Glare at Outdoor Workplaces—An Underestimated Factor of Occupational Risk
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Motivation
1.2. Accidents at Work—The Impact of Inadequate Lighting
1.3. Glare at Outdoor Workplaces—A Short Story
1.4. Aim of the Paper
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. How to Assess Objectively the Glare at Outdoor Workplaces—The Practice
2.2. The Research Methodology
3. Results
3.1. General Circulation Areas at Outdoor Workplaces
3.2. Airports
3.3. Building Sites
3.4. Canals, Locks, and Harbors
3.5. Fuel Filling Stations
3.6. Industrial Sites and Storage Areas
3.7. Parking Areas
3.8. Oil and Other Chemical Industries
3.9. Railways and Tramways
3.10. Saw Mills
3.11. Shipyards and Docks
3.12. Water and Sewage Plants
4. Discussion
4.1. Analysis of the Collected Results
- At 20 task areas (out of 93 examined, meaning 21.5%) the determined degree of glare (measured GR values or subjective assessment) exceeded the limits specified in the standard—i.e., the requirements of the standard in terms of glare limitation were not met.
- At eight categories of industrial plants defined in the standard [5] (out of 12 examined, meaning 66.7%) there was at least one task area where the requirements of the standard in terms of glare limitation were not met.
- At 11 task areas (out of 93 examined, meaning 11.8%) we found a high degree of risk. Unfortunately, this was in industries from the category of hazardous industries where the consequences of accidents can be very serious.
- No glare was found at outdoor workplaces where high masts were used and bright sources illuminated the surface from a great height. This applies to storage areas, parking areas, and some areas of airports, water and sewage installations. It is worth paying attention to the fact that the reflections of light from large surfaces with specular reflectance properties (e.g., water surfaces) can create hazards if the lamps are not installed high enough.
- The problem existed at workplaces where it was difficult to light up the task areas. Occurrence of glare in these cases is related to the specificity of the workplace and activities performed there. This is mainly the case with docks and large chemical and petrochemical installations. The glare risks are very serious in these cases. Working in such places is always dangerous, and worsening conditions by glare can result in very serious accidents or even death.
- The most serious problem was noticed at workplaces where temporary lighting installations were built to carry out tasks at a given moment. This case is practically observed mostly for maintenance and repair tasks in railway and tramway enterprises. Similarly, this condition is seen on construction/building sites where lighting is changed and glare limitation is seldom taken into consideration.
4.2. How to Improve the Situation
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Degree of Risk | GR Limit |
---|---|
Small | GR ≤ GRMAX 1 |
Medium | GRMAX 1 < GR < 70 |
High | 70 ≤ GR |
Question | Answer | |
---|---|---|
1. | Does the existing outdoor lighting ensure good visibility of circulation area to recognize the obstacles after dark (openings, manholes, thresholds, steps, etc.)? | Yes/No |
2. | Does the existing outdoor lighting provide good visibility at the task area after dark? | Yes/No |
3. | Do you see very bright light sources when you are working after dark? | Yes/No |
4. | The existing lighting at outdoor workplaces—is it satisfactory and does not require changes? | Yes/No |
5. | Degree of perceived glare on a five-step scale: | Select one answer |
Unbearable Work—completely impossible Sensation of glare—the luminaires cause “blinding” | — | |
Disturbing Work—hard to perform; recognizing of details is difficult during some time after looking toward the luminaire Sensation of glare—significant discomfort | — | |
Just admissible Work—possible, difficulties in perception for a short period of time Sensation of glare—noticeable discomfort | — | |
Noticeable Work—possible for quite a long time Sensation of glare—slight discomfort | — | |
Imperceptible Work—possible for a long time Sensation of glare—imperceptible, no discomfort | — |
Sensation of Glare | Assigned Value of GR |
---|---|
Unbearable | 90 ≤ GR |
Disturbing | 70 ≤ GR < 90 |
Just admissible | 50 ≤ GR < 70 |
Noticeable | 30 ≤ GR < 50 |
Imperceptible | GR < 30 |
