The influence of thermal environment in mining

The extraction industry - in which the underground mining is included - is one of the activity sectors where the national rates of accidents are high (mortal or non-mortal accidents). This founds and justifies the priority of analysis on this sector in terms of Occupational Health and Safety. In other hand, the thermal comfort in the workplace can be considered as a crucial element on the development of any professional activity. It interferes with the health, comfort and performance conditions of people or workers under exposure. This factor is of special importance in activities performed on underground spaces, with no climatization, subject to high humid and temperature levels, such as the underground mining activity, the central focus of this work. The final aim is to identify a possible correlation between the thermal comfort inside the mines with the working performance (productivity) and the occupational injuries & illnesses (working conditions). For that purpose it is presented a literature review that brings to evidence some of the scientific studies developed in this area of knowledge, which permits the acquaintance of the contemporary "state of art" on the theme. As results, it will be identified the possible gaps of information and knowledge that might lead to new hints or future investigation lines, expecting to generate innovative contributions for practical implementation to this sector of activity.