Evaluation of Four Portable Cooling Vests for Workers Wearing Gas Extraction Coveralls in Hot Environments

Details

• Personal Author:
  Johnson JK
• Description:
  Excessive exposure to heat stress can cause a host of heat-related illnesses. For laborers, job specific work demands and protective garments greatly increase the risk of succumbing to the effects of heat stress. Microclimate cooling has been used to control heat stress exposure where administrative or engineering controls are not adequate. This study tested the performance of four personal cooling vests for use with insulated protective clothing (gas extraction coveralls) in warm-humid (35 degree C, 50% relative humidity) and hot-dry (40 degree C, 30% relative humidity) conditions. On 10 separate occasions, 5 male volunteers walked on a treadmill to elicit a target metabolic rate of 300 watts, for 120 minutes, while wearing a (a) water cooled vest, (b) air cooled vest, (c) frozen polymer vest (FP) (d) liquid CO2 cooling (LCO2) vest, or (e) no cooling (NC). A three-way mixed effects ANOVA was used to assess the results and a Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference multiple comparison test was used to identify where significant differences occurred (p < 0.05). The air, water, and FP systems produced significantly lower heat storage rates compared to NC. To the extent that the gas extraction coverall is worn in an environment between 30 degree C and 45 degree C and the rate of work is moderate, the FP, air and water vest were shown to manage heat storage well, reducing storage rate by about 48%, 56% and 65% respectively. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Carbon Dioxide Environmental Exposure Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Men Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Cooling Strategies Carbon Dioxide Exercise Tolerance Exposure Levels Heat Heat Exposure Heat Strain Heat Stress Humans Metabolic Rate Microclimate Cooling Personal Protection Personal Protective Equipment PPE Protective Clothing Protective Equipment Protective Measures Risk Factors Uncompensable Heat Stress Work Environment Workers

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• Publisher:
  University of South Florida
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Thesis
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-44
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063774
• Citation:
  Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, 2013 Mar; :1-44
• Contact Point Address:
  Joseph Kevin Johnson, University of South Florida
• Email:
  joekjohnson@gmail.com
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  Sunshine Education and Research Center, University of South Florida
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Evaluation of four portable cooling vests for workers wearing gas extraction coveralls in hot environments
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:932af3ceba17bb60b3e31950723d27e68c52f92118a2101a6223f59a55ff2fa84553975992015df722e3fc656b6f70da00cff0ffd04c60250fce2940f553ec30
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222330/cdc_222330_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.94 MB ]