Micro-environment changes inside impermeable protective clothing during a continuous work exposure

摘要

Protective clothing (PC) results in a micro-environment between itself and the body. Workers are then exposed to a heat stress greater than the ambient environment alone, which is a reflection of micro-environment, metabolic rate and time. Adjustments to the ambient environment to account for the micro- environment have been formulated as a means to predict heat strain for safety and productivity purposes. Measurement of the actual micro-environment was made for a mean of 63.1±7.9 min using a remote sensor at the shoulder, hip and thigh levels on 15 subjects during a continuous work protocol (300 kcal/h) in impermeable PC at an ambient temperature of 30.1 deg.C wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) (32 deg.C dry, 29 deg.C wet, 33 deg.C globe).