Category of Lighting Requirements (According to Standard [5]) | Number of Examined Task Activities (According to Standard [5]) | Task Area Where a High Degree of Risk Occurred: GRMAX—Limit of Glare Defined in Standard [5] Assessment of Glare Comments | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | With Varying Degrees of Risk | ||||
Small | Medium | High | |||
General circulation areas at outdoor workplaces (Table 5.1 in [5]) | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | Pedestrian passages, vehicle turning GRMAX from [5] = 50, Measured GR = 60, Subjective assessment = Disturbing (70 ≤ GR < 90) |
Airports (Table 5.2 in [5]) | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | (1. Task) Aircraft maintenance stands GRMAX from [5] = 45, Measured GR = 51, Subjective assessment = just admissible (50 ≤ GR < 70) (2. Task) Fuel depot GRMAX from [5] = 50, Measured GR = 41, Subjective assessment = just admissible (50 ≤ GR < 70) The task activity corresponded to high risk (working with dangerous substances) |
Building sites (Table 5.3 in [5]) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Construction areas, drain pipes mounting, transport, auxiliary and storage tasks GRMAX from [5] = 50, (1. Task) Subjective assessment = Disturbing (70 ≤ GR < 90) (2. Task) Subjective assessment = Unbearable (90 ≤ GR) |
Canals, locks, and harbors (Table 5.4 in [5]) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Fuel filling stations (Table 5.6 in [5]) | 13 | 12 | 1 | 0 | Meter reading area GRMAX from [5] = 45, Measured GR = 29, Subjective assessment = just admissible (50 ≤ GR < 70) The task activity corresponded to small risk, however may cause difficulties in reading indications. |
Industrial sites and storage areas (Table 5.7 in [5]) | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | |
Parking areas (Table 5.9 in [5]) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Oil and other chemical industries (Table 5.10 in [5]) | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 | (1. Task) Filling and emptying of container trucks and wagons with dangerous substances, replacements of pump packing, general service work, reading of instruments GRMAX from [5] = 45, Measured GR = 53, Subjective assessment = just admissible (50 ≤ GR < 70) (2. Task) Filling and emptying of container trucks and wagons with dangerous substances, replacements of pump packing, general service work, reading of instruments GRMAX from [5] = 45, Measured GR = 47, Subjective assessment = noticeable (30 ≤ GR < 50) Both task activities corresponded to high risk (working with dangerous substances) |
Railways and tramways (Table 5.12 in [5]) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | (1. Task) Freight track, short duration operations GRMAX from [5] = 45, Measured GR = 50, Subjective assessment = disturbing (70 ≤ GR < 90) (4. Tasks) Freight track, continuous operations GRMAX from [5] = 50, Measured GR = 60–79, Subjective assessment = disturbing (70 ≤ GR < 90) and unbearable (90 ≤ GR) In all cases a temporary lighting installation has been used. In all cases the consequences of accidents can be very serious. |
Saw mills (Table 5.13 in [5]) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Shipyards and docks l (Table 5.14 in [5]) | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | (2. Tasks with highest level) Cleaning of ship hull GRMAX from [5] = 50, Measured GR = 52–66, Subjective assessment = disturbing (70 ≤ GR < 90) |
Water and sewage plants (Table 5.15 in [5]) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | (1. Task with highest level) Handling of chemicals, inspection of leakage, changing of pumps, general servicing work, reading of instruments GRMAX from [5] = 45, Measured GR = 62, Subjective assessment = disturbing (70 ≤ GR < 90) |
Sum of tasks: | 93 | 73 | 9 | 11 |
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Sawicki, D.; Wolska, A. Glare at Outdoor Workplaces—An Underestimated Factor of Occupational Risk. Energies 2022, 15, 472. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15020472
Sawicki D, Wolska A. Glare at Outdoor Workplaces—An Underestimated Factor of Occupational Risk. Energies. 2022; 15(2):472. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15020472
Chicago/Turabian StyleSawicki, Dariusz, and Agnieszka Wolska. 2022. "Glare at Outdoor Workplaces—An Underestimated Factor of Occupational Risk" Energies 15, no. 2: 472. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15020472