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Baseline Evaluation With a Sweating Thermal Manikin of Personal Protective Ensembles Recommended for Use in West Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 August 2015

Aitor Coca ,
Travis DiLeo ,
Jung-Hyun Kim ,
Raymond Roberge  and
Ronald Shaffer
Aitor Coca*
Affiliation:
National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Travis DiLeo
Affiliation:
National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Jung-Hyun Kim
Affiliation:
National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Raymond Roberge
Affiliation:
National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Ronald Shaffer
Affiliation:
National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Aitor Coca, PhD, NPPTL, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236 (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

Objective

Experience with the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) ensembles by health care workers responding to the Ebola outbreak in the hot, humid conditions of West Africa has prompted reports of significant issues with heat stress that has resulted in shortened work periods.

Methods

A sweating thermal manikin was used to ascertain the time to achievement of a critical core temperature of 39°C while wearing 4 different PPE ensembles similar to those recommended by the World Health Organization and Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) at 2 different ambient conditions (32°C/92% relative humidity and 26°C/80% relative humidity) compared with a control ensemble.

Results

PPE ensembles that utilized coveralls with moderate to high degrees of impermeability attained the critical core temperature in significantly shorter times than did other ensembles. Encapsulation of the head and neck region resulted in higher model-predicted subjective impressions of heat sensation.

Conclusions

To maximize work capacity and to protect health care workers in the challenging ambient conditions of West Africa, consideration should be given to adjustment of work and rest schedules, improvement of PPE (e.g., using less impermeable and more breathable fabrics that provide the same protection), and the possible use of cooling devices worn simultaneously with PPE. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:536–542)

Keywords

Ebolapersonal protective equipment ensemblesheat stresscore temperaturesweating thermal manikin
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 9 , Issue 5 , October 2015 , pp. 536 - 542
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2015 

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