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      Thermal comfort sustained by cold protective clothing in Arctic open-pit mining—a thermal manikin and questionnaire study

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          Abstract

          Workers in the Arctic open-pit mines are exposed to harsh weather conditions. Employers are required to provide protective clothing for workers. This can be the outer layer, but sometimes also inner or middle layers are provided. This study aimed to determine how Arctic open-pit miners protect themselves against cold and the sufficiency, and the selection criteria of the garments. Workers’ cold experiences and the clothing in four Arctic open-pit mines in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia were evaluated by a questionnaire (n=1,323). Basic thermal insulation (I cl) of the reported clothing was estimated (ISO 9920). The I cl of clothing from the mines were also measured by thermal manikin (standing/walking) in 0.3 and 4.0 m/s wind. The questionnaire showed that the I cl of the selected clothing was on average 1.2 and 1.5 clo in mild (−5 to +5°C) and dry cold (−20 to −10°C) conditions, respectively. The I cl of the clothing measured by thermal manikin was 1.9–2.3 clo. The results show that the Arctic open-pit miners’ selected their clothing based on occupational (time outdoors), environmental (temperature, wind, moisture) and individual factors (cold sensitivity, general health). However, the selected clothing was not sufficient to prevent cooling completely at ambient temperatures below −10°C.

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          Most cited references11

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          Physiological criteria for functioning of hands in the cold: a review.

          Hands are important instruments in daily life. Without hands man is hardly able to function independently. Proper functioning of the hands is determined by several physiological parameters. These physiological parameters in turn are influenced by environmental factors. In this view of the literature, physiological processes in manual dexterity are described and the influence of a cold environment on separate physiological processes is studied. In general, cold means loss of dexterity. For reasons of safety and performance, it is important to restrict the loss of manual dexterity. For this purpose, in this study minimum criteria are given for all separate physiological components. Most important minimum criteria are: a local skin temperature of 15 degrees C, a nerve temperature of 20 degrees C and a muscle temperature of 28 degrees C. Only during maximum dynamic work is a muscle temperature of 38 degrees C recommended. These temperatures are average values, and of course individual differences are evident.
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            Effect of Garment Fit on Thermal Insulation and Evaporative Resistance

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              • Abstract: not found
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              Clothing Thermal Insulation During Sweating

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Ind Health
                Ind Health
                INDHEALTH
                Industrial Health
                National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan
                0019-8366
                1880-8026
                11 October 2017
                November 2017
                : 55
                : 6
                : 537-548
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland
                [2 ]University Hospital of North Norway, Norway
                [3 ]Umeå University, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Sweden
                [4 ]Umeå University, Arcum, Sweden
                [5 ]Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Department of Public Health, Norway
                [6 ]Innlandet Hospital Trust, Department of Research, Norway
                [7 ]Northwest Public Health Research Center, Russia
                Author notes
                [*]*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kirsi.jussila@ 123456ttl.fi
                Article
                2017-0154
                10.2486/indhealth.2017-0154
                5718774
                29021416
                f4ebc2d1-ca3c-4374-8fd2-6f446e475a94
                ©2017 National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) License.

                History
                : 27 August 2017
                : 02 October 2017
                Categories
                Original Article

                cold,thermal sensations,protective clothing,questionnaire study,thermal manikin,arctic mining

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