Field measurement of energy expenditure during six simulated hazardous waste site work activities

Details

• Personal Author:
  McCabe B ; Sinkule E ; Turner N
• Description:
  In order to characterize the heat strain that may be incurred by workers performing hazardous waste site activities wearing personal protective equipment, energy expenditure associated with these activities must be quantified. Field measurement of energy expenditure during such tasks has been problematic. This study used a portable, telemetric metabolic system to measure energy expenditure during field performance of six hazardous waste site activities. Six subjects performed the following six work activities: I) operating a bulldozer for 11 minutes (DOZER); 2) operating a backhoe for 10 minutes (BACKHOE); 3) climbing in and out of a pit to simulate removal of a spent fuel rod for 10 minutes (CLIMB); 4) carrying a four-gallon bucket of water 75 feet for eight minutes (CARRY); 5) crawling through a 2x20-foot culvert pipe for 12 minutes (CRAWL); and 6) shoveling and pushing sand in a wheelbarrow for eight minutes (SHOVEL). All activities were performed in a Level B impermeable PVC suit with a 30-minute SCBA cylinder. Means for heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (V.02, STPD), carbon dioxide production (V.C02, STPD), and minute ventilation (V.E, STPD) - measured breath-by-breath and calculated for the entire activity duration - were as follows: 1) DOZER - 119 bpm, 1 L/min, 0.8 L/min, and 22.3 L/min, respectively; 2) BACKHOE - 133 bpm, 1 L/min, 0.9 L/min, and 23.5 L/min; 3) CLIMB - 120 bpm, 1.1 L/min, 1L/min, and 25.7 L/min; 4) CARRY - 134 bpm, 1.4 L/min, 1.3 L/min, and 30.3 L/min; 5) CRAWL - 139 bpm, 1.4 L/min, 1.4 L/min, and 37 L/min; and 6) SHOVEL - 140 bpm, 1.7 L/min, 1.5 L/min, and 35.6 L/min. According to 1998 ACGIH guidelines, the SHOVEL activity qualified as heavy intensity work, the CARRY and CRAWL activities were moderate in intensity, and the DOZER, BACKHOE, and CLIMB activities were light in intensity. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Body Temperature Cardiovascular System Energy Metabolism Hazardous Substances Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  Body-temperature Dioxides Energy-metabolism Hazardous-materials Hazardous-waste-cleanup Health-hazards Heart-rate Heat Heat-acclimatization Heat-exposure Heat-production Heat-stress Heat-stroke Measurement-equipment Metabolic-rate Oxygen-uptake Personal-protective-equipment Protective-clothing Respirators Self-contained-breathing-apparatus Simulation-methods Work-performance

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• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; Virginia ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  81
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041650
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 20-25, 2000, Orlando, Florida. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2000 May; :81
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 20-25, 2000, Orlando, Florida
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b4b802a9bc42dea3faa31d41b53da535cef08c78f8fabf5ceda96559e8c45b4a91dd7dc65829210884127b0e2719c5f6578cf67c2e1b4e6fe055c9f5e2b305a3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194150/cdc_194150_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.03 MB ]