Protective clothing in cold water survival.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Steinman AM
• Description:
  The importance of protective clothing in cold water survival was discussed. Cold water survival involved the avoidance of drowning and dealing with hypothermia. Basically, for avoiding hypothermia, the larger and fatter the person, the longer was the survival time. Also, the rougher the seas, the faster the cooling. Protective clothing bore a major impact on ability to survive. Flotation devices were critical, but did not guarantee survival. In addition, the ability to hold one's breath, and to avoid panic, as well as the degree of physical fitness, and the ability to move with mouth and nose above water were critical survival skills. Data from the use of 20 different protective suits (dry, insulated suits, wet suits, uninsulated suits, and an orally inflated life raft) were discussed. Tests were conducted in both calm and rough waters. Results showed that buoyancy alone was not adequate to stay afloat, and that it was necessary to fight to keep the head afloat. Problems with each suit type, and survival decisions involved were discussed. The author concludes that the criterion of survival time is the time taken for core temperature to drop to 34 degrees-C (the temperature at which a person is considered unable to activate survival equipment, use radios or signaling devices), time taken to become unconscious, or the time taken for body temperature to drop to the point of causing cardiac arrest. Thus, individuals with increased body fat survive longer.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Blood Hematologic Tests Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-prevention Fishing-industry Marine-workers Occupational-hazards Personal-protective-equipment Protective-clothing Protective-equipment Risk-analysis Safety-engineering Weight-factors
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Conference/Symposia Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Alaska ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  148-154
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00222040
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the National Fishing Industry Safety and Health Workshop, Anchorage, Alaska, October 9-11, 1992. Myers ML, Klatt ML, eds. Anchorage, AK: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 94-109, 1994 Jan; :148-154
• Editor(s):
  Myers ML ; Klatt ML
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1994
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  1141 - Fishing - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d644163d9039f87f9e4b81e92204fbf3dc4895e7d5e2ac4a8ed642519bd4b729566856f4034b770448382c6c92abf60c71868b244571b635b2a4e993e8eb35d0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/180905/cdc_180905_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.51 MB ]