Citation

Marszalek A, Smolander J, Soltynski K, Sobolewski A. Int. J. Ind. Ergonomics 1999; 25(2): 195-202.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

During surveillance tasks in hot industrial working sites it is often necessary to use reflective protective clothing against radiant heat sources. The aim of the present study was to assess the thermal strain of wearing radiation protective clothing in men of differing age. The study subjects were 24 healthy, normotensive, unacclimated men: 9 young (20-28 yr) (group I), 9 middle-aged (43-52 yr) (group II) and 6 older men (58-65 yr) (group III). The subjects were similar in daily physical activity (low), body size and subcutaneous fat thickness. All subjects rested in a sitting position for 60 min in a climatic chamber in two experiments with WBGT of around 29[deg]C that represented a low stress (LS, low radiant heat and little clothing) and high stress (HS, high radiant heat and aluminized protective clothing). In LS, the subjects wore shorts and the WBGT was driven by air temperature and humidity (tnwb =25[deg]C, tg =38[deg]C). In HS, subjects wore an aluminized suit and the WBGT was driven by high radiant heat from infrared heaters (tnwb =22[deg]C, tg=41[deg]C). During the experiments, rectal and skin temperatures, heart rate, body mass loss, and blood pressure were measured, and subjective ratings were collected. No differences in rectal temperature, skin temperatures and in total body sweat rate were observed between the age groups in LS and HS. Heart rate response was not different between LS and HS, but it was significantly higher in group III compared to groups I and II at rest and at the end of both exposures. Mean arterial blood pressure was significantly higher in groups III and II than in group I (pppRelevance to industryResults of the present study suggest that during relatively short resting exposures to heat without and with radiation protective clothing (WBGT around 29[deg]C) older men seem not to be at a greater risk for excessive heat strain than young and middle-aged men. However, in a hot environment dehydration is a potential risk factor for older workers. Thus, special attention should be paid to the importance of fluid replacement in older persons at hot workplaces, for example, by giving information and providing adequate amounts and easy availability of fluids.