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STUDIES ON MICROCLIMATE OF OFFICE PREMISES AND IMPROVEMENT OF ITS HYGIENIC REGULATION IN UKRAINE

STUDIES ON MICROCLIMATE OF OFFICE PREMISES AND IMPROVEMENT OF ITS HYGIENIC REGULATION IN UKRAINE

https://doi.org/10.33573/ujoh2016.04.037

Nazarenko V. I., Cherednichenko I. M., Soloviev O. I., Nykyforuk O. I., Tereshchenko P. S.

STUDIES ON MICROCLIMATE OF OFFICE PREMISES AND IMPROVEMENT OF ITS HYGIENIC REGULATION IN UKRAINE

State Institution "Institute for Occupational Health of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine", Kyiv

Full article (PDF), ENG

Introduction. Microclimate of office premises is an important factor of the work environment for office employees, requiring creation of optimal work conditions and developing preventive measures.

The purpose of the study was to establish the influence of office microclimate on indicators of employees’ thermal state and their subjective evaluation of the thermal environment, to identify further improving of hygiene regulations.

Materials and methods. The studies on work conditions were conducted in warm and cold periods of the year, according to requirements of normative documents, at 180 work places of office workers (engineers, programmers, systems administrators, heads of sectors, task administrators, electronic engineers, engineers of telecommunication) at enterprises and public institutions in the city Kyiv. The study of the human thermal state (HTS) with subjective evaluation of the comfort constituent of the thermal environment was carried out in warm (June – August) and cold seasons (December - February) covering 112 office employees, according to Methodical recommendations № 5168-90.

Results. It is established that the temperature at workplaces of office workers exceeds the permissible temperature ranges by 1,2–2,4°Caccording to the sanitary norms for microclimate in Ukraine, but meets the requirements of the ISO 7730:2005 for the thermal environment of the categories B and C (sensation of the thermal discomfort no more than in 10 % and 15 % of users, respectively). It is revealed that at the standard workplace of an office worker the total heat emission makes 452,3 kcal/h or 530 W. At the same time, for a person engaged in office work, it makes 48 % of the total heat emission, on the average, and for the office equipment – 52 %. Basing on the questioning, a relation between the thermal sensation of office workers and the air temperature in office premises in warm and cold seasons was calculated. There are proposed measures for creating comfortable microclimatic conditions for office workers.

Conclusion. The thermal sensation assessment in office workers shows that the upper threshold for uncomfortable air temperature at work places in the warm period (in summer) is more than 27 °C, in the cold period (in winter) – more than 24 °C. There is a need to revise The Sanitary norms on microclimate 3.3.6.042-99 in respect of its optimal parameters, taking into account methodological approaches of the State Sanitary technical specifications 7730:2011,in respect of the definition of categories of premises and a number of unsatisfied persons. In order to maintain optimal parameters of the relative air humidity in office it is recommended to use ultrasonic humidifiers of Vitek VT-1762W type for normalization of the air ionic content in office premises.

Key words: microclimate, office premises, hygienic regulation

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