CLIMATIC STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE - ITS EFFECT ON THERMOREGULATORY RESPONSES AND MUSCLE FATIGUE IN FEMALE WORKERS

The present study was designed to determine the differences in thermor egulatory responses and the levels of muscle fatigue in the seated wor ker, performing a task involving a light metabolic load (typing), vers us the standing worker, undertaking a task of a heavier metabolic load (lifting), in different climatic conditions (neutral and hot, humid). The results showed that environmental heat significantly influenced t he cardiovascular and thermoregulatory systems in workers performing b oth light and heavy work tasks. In addition, environmental heat was sh own to influence the magnitude of the frequency shift during the fatig uing muscle contraction in the typists rather than the lifters. These results suggest that: (1) performance of even sedentary workers perfor ming a light manual task may be deleteriously affected by environmenta l heat; and (2) environmental heat may be of secondary importance to t he nature of the task investigated on the level of muscle fatigue.