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

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 the Arctic open-pit miners protect t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:INDUSTRIAL HEALTH
Main Authors: Jussila, Kirsi, Rissanen, Sirkka, Aminoff, Anna, Wahlström, Jens, Vaktskjold, Arild, Talykova, Ljudmila, Remes, Jouko, Mänttäri, Satu, Rintamäki, Hannu
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Umeå universitet, Yrkes- och miljömedicin 2017
Subjects:
Arctic mining
cold
protective clothing
questionnaire study
thermal manikin
thermal sensations
Occupational Health and Environmental Health
Arbetsmedicin och miljömedicin
Arctic
Norway
Online Access:http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-140818
https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2017-0154
Description
Summary: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 the 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=1323). Basic thermal insulation (Icl) of the reported clothing was estimated (ISO 9920). The Icl 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 Icl 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 Icl of the clothing measured by thermal manikin was 1.9w2.3 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. Special issue: New development of research on personal protective equipment (PPE) for occupational safety and health

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