Heat Levels in the Working Environment and Energy Expenditure in the Work of Rice Farmers in U Thong District, Suphan Buri Province
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Abstract
This study aimed to measure the heat levels in the working environment and to determine the energy expenditure in works of rice farmers in U Thong District, Suphan Buri Province, consisting of 326 households. In addition, the obtained heat levels in working environments and the energy expenditure in works were also compared with the standard values according to the Ministerial regulation on the prescribing of standard for administration and management of occupational safety, health and environment in relation to heat, light and noise B.E. 2559. In this study, the sample size was determined to be 175 households using simple random sampling. The heat level in the working environment was measured by measuring Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) with an area heat stress monitor, measuring 2 hours per point. In this study, a total of 175 points were measured. The results demonstrated that the minimum and maximum values of WBGT (outdoor) were 25.40 and 32.90ºC, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of WBGT (outdoor) were 29.04 and 2.22ºC, respectively. The determination of energy expenditure in farmers' works was performed by estimating from the body's metabolic rate resulting from various activities. it was found that soil preparation and rice transplanting was considered as a heavy work (energy expenditure more than 350 kilocalories/hour) and seed sowing, pest control, fertilizer application, and rice leaf cutting were considered as a moderate work (energy expenditure in the range of 201 to 350 kilocalories/hour). When the WBGT (outdoor) values and the energy expenditure in farmers' works were compared with the standard values according to the aforementioned Ministerial regulations, it was found that there were 16 percent of the sample group working in working conditions with heat levels exceeding the standard and 84 percent of the sample group working in working conditions with heat levels not exceeding the standard.
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บทความที่ได้รับการตีพิมพ์เป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของ วารสารวิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี มหาวิทยาลัยอุบลราชธานี
ข้อความที่ปรากฏในบทความแต่ละเรื่องในวารสารวิชาการเล่มนี้เป็นความคิดเห็นส่วนตัวของผู้เขียนแต่ละท่านไม่เกี่ยวข้องกับมหาวิทยาลัยอุบลราชธานี และคณาจารย์ท่านอื่นๆในมหาวิทยาลัยฯ แต่อย่างใด ความรับผิดชอบองค์ประกอบทั้งหมดของบทความแต่ละเรื่องเป็นของผู้เขียนแต่ละท่าน หากมีความผิดพลาดใดๆ ผู้เขียนแต่ละท่านจะรับผิดชอบบทความของตนเองแต่ผู้เดียว
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