Illinois Fire Service Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
Division of Field Studies and Engineering, National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Ergonomics. 2021 Jun;64(6):755-767. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2020.1867241. Epub 2021 Feb 1.
Firefighter hoods must provide protection from elevated temperatures and products of combustion (e.g. particulate) while simultaneously being wearable (comfortable and not interfering with firefighting activities). The purpose of this study was to quantify the impact of (1) hood design (traditional knit hood vs particulate-blocking hood), (2) repeated laundering, and (3) hood removal method (traditional vs overhead doffing) on (a) protection from soot contamination on the neck, (b) heat stress and (c) wearability measures. Using a fireground exposure simulator, 24 firefighters performed firefighting activities in realistic smoke and heat conditions using a new knit hood, new particulate-blocking hood and laundered particulate-blocking hood. Overall, soot contamination levels measured from neck skin were lower when wearing the laundered particulate-blocking hoods compared to new knit hoods, and when using the overhead hood removal process. No significant differences in skin temperature, core temperature, heart rate or wearability measures were found between the hood conditions. The addition of a particulate-blocking layer to firefighters' traditional two-ply hood was found to reduce the PAH contamination reaching the neck but did not affect heat stress measurements or thermal perceptions. Modifying the process for hood removal resulted in a larger reduction in neck skin contamination than design modification. ANOVA: analysis of variance; B: new particulate-blocking hood and PPE (PPE configuration); FES: fireground exposure simulator; GI: gastrointestinal; K: new knit hood and PPE (PPE configuration); L: laundered particulate-blocking hood and PPE (PPE configuration); LOD: limit of detection; MLE: maximum likelihood estimation; NFPA: National fire protection association; PAH: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; PPE: personal protective equipment; SCBA: self-contained breathing apparatus; THL: total heat loss; TPP: thermal protective performance.
消防头盔必须能够保护消防员免受高温和燃烧产物（例如颗粒物）的伤害，同时还要穿着舒适，不妨碍消防员的灭火行动。本研究的目的是定量评估以下因素对（1）头盔设计（传统针织头盔与防颗粒物头盔）、（2）反复洗涤和（3）头盔脱卸方式（传统方式与头顶脱卸方式）的影响：（a）对颈部烟尘污染的防护效果、（b）热应激和（c）穿着舒适性。研究使用一个火灾现场暴露模拟器，24 名消防员在模拟火灾现场的浓烟和高温环境中进行灭火作业，他们分别佩戴新的针织头盔、新的防颗粒物头盔和经过洗涤的防颗粒物头盔。结果表明，与新的针织头盔相比，消防员在佩戴经过洗涤的防颗粒物头盔时，以及在使用头顶脱卸方式时，颈部皮肤的烟尘污染程度较低。在头盔条件之间，皮肤温度、核心温度、心率或穿着舒适性指标均无显著差异。研究发现，在消防员传统的双层头盔上增加防颗粒物层，可以减少到达颈部的多环芳烃污染，但不会影响热应激测量或热感觉。与设计改进相比，改变头盔脱卸方式可以更有效地降低颈部皮肤污染。ANOVA：方差分析；B：新的防颗粒物头盔和个人防护装备（个人防护装备配置）；FES：火灾现场暴露模拟器；GI：胃肠道；K：新的针织头盔和个人防护装备（个人防护装备配置）；L：洗涤后的防颗粒物头盔和个人防护装备（个人防护装备配置）；LOD：检测限；MLE：最大似然估计；NFPA：美国国家消防协会；PAH：多环芳烃；PPE：个人防护装备；SCBA：自给式呼吸装置；THL：总热损失；TPP：热防护性能。
