Baseline evaluation with a sweating thermal manikin of personal protective ensembles recommended for use in West Africa

Details

• Personal Author:
  Coca, Aitor ; DiLeo T ; Kim J-H ; Roberge R ; Shaffer, Richard A.
• Description:
  Objective: Experience with the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) ensembles by health care workers responding to the Ebola outbreak in the hot, humid conditions of West Africa has prompted reports of significant issues with heat stress that has resulted in shortened work periods. Methods: A sweating thermal manikin was used to ascertain the time to achievement of a critical core temperature of 39 degrees C while wearing 4 different PPE ensembles similar to those recommended by the World Health Organization and Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) at 2 different ambient conditions (32 degrees C/92% relative humidity and 26 degrees C/80% relative humidity) compared with a control ensemble. Results: PPE ensembles that utilized coveralls with moderate to high degrees of impermeability attained the critical core temperature in significantly shorter times than did other ensembles. Encapsulation of the head and neck region resulted in higher model-predicted subjective impressions of heat sensation. Conclusions: To maximize work capacity and to protect health care workers in the challenging ambient conditions of West Africa, consideration should be given to adjustment of work and rest schedules, improvement of PPE (e.g., using less impermeable and more breathable fabrics that provide the same protection), and the possible use of cooling devices worn simultaneously with PPE. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Body Temperature Cardiovascular System Communicable Diseases Emergencies Emergency Responders Health Personnel Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Humidity Laboratories Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety Temperature Viral Diseases

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Ebola Body-temperature Climatic-conditions Climatic-factors Core Temperature Disease-prevention Emergency-equipment Emergency-responders Fabrics Health-care-personnel Heart-rate Heat-exchange Heat-loss Heat-stress Heat Stress Hot-environments Humans Infection-control Infectious-diseases Laboratory-testing Personal-protective-equipment Personal Protective Equipment Ensembles Perspiration Physiological-response Physiological-testing Protective-clothing Protective-materials Relative-humidity Simulation-methods Sweating Thermal Manikin Temperature-effects Thermal-reactions Viral-diseases Work-clothing

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• ISSN:
  1935-7893
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  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
• Volume:
  9
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046737
• Citation:
  Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2015 Oct; 9(5):536-542
• Contact Point Address:
  Aitor Coca, PhD, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NPPTL, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
• Email:
  esq6@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0799d597768986f4e61bf87ce2f07f5c1f7e967e4410956e69b18b9052985029f9338fee52482b03f743a8da07c487c3e55d1e49ead3659097e64afd608acb06
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202071/cdc_202071_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 285.29 KB ]