Application of thermoregulatory modeling to predict core and skin temperatures in firefighters

Details

• Personal Author:
  Coca, Aitor ; Kim J-H ; Williams WJ ; Yokota M
• Description:
  The purpose of the study was to compare body temperature responses from subjects who exercised while wearing firefighter clothing to predictive data from a real-time thermoregulatory model that had been initially developed and validated for use in the military. Data from two firefighter studies, firefighter study 1 (FFS1: 7 males and 3 females, continuous treadmill exercise at 50% VO2max, 25 oC, 50% RH) and firefighter study 2 (FFS2: 6 males, intermittent treadmill exercise at 75% VO2max, 35 oC, 50% RH), were utilized for the thermoregulatory modeling and comparison. The results showed that prediction error (RMSD) of the model for core and skin temperatures was 0.33 and 0.65 oC in FFS1 and 0.39 and 0.86 oC in FFS2, respectively. While the real-time thermoregulatory model tested in the present study showed the potential for providing a means for reasonably accurate prediction of body temperature responses in firefighters, further development on the model's metabolism algorithms to include adjustments for protective clothing, options to facilitate external work, inclusions of cooling effects are suggested. Relevance to industry: Firefighters exposed to thermal extremes experience physiological strain, but direct monitoring of physiological variables is not always practical. Thermoregulatory models can simulate the thermal responses reasonably accurately by applying known thermo-physiological mechanisms together with heat loss mechanisms related to clothing and environment in an effort to improve firefighter safety. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Body Temperature Epidemiology Firefighters Fires Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Men Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety Women

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Real-time Modeling Body-temperature Core Temperature Fire-fighters Fire-fighting-equipment Heat Heat Stress Humans Models Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Physical-exercise Physiological-effects Physiological-factors Physiological-measurements Protective-clothing Protective-equipment Protective Clothing Skin Temperature Statistical-analysis Stress Thermoregulation

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• ISSN:
  0169-8141
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  115-120
• Volume:
  43
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041962
• Citation:
  Int J Ind Ergon 2013 Jan; 43(1):115-120
• Contact Point Address:
  W. Jon Williams, National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL/NIOSH/CDC), 626 Cochrans Mill Road, B29-108, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
• Email:
  aun7@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9f65cd8c6725951fc9f8d5f672594e3b05a5598043f466312bff6262f6e1ef7509e4fd576f5642139d88b4bcab8e3728527646c530b7a7a2b7a9443f86d52734
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194354/cdc_194354_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 275.13 KB ]