School of Engineering, College of Science, Engineering and Health, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia.
Instituut Fysieke Veiligheid (IFV, Institute for Safety), P.O. Box 7112, 2701, AC, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands.
Int J Biometeorol. 2021 Oct;65(10):1751-1765. doi: 10.1007/s00484-021-02130-z. Epub 2021 Apr 21.
Personal protective clothing (PPC) is critical for worker safety and wellbeing from both protection and thermal management perspectives, particularly as PPC typically covers more than 90% of the body. Research of PPC in low-risk categories such as mining, oil, gas, and construction and their thermal management attributes is limited, although these industries represent a significant proportion of the industrial workforce, work across a broad range of major industries, and frequently work in hot and/or humid thermal environments. This study evaluated and characterized the thermal management attributes of a selection of commercial low-level risk PPC ensembles currently used around the world as well as a civilian/corporate wear ensemble, using a sweating thermal manikin. The results demonstrate that there are substantially poorer thermal attributes for the PPC ensembles. Predicted Heat Strain Index (PHS) results for hot conditions reveal significantly lower duration limited exposure (DLE) and considerably greater body water loss for the wearers of PPC. Opportunities to substantially reduce PPC material mass and improve construction for these low-level risk categories in order to enhance thermal management performance are identified. Relationships between the thermal attributes of PPC and civilian clothing, and their garment construction, fit, and material characteristics are identified, providing new and important knowledge for current performance and direction for development of new improved PPC. This study provides researchers, developers, and garment designers with valuable insights for future improvement of PPC to create improved PPC for industrial workwear worn in hot environments.
个人防护服装（PPC）对于工人的安全和健康至关重要，从防护和热管理的角度来看都是如此，特别是因为 PPC 通常覆盖身体的 90%以上。虽然这些行业代表了工业劳动力的重要部分，工作范围广泛，并且经常在炎热和/或潮湿的热环境中工作，但对采矿、石油、天然气和建筑等低风险类别的 PPC 及其热管理属性的研究有限。本研究使用出汗热模型评估和描述了目前在全球范围内使用的各种商业低风险 PPC 套装以及民用/公司穿着套装的热管理属性。结果表明，PPC 套装的热属性要差得多。在炎热条件下预测的热应激指数（PHS）结果表明，PPC 穿着者的持续时间有限暴露（DLE）明显更低，身体水分流失更大。确定了为这些低风险类别大幅减少 PPC 材料质量并改进其结构以提高热管理性能的机会。确定了 PPC 和民用服装及其服装结构、合身性和材料特性之间的热属性关系，为当前性能提供了新的重要知识，并为新的改进型 PPC 的开发指明了方向。本研究为研究人员、开发人员和服装设计师提供了有价值的见解，有助于未来改进 PPC，为在炎热环境中穿着的工业工作服创造更好的 PPC。
