562 - Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
Year 1999
Convention or series no.
Author(s) Moran D.S., Pandolf K.B.
Title Wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) - To what extent is GT essential?
Bibliographic information May 1999, Vol.70, No.5, p.480-484. Illus. 30 ref.
Abstract Industrial and military safety personnel often require an easy, quick and accurate assessment of heat stress as a potential risk. The widely used WBGT index to evaluate heat stress is cumbersome and suited for a fixed site station rather than a mobile situation. Recently, a modified discomfort index (MDI) compiled from ambient temperature and wet bulb temperature was suggested to evaluate heat stress. Validation of the simple and easy-to-operate MDI on an independent database can determine whether this index is able to serve as a reliable and valid alternative to WBGT. Four separate database sets obtained from a Marine Corps training site served to validate this index. Hourly weather measurements were collected daily during four years, representing a wide range of environmental conditions. The MDI validity was tested vs. the WBGT index. A highly significant correlation coefficient greater than 0.95 was found in each of the four database sets. The simply constructed and user friendly MDI is easier to calculate and use than WBGT, and it has the potential to serve as an attractive alternative to the WBGT index in assessing heat stress. Topics: climatic measurement; heat stress assessment; heat stress indices; hot workplaces; mathematical models; temperature measurement; thermal discomfort; thermal environment; WBGT index.
Descriptors (primary) climatic measurement; heat stress assessment; heat stress indices; thermal discomfort
Descriptors (secondary) WBGT index; temperature measurement; hot workplaces; thermal environment; mathematical models
Document type D - Periodical articles
Country / State or ProvinceIsrael; USA
Subject(s) Heating, ventilation and climate
Broad subject area(s) Physical hazards
Browse category(ies) Heat and cold