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Evaluation Of Four Portable Cooling Vests For Workers Wearing Gas Extraction Coveralls In Hot Environments, Joseph Kevin Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Excessive exposure to heat stress can cause a host of heat-related illnesses. For laborers, job specific work demands and protective garments greatly increase the risk of succumbing to the effects of heat stress. Microclimate cooling has been used to control heat stress exposure where administrative or engineering controls are not adequate. This study tested the performance of four personal cooling vests for use with insulated protective clothing (gas extraction coveralls) in warm-humid (35 ° C, 50% relative humidity) and hot-dry (40°C, 30% relative humidity) conditions. On 10 separate occasions, 5 male volunteers walked on a treadmill to elicit a target